Blood Relations

Prerequisites

Ordinary family vocabulary — you already use most of it at home; this page makes it precise.
Coding-Decoding — “coded relations” below replace relation words with symbols, the same idea as a letter code.
The Syllogisms habit of not assuming anything that is not stated — here it applies to gender.

The Hook: Introductions at a Wedding in Bilaspur

Connect

At a wedding (बिहाव) in Bilaspur, your friend introduces an elderly man: “He is the only son of my nani’s husband.” You smile and nod — and then realise you have just met his mama. Your nani’s husband is his nana; the nana’s only son is his mother’s brother.

Families in Chhattisgarh are large and every relation has its own word, so you do this kind of chain-reading every day without thinking. The exam does the same thing, but in English, with three or four links, and with options designed to catch one slip.

The question this page answers: how do you turn any chain of relations — spoken, coded or spread across five clues — into a family tree and read the answer off it without error?

Why it matters for CGPSC: blood relation (रक्त संबंध) questions are short, have exactly one correct answer once the tree is drawn, and reappear inside larger puzzles in Seating Arrangement and General Mental Ability.

Relation Vocabulary: English and Hindi

English uses one word (“uncle”, “aunt”, “cousin”) for relations that Hindi keeps separate. Exam questions are in English (with a Hindi version), so know both.

Relation (chain)	English	Hindi
Father’s father / Father’s mother	Paternal grandfather / grandmother	दादा / दादी
Mother’s father / Mother’s mother	Maternal grandfather / grandmother	नाना / नानी
Father’s brother	Paternal uncle	चाचा (younger), ताऊ (elder)
Father’s sister / her husband	Paternal aunt / uncle	बुआ / फूफा
Mother’s brother / his wife	Maternal uncle / aunt	मामा / मामी
Mother’s sister / her husband	Maternal aunt / uncle	मौसी / मौसा
Brother’s son / daughter	Nephew / niece	भतीजा / भतीजी
Sister’s son / daughter	Nephew / niece	भांजा / भांजी
Son’s son / daughter	Grandson / granddaughter	पोता / पोती
Daughter’s son / daughter	Grandson / granddaughter	नाती / नातिन
Son’s wife / Daughter’s husband	Daughter-in-law / son-in-law	बहू / दामाद
Wife’s brother / Wife’s sister	Brother-in-law / sister-in-law	साला / साली
Sister’s husband	Brother-in-law	जीजा
Brother’s wife	Sister-in-law	भाभी
Husband’s younger brother / Husband’s sister	Brother-in-law / sister-in-law	देवर / ननद
Uncle’s or aunt’s child	Cousin	चचेरा, ममेरा, फुफेरा, मौसेरा भाई/बहन

Generations

Put “self” at generation 0. Parents, uncles and aunts are +1; grandparents +2; children, nephews and nieces −1; grandchildren −2. A spouse or sibling stays at the same level. Counting generations is the fastest sanity check: if your answer is two generations above you but the options are all one generation above, you have slipped a link.

The Family-Tree Notation

Use one notation every time:

Symbol	Meaning
Square or (M)	Male
Circle or (F)	Female
(?)	Gender not given — leave it unknown
Double horizontal line	Married couple
Vertical line down	Parent → child
Single horizontal line	Siblings

Type 1: “Pointing to a Photograph” Chains

Start from the end of the sentence (the speaker’s own relative) and work backwards to the person being described.

Worked example 1

Pointing to a photograph, Ramesh said, “She is the daughter of the only son of my father’s father.” How is the girl related to Ramesh?

My father’s father = my paternal grandfather (दादा).
His only son = my father (my father is his son, and there is only one).
Daughter of my father = my sister.

The word “only” matters: without it, the grandfather’s son could be an uncle, and the girl could be a cousin.

Type 2: Coded Relations

Symbols stand for relations. Translate each symbol pair, draw it, then read the relation asked.

Worked example 2

A + B means A is the father of B; A − B means A is the wife of B; A × B means A is the brother of B; A ÷ B means A is the daughter of B.

If P × Q + R − S, how is P related to R, and how is S related to Q?

P × Q: P is the brother of Q.
Q + R: Q is the father of R.
R − S: R is the wife of S (so R is female, S is male).

P is the brother of R’s father → P is R’s paternal uncle (चाचा or ताऊ). S is the husband of Q’s daughter → S is Q’s son-in-law (दामाद).

Type 3: Family Puzzles

Several clues describe one family. Place the most connected person first, add the others one by one, and mark gender only as it is revealed.

Worked example 3

A family of six — A, B, C, D, E and F — has two married couples across three generations.

A is the grandfather of D.
B is the daughter-in-law of A.
C is the husband of B.
E is the sister of D.
F is the mother of C.

Step by step: B is the daughter-in-law of A and C is B’s husband, so C is A’s son. F is C’s mother, so F is A’s wife — the two couples are A–F and C–B. D is A’s grandchild, so D is a child of C and B; E, D’s sister, is their daughter.

graph TD
    A["A (M) — grandfather"] === F["F (F) — grandmother"]
    A --> C["C (M)"]
    F --> C
    C === B["B (F)"]
    C --> D["D (?)"]
    C --> E["E (F)"]
    B --> D
    B --> E

Now the questions answer themselves:

E is F’s granddaughter; B is F’s daughter-in-law.
D’s gender cannot be determined. “E is the sister of D” tells you E is female; it says nothing about D. An option reading “D is the grandson of A” is a trap.

Memory Tricks

Anchor these

“Read it backwards.” In “the daughter of the only son of my father’s father”, start at “my father’s father” and walk forward.
“Sister of X” tells you about the speaker’s subject, not about X. “E is the sister of D” makes E female; D stays (?).
“His son’s father” is himself. Loops like “my mother’s only daughter” (= me, if I am female) are favourite traps — collapse loops first.
Generation check. Count +1 / −1 along the chain; the answer must sit at that generation.
Maternal = mother’s side = मा-words (मामा, मौसी, नाना). Paternal = father’s side (चाचा, बुआ, दादा).

Don’t Confuse

This	vs	That
Brother’s son = भतीजा		Sister’s son = भांजा (both “nephew” in English)
Father’s sister = बुआ		Mother’s sister = मौसी (both “aunt”)
Wife’s brother = साला		Sister’s husband = जीजा (both “brother-in-law”)
“A is the son of B” → A is male, B’s gender unknown		“A is the father of B” → A is male, B’s gender unknown
“Only son of my father” → me (if I am male) or my brother (if I am female)		“Only son of my grandfather” → ambiguous: paternal or maternal grandfather?

Common Mistakes

Trap 1: Assuming gender from a name or a role

Names in reasoning questions are often letters (P, Q) or gender-neutral. Only words like father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife fix a gender — and only for the person they describe. If the options include “cannot be determined”, check whether the gender really was given.

Trap 2: Treating 'only' as decoration

“My mother’s only daughter”, spoken by a woman, is the speaker herself. Spoken by a man, it is his sister. “Only” removes every other candidate — read it.

Trap 3: Reading the relation in the wrong direction

“How is P related to R?” asks what P is to R (P is R’s uncle), not what R is to P (R is P’s niece). Options are often written with both directions.

Practice

Level 1: Foundation

Your mother’s brother is your ______ (Hindi term).
Your brother’s daughter is your ______ (Hindi term).
A man’s wife’s brother is his ______ (Hindi term).
“X is the daughter of Y.” Is Y’s gender known?
How many generations separate a person from his grandfather’s sister?

Answers

मामा (maternal uncle).
भतीजी (niece).
साला (brother-in-law).
No — only X is known to be female.
Two (the grandfather’s sister is at the grandfather’s generation, +2).

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Introducing a woman, Sunil said, “Her mother is the only daughter of my mother.” How is the woman related to Sunil?

(a) Sister (b) Daughter (c) Niece (d) Cousin

Answer: (c) Niece

Sunil is male, so “the only daughter of my mother” is Sunil’s sister. The woman’s mother is Sunil’s sister, so the woman is his sister’s daughter — his niece (भांजी).

Q2. A × B means A is the brother of B; A + B means A is the father of B; A ÷ B means A is the daughter of B; A − B means A is the wife of B. If K ÷ L − M × N, how is K related to N?

(a) Daughter (b) Niece (c) Sister (d) Cannot be determined

Answer: (b) Niece

K ÷ L: K is the daughter of L. L − M: L is the wife of M, so K is also M’s daughter. M × N: M is the brother of N.

So K is the daughter of N’s brother — N’s niece. N’s gender is unknown (N could be K’s paternal uncle or paternal aunt), but that does not change what K is to N. Option (d) tempts students who notice the unknown gender but do not check whether it matters.

Q3. D is the brother of E. E is the daughter of F. F is the wife of G. Consider the following statements:

F is the mother of D.
G is male.
E is the sister of G.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

D and E are siblings and E is F’s daughter, so D is also F’s child; F is a wife, hence female — F is D’s mother (statement 1 correct). G is F’s husband, so G is male (statement 2 correct). E is the daughter of G’s wife — G’s daughter, not his sister (statement 3 wrong).

Q4. Match the relations in List I with the Hindi terms in List II:

List I	List II
A. Father’s younger brother	1. मौसी
B. Mother’s brother	2. बुआ
C. Father’s sister	3. चाचा
D. Mother’s sister	4. मामा

(a) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2 (b) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1 (c) A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1 (d) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1

Answer: (b) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1

Father’s younger brother = चाचा; mother’s brother = मामा; father’s sister = बुआ; mother’s sister = मौसी. Option (a) swaps the two aunts — the most common slip, since English calls both “aunt”.

Q5. Pointing to a man, Kavita said, “His son’s father’s only sister is my mother.” How is the man related to Kavita?

(a) Father (b) Maternal uncle (c) Brother (d) Maternal grandfather

Answer: (b) Maternal uncle

“His son’s father” is the man himself — collapse the loop. “His only sister is my mother” makes the man Kavita’s mother’s brother: her maternal uncle (मामा).

Level 3: Speed Drill — Solve in 60 Seconds

Each item should take under 60 seconds. In Mains Paper IV (GS-II), show the chain or a small tree as your working.

A woman says, “My father’s only son’s wife is Meena.” How is Meena related to the woman?
P is the father of Q; Q is the mother of R. How is P related to R?
“My mother’s mother’s only son” — who is this to me?
X is the son of Y; Y is the sister of Z. How is X related to Z?
A is B’s husband; C is B’s mother. How is A related to C?
M is the only daughter of N; N is the wife of O. How is O related to M?