What the clues do not say
Some relation words carry less than they seem to, and English and Hindi leave out different things. In this lesson you check four details (side, gender, age, blood or marriage) and choose the answer that says exactly what is known, no more.
Guess first
Anu is Bhavna's grandmother. Bhavna is a girl. Nothing else is given. How is Bhavna related to Anu?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
Bhavna is two floors below Anu, and Bhavna is a girl: a granddaughter. Whether the line runs through Anu's son or daughter is not given, so the plain word is the exact answer. In Hindi there is no plain word: पोती or नातिन depends on that missing line, so the Hindi answer is "पोती या नातिन".
Option A: "Son's daughter" adds a line that no clue gives.
Option B: "Daughter's daughter" adds a line that no clue gives.
Option D: Bhavna is two floors below Anu, not one.
Hint: Which detail would decide between the son's line and the daughter's line? Is it given?
English "granddaughter" quietly hides the side; Hindi forces you to choose one. Knowing what each word hides is the skill of this lesson.
Sharp and blurred details
A relation word is like a photo where some parts are sharp and some are blurred. Name only the sharp parts.
Sharp: the floor the generation
relation words always give it
Sharp: the link parent, sibling, child, spouse
always given by the words
Blurred: the side father's or mother's
given only when the first person on the path has a known gender
Blurred: gender and age boy or girl, elder or younger
given only when a word says so
| Word | What it gives | What it hides |
|---|---|---|
| grandfather, grandmother | two floors up | the side (Hindi दादा/नाना, दादी/नानी give it) |
| grandson, granddaughter | two floors down | the line (Hindi पोता/नाती, पोती/नातिन give it) |
| uncle, aunt (English) | one floor up | the side, and whether by blood or by marriage |
| nephew, niece (English) | a sibling's child | brother's or sister's (Hindi भतीजा/भांजा give it) |
| चाचा, ताऊ (Hindi) | father's brother | nothing: चाचा is younger than the father, ताऊ elder |
| child, sibling, cousin | the link | the gender |
See it: one word, four families
The English sentence "Vimal is Kiran's uncle" fits four different families.
flowchart TD U["Vimal is Kiran's uncle"] --> A["father's brother: चाचा or ताऊ"] U --> B["mother's brother: मामा"] U --> C["father's sister's husband: फूफा"] U --> D["mother's sister's husband: मौसा"]
In words: an English uncle can be the father's brother, the mother's brother, or the husband of the father's or mother's sister. Hindi has a separate word for each.
What is certain about "Vimal is Kiran's uncle"?
- Vimal is a man: "uncle" is a man's word.
- Vimal is one floor above Kiran.
- The side (father's or mother's) is not given.
- Blood or marriage is not given: he may be a parent's brother or the husband of a parent's sister.
- Kiran's own gender is not given.
Try it on paper. Write the four kinds of uncle you have (or could have) with their Hindi words. Then write the four kinds of aunt.
Find the rule
Vimal is the brother of one of Kiran's parents. Which statement is certain?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
"Brother" gives Vimal's gender. Which parent he is the brother of, and Kiran's own gender, are not given, so only A is certain.
Option B: This picks the father's side; the clue does not say which parent.
Option C: This picks the mother's side; the clue does not say which parent.
Option D: No word gives Kiran's gender.
Hint: Which person's gender does the word "brother" give?
Raju is the younger brother of Asha's father. Which Hindi word names Raju for Asha?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The father's brother is चाचा when he is younger than the father and ताऊ when he is elder. The clue says Raju is younger, so he is Asha's चाचा. English has only "paternal uncle" for both.
Option B: ताऊ is the father's elder brother. Raju is younger.
Option C: मामा is the mother's brother. Raju is the brother of Asha's father.
Option D: This drops Asha's father: Raju is his brother, one floor above Asha.
Hint: In Hindi, the father's brother's word depends on one more detail. Which?
Name the rule
Say exactly what is known, and no more.
Before you name a relation, check four details:
- Side: is the first person on the path a man or a woman (father's side or mother's)?
- Gender: does a word give the gender of the person you are naming?
- Age: for चाचा/ताऊ, देवर/जेठ and their wives, is elder or younger given?
- Blood or marriage: is the person a blood relative or married in?
If the answer needs a missing detail, choose the option that does not need it ("granddaughter", "sister's child"). If every option needs it, the answer is "cannot be determined".
Each language packs different details into its words. English "uncle" packs the gender and the floor; Hindi मामा also packs the side, and चाचा/ताऊ even the age. A bilingual question can be easier in one language: read the Hindi option words for the extra details they demand.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Shyam is the elder brother of Tina's father. What is Shyam to Tina, in Hindi and in English?
Solution
- Side
The path goes through Tina's father: the father's side.
- Link and floor
Father's brother: one floor up.
- Age
Shyam is elder than Tina's father.
- Name it in each language
Hindi: the father's elder brother is ताऊ. English: paternal uncle (English has no age word).
Answer: Shyam is Tina's ताऊ (paternal uncle).
Watch out: Without "elder", the Hindi answer would be "चाचा या ताऊ", not ताऊ.
Now finish one that is half done.
Rekha is the wife of Shyam, and Shyam is the elder brother of Tina's father. The father's elder brother is Tina's ताऊ, and his wife takes the matching word. So Rekha is Tina's ...
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The wife of ताऊ (the father's elder brother) is ताई.
Option B: चाची is the wife of चाचा, the father's younger brother. Shyam is elder.
Option C: मामी is the wife of मामा, the mother's brother. Shyam is the father's brother.
Option D: ताऊ is Shyam himself. Rekha is his wife.
Hint: Which word pairs with ताऊ?
And one on your own.
Neel is a boy. His father is Simran's brother, and Simran is a woman. How is Neel related to Simran?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Neel's father is Simran's brother, so Neel is her brother's son: भतीजा. English "nephew" alone would hide whether the sibling is a brother or a sister; here the clue gives it.
Option B: भांजा is a sister's son. The sibling between them is Simran's brother.
Option C: This drops Neel's father. Simran is his father's sister, not his mother.
Option D: Paternal aunt (बुआ) is Simran's relation to Neel: the reverse question.
Hint: Who is the sibling in the middle: a brother or a sister?
The traps
- A side for "grandfather" or "uncle": English words hide the side; do not pick दादा or चाचा without it.
- An age for the father's brother: चाचा or ताऊ needs elder or younger.
- Blood for "uncle" or "aunt": in English they may be married in (फूफा, मौसा, मामी, चाची).
- A gender for "child", "cousin" or a name.
- "Cannot be determined" too early: a plain word ("granddaughter", "sister's child") may state exactly what is known.
Vimal is the brother of one of Kiran's parents. Rohan concluded: "Vimal is Kiran's मामा." What went wrong?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
मामा means the mother's brother. The clue says only "one of Kiran's parents", so the side is unknown: Vimal could be Kiran's चाचा or ताऊ just as well.
Option A: There was no side given to swap; Rohan added one.
Option C: The reverse would describe Kiran for Vimal. Rohan described Vimal, as asked.
Option D: मामा adds the mother's side, which is not given.
Hint: Which parent is Vimal the brother of? Is it stated?
Mixed check
Mita, a girl, says to Gopi: "Your father is my mother's brother." How is Mita related to Gopi?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
"Your" is Gopi and "my" is Mita. Gopi's father is the brother of Mita's mother, so Mita's mother is Gopi's father's sister (बुआ), and Mita is her daughter: Gopi's फुफेरी बहन.
Option B: "Mother's brother's child" describes Gopi as seen from Mita: the reverse question.
Option C: Mita and Gopi have different parents, so they are cousins.
Option D: This stops one link early: Mita's mother is Gopi's paternal aunt; Mita is her daughter.
Hint: Lesson 5: put names in place of "your" and "my".
A is B's grandfather. B is a boy. Which statement is certain?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
A is two floors above B, and B is a boy, so B is A's grandson. Through which parent is not given, so पोता or नाती, दादा or नाना, cannot be chosen.
Option B: "Son's son" (पोता) picks a line that no clue gives.
Option C: "Paternal" picks a side that no clue gives.
Option D: A grandfather is two floors up, not one.
Hint: Lesson 3: what is certain, and what only sounds likely?
Quick reference
What the words do not say
- Four checks
- side, gender, age, blood or marriage before you name anyone
- English hides
- the side (grandfather, uncle) and brother-or-sister (nephew) Hindi words usually give them
- Hindi asks for
- age: चाचा younger, ताऊ elder than the father देवर younger, जेठ elder than the husband
- Plain words
- granddaughter, sister's child, cousin state what is known without the missing detail
- Cannot be determined
- only when every option needs a missing detail otherwise pick the plain word
Why it works: an answer must be true in every family that fits the clues. A word that adds a side, a gender or an age fits only some of them.
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