SSC CGL Analogy & Classification Notes: Types, Tricks & Practice

Analogy and classification are the SSC reasoning section's 'relationship' questions: given one pair with a hidden connection, find the pair that shares it — or pick the one item that does not belong. They test whether you can name a relationship precisely, not whether you know facts.

The SSC syllabus names these topics directly: Semantic Analogy, Symbolic/Number Analogy, Figural Analogy, and Semantic/Symbolic/Number Classification. Together they form a steady, high-accuracy block in most Tier-1 papers.

These notes give you the common relation types, a fixed solving method that prevents the most common errors, and solved plus practice questions across word, number and letter analogies.

Key Concepts & Formulas

The analogy method: name the relation first

Never look at the options before you can state the relation in words. 'Book : Pages' is not vaguely 'things about reading' — it is 'a whole and its parts'. Then apply the same sentence to the new pair: 'a wall is made of bricks'. The sharper your sentence, the fewer options survive elimination.

Formulas:

• Step 1 — cover the options and state the A:B relation as one sentence
• Step 2 — apply the same sentence to C and predict the answer
• Step 3 — pick the option that fits; if two survive, sharpen the sentence

Common word-analogy relation types

Most SSC word analogies recycle a small set of relations. Learn them as templates so you can name the relation in seconds: Worker–Tool (Doctor : Stethoscope), Worker–Product (Baker : Bread), Whole–Part (Book : Pages), Cause–Effect (Rain : Flood), Intensity (Anger : Rage), Animal–Home (Lion : Den), Animal–Young (Cow : Calf), and Quantity–Unit (Water : Litre).

Formulas:

• Worker–Tool: Doctor : Stethoscope
• Whole–Part: Book : Pages, Wall : Bricks
• Intensity: Anger : Rage, Warm : Hot
• Animal–Home: Lion : Den, Horse : Stable, Dog : Kennel

Number analogy: operations, not facts

Number analogies are mini equations. Test the standard operations between the first pair: n to n², n to n³, n to n(n+1), n to n²±1, or digit sums. Verify the operation on the first pair, then apply it to the second. If n : n²+1 explains 3:10, it must also produce one of the given options for the second pair.

Formulas:

• n : n² (4 : 16)
• n : n³ (3 : 27)
• n : n(n+1) (4 : 20, so 7 : 56)
• n : n²±1 (5 : 26, 5 : 24)

Letter analogy: positions and shifts

Convert letters to A=1 through Z=26 positions and treat each letter as a mini number analogy. Common SSC patterns: a uniform shift (every letter +n), an increasing shift (+1, +2, +3 across the letters), and mirror coding with opposite pairs (A–Z, B–Y).

Formulas:

• Uniform shift: CAT → DBU (+1 on every letter)
• Increasing shift: +1, +2, +3 across the letters of the word
• Mirror: replace with opposites (A–Z, B–Y, C–X, ...)

Classification (odd one out): one must break the rule

In classification, four of the five items share a property and one does not. Common bases: prime vs composite, perfect square vs non-square, even vs odd, vowel-start vs consonant-start, or a shared category (four fruits vs one vegetable). Always find the property that the four share before accusing the odd one out.

Formulas:

• Check: prime/composite, perfect square/non-square, even/odd
• Check: shared category (all capitals? all mammals?)
• Check: letter count or starting letter of each word
• The odd one breaks the rule the other four follow

Solved Examples

Practice Questions

Common Traps (galtiyan jo marks katwati hain)

• Picking an option that is merely 'related' but through a different relation — both Hammer and Wood relate to a carpenter, but only Hammer fits Worker–Tool.
• In number analogy, accepting an operation that fits the first pair by coincidence (4:20 could be +16, but 7+16=23 fails if the intended pattern is ×5). Always check that the rule gives a clean option.
• In classification, finding a property of the odd one instead of the shared property of the four — the logic must be 'four share X, one lacks X'.
• Solving letter analogies by eyeballing letter shifts instead of converting to positions — write the numbers down, it is far more reliable.
• Word analogies where order matters: Cause–Effect is not Effect–Cause. Rain : Flood reverses into a different relation, so keep the pair order fixed.

FAQs