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Analogies

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SwaPrep presents · A chapter in Mental Ability

Analogies

Every pair hides a sentence. Say it aloud — 'A is to B because…' — and the right answer names itself.

6 acts · 11 scenes · scroll to play↓

I

The Mirror Test

The game

Find the pair that thinks alike

An analogy question gives you a pair joined by a hidden relationship and asks you to find another pair joined by exactly the same one. APPSC asks two to three of these in every paper and favours two breeds above all: word analogies such as worker-and-tool or place-famous-for, and number analogies built on squares and cubes. The entire skill of the topic compresses into a single act — identifying the relationship type quickly.

Marks-winning facts

  • 2–3 questions per APPSC paper — reliable, winnable marks
  • Target time: 30–45 seconds per question
  • APPSC favourites: worker–tool, place–famous-for, squares, cubes
  • The key skill: quick identification of the relationship type

II

The Grammar of Pairs

The method

Six steps and one golden rule

Every analogy surrenders to the same drill. Read the given pair and understand both words or numbers, then ask the only question that matters — what connects A to B? Verbalize the link as a sentence, 'A is to B because…', and apply that sentence to the options until one pair mirrors the exact same relationship. Eliminate the distractors whose similarity is merely superficial, and verify the direction, because A to B must run the same way as C to D.

Marks-winning facts

  • Step 1: understand the pair · Step 2: name the link · Step 3: say it as a sentence
  • Superficial similarity is NOT the same logical link
  • Golden Rule: the relationship must be identical in type AND direction
The catalog

Fourteen relationships rule the exam

The exam draws from a known catalog. Words pair as synonyms (Happy : Joyful :: Sad : Sorrowful), antonyms (Hot : Cold :: Big : Small), part and whole (Page : Book :: Room : Building), worker and tool (Carpenter : Hammer :: Surgeon : Scalpel), item and category (Rose : Flower :: Dog : Animal), function (Knife : Cut :: Pen : Write), product and material (Cloth : Cotton :: Paper : Wood), and male and female (Bull : Cow :: Horse : Mare). General knowledge supplies country–capital, country–currency and unit–measurement pairs, while numbers move by squares and cubes and letters march in consecutive pairs.

Marks-winning facts

  • Worker–tool: Carpenter : Hammer :: Surgeon : Scalpel
  • Number patterns: 4 : 16 :: 5 : 25 (n²) · 2 : 8 :: 3 : 27 (n³)
  • Country–capital: India : New Delhi :: Japan : Tokyo · currency: India : Rupee :: USA : Dollar
  • Letter position: AB : CD :: EF : GH (consecutive pairs)

III

Opening Moves

Easy rounds

Say the sentence, hear the answer

The easy tier falls to one spoken sentence. A doctor treats a patient, so a lawyer represents a client — professional and person served. A bird lives in a nest, so a horse lives in a stable — animal and dwelling. And 9 : 81 is a number facing its own square, so 11 answers with 121.

Marks-winning facts

  • Doctor : Patient :: Lawyer : Client (professional–person served)
  • Bird : Nest :: Horse : Stable (animal–dwelling)
  • 9 : 81 :: 11 : 121 (n² — 9² = 81, 11² = 121)

IV

The Traps Within

Medium rounds

Categories, materials and marching letters

The middle tier demands sharper sentences. A marathon is a type of race, so hibernation is a type of sleep — a specific instance inside a general category. A cobbler works with leather and a tailor works with cloth — craftsperson and material. And ACEG : BDFH shifts alternate letters by two each: M(13), O(15), Q(17), S(19) answers with N(14), P(16), R(18), T(20) — NPRT.

Marks-winning facts

  • Marathon : Race :: Hibernation : Sleep (instance–category)
  • Cobbler : Leather :: Tailor : Cloth (craftsperson–material)
  • ACEG : BDFH :: MOQS : NPRT (alternate letters, each +2)
Hard rounds

The trap is built into the numbers

The hard tier hides traps inside plausible patterns. In 7 : 56, students reach for the square — but 7² is 49, not 56; the true pattern is n × (n+1), so 7 × 8 gives 56 and 9 × 10 gives 90. A connoisseur appreciates art as a gourmet appreciates food — expert appreciator and domain. And SEND : VHQG advances every letter by three, so HELP becomes KHOS.

Marks-winning facts

  • 7 : 56 :: 9 : 90 — n × (n+1), NOT n² (49 ≠ 56)
  • Connoisseur : Art :: Gourmet : Food (expert appreciator–domain)
  • SEND : VHQG :: HELP : KHOS (+3 on every letter)

V

The Arsenal

Shortcuts

Name it before you look

Each trick buys back seconds. Name the relationship in one phrase before you look at the options, and keep the direction sacred — A : B is not B : A. On number analogies test the square first, then the cube, then n(n+1); on letter analogies convert everything to position values, A = 1 through Z = 26, and the arithmetic shows itself. Memorize the common general-knowledge pairs — capitals, currencies, inventions, famous landmarks — and eliminate by category: if the link is function-based, every synonym or antonym option is dead.

Marks-winning facts

  • Name the link BEFORE reading the options
  • Numbers: test n² → n³ → n(n+1), in that order
  • Letters: convert to position values (A=1 … Z=26)
  • Function-based link? Drop synonym/antonym options instantly
The traps

Five ways the mark slips away

The errors repeat in every exam hall. Candidates reverse the direction of the relationship, or choose words that are merely associated — Doctor : Hospital is not the same link as Doctor : Patient. They ignore degree, though Warm : Hot demands a similar jump in intensity, and they stumble on factual analogies because of gaps in capitals and currencies. Worst of all, they overthink: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Marks-winning facts

  • Direction reversed = mark lost, even with the right idea
  • Doctor : Hospital ≠ Doctor : Patient — association is not relationship
  • Warm : Hot — the intensity jump must match
  • GK gaps lose factual analogies · the simplest explanation usually wins

VI

Match Day

Exam strategy

Fifteen seconds to name it, or move on

APPSC keeps analogies at easy-to-medium difficulty, so these are marks a prepared candidate collects. Build a mental catalog of the fourteen-plus relationship types and identify the type before looking at the options — that single habit defuses the distractor traps. Budget thirty to forty-five seconds per question; if the relationship has not surfaced within fifteen, mark the question and move on. With negative marking at −0.333 per wrong answer, skip when torn between two options.

Marks-winning facts

  • APPSC difficulty: easy-to-medium
  • Identify the type BEFORE the options — it defuses distractors
  • 15 seconds to name the link, else mark and move on
  • Negative marking −0.333: skip if unsure between two options
The drill

Five pairs to prove the method

Run the catalog against the practice set. A pen writes as a knife cuts — function. A cub grows into a lion as a kitten grows into a cat — young and adult. Agra is famous for the Taj Mahal as Paris is famous for the Eiffel Tower, 3 : 27 is a number meeting its cube so 4 answers with 64, and a paw belongs to a cat as a hoof belongs to a horse.

Marks-winning facts

  • Pen : Write :: Knife : Cut (function)
  • Cub : Lion :: Kitten : Cat (young–adult)
  • Agra : Taj Mahal :: Paris : Eiffel Tower (place–famous for)
  • 3 : 27 :: 4 : 64 (n³) · Paw : Cat :: Hoof : Horse (body part–animal)
The vocabulary

Five terms that define the game

The chapter closes on its working vocabulary. An analogy is a comparison based on an identical relationship. Verbal analogies pair words, number analogies run on mathematical relationships — square, cube, n(n+1) — and letter analogies follow alphabet-position patterns. Direction names the order of the relationship: A to B must match C to D.

Marks-winning facts

  • Analogy — a comparison based on an identical relationship
  • Number analogy — square, cube, or n(n+1)
  • Letter analogy — alphabet position-based pattern
  • Direction — A→B must match C→D

End of chapter

Now make it yours

The fourteen-type catalog is the whole game — open the full notes, drill the worked examples, and say the sentence aloud until the link names itself.

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