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Analogy

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high importance~3 Q in Tier 112 formulas⚡ 11 shortcuts6 subtopics
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Word analogy

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⏱ 6 min read🧩 8 question types🎯 19 practice Q
The idea in one minute

A word analogy gives a pair of real words, like Chef : Kitchen, and asks for a pair with the same link. The exam uses a small bank of links again and again. Learn the bank, say the link as a sentence, and test every option with it.

01

What a word analogy asks

You get a pair such as Chef : Kitchen and a third word. Find the word that has the same link with the third word.

A chef works in a kitchen. So Pilot : ? needs the place where a pilot works: the cockpit.

02

The two-question test

Ask two questions about every option.

  1. Is it the same kind of link? Both pairs must be, say, "worker and workplace".
  2. Is it the same exact link, in the same direction? "A pilot flies an aeroplane" is a different link. Reject it.

Rule: Say the link out loud as a sentence. Then say the same sentence with each option. Only one sentence should be true.

03

The relation bank

LinkExamples
Worker : toolSurgeon : Scalpel, Mason : Trowel, Woodcutter : Axe, Tailor : Needle
Worker : place of workChef : Kitchen, Judge : Court, Scientist : Laboratory
Worker : productPoet : Poem, Cobbler : Shoes, Weaver : Cloth, Composer : Symphony
Adult : young oneCow : Calf, Horse : Foal, Goat : Kid, Deer : Fawn, Frog : Tadpole
Animal : soundLion : Roar, Donkey : Bray, Frog : Croak, Horse : Neigh, Owl : Hoot
Animal : homeLion : Den, Bee : Hive, Horse : Stable, Dog : Kennel, Pig : Sty
Male : femaleLion : Lioness, Peacock : Peahen, Drake : Duck, Ram : Ewe
Individual : groupFish : Shoal, Wolf : Pack, Lion : Pride, Cattle : Herd, Ship : Fleet
Country : currencyIndia : Rupee, Japan : Yen, Thailand : Baht, Bangladesh : Taka
Country : capitalNepal : Kathmandu, Bhutan : Thimphu, Egypt : Cairo, Canada : Ottawa
Instrument : quantity measuredBarometer : Pressure, Hygrometer : Humidity, Anemometer : Wind speed
Unit : quantityNewton : Force, Pascal : Pressure, Joule : Energy, Ampere : Current
Study : subjectOrnithology : Birds, Ichthyology : Fishes, Entomology : Insects
Product : raw materialGlass : Sand, Paper : Wood, Butter : Milk, Jaggery : Sugarcane
Part : wholePetal : Flower, Page : Book, Player : Team
Tool : actionNeedle : Sew, Spade : Dig, Knife : Cut, Pen : Write
Cause : effectRain : Flood, Drought : Famine, Virus : Disease
Same meaningBegin : Commence, Abandon : Desert
Opposite meaningAncient : Modern, Scarce : Abundant
Degree (mild : strong)Warm : Hot, Breeze : Gale, Smile : Laugh
04

Keep the same type of word

Many traps are the right topic but the wrong type of word.

  • Unit, quantity or instrument. Pascal is a unit. Pressure is a quantity. A barometer is an instrument.
  • Tool, material or product. For a weaver, the loom is the tool. Thread is the material. Cloth is the product.
  • Young or female. A foal is a young horse. A mare is a female horse.
  • Same or opposite meaning. A synonym pair needs a synonym answer, not an antonym.

Watch: Every worker has a tool, a place and a product. The setter puts the other two in the options as traps.

05

Keep the direction

Warm : Hot goes from mild to strong. So Breeze : Gale, not Gale : Breeze.

Butter : Milk goes from product to material. So Jaggery : Sugarcane, not Sugarcane : Jaggery.

Example: Cobbler : Shoes :: Weaver : ? (Loom / Cloth / Thread / Tailor). A cobbler makes shoes, so the link is worker : product. A weaver makes cloth. Loom is the tool and thread is the material.

06

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common2 practice Q

Worker : tool / workplace / product

How to spot it:

The first word is a person with a job (mason, cobbler, author, pilot).

Method

  1. Decide which link it is: tool used, place of work, or thing made.

  2. Find the same link for the new worker.

  3. Reject options that are one of the other two links.

Why it works:

Every worker has a tool, a place and a product, and the setter uses the other two as traps.

Try this

Cobbler : Shoes :: Weaver : ? (a) Loom (b) Cloth (c) Thread (d) Tailor

Show solution

  1. A cobbler makes shoes: worker : product.

  2. A weaver makes cloth.

  3. Loom is the tool and thread is the raw material.

Answer

(b) Cloth

Type 2very common2 practice Q

Animal : young one / sound / home / group

How to spot it:

One word is an animal or bird. The other is its baby, its cry, its shelter or its group name.

Method

  1. Name which animal fact is used.

  2. Recall the same fact for the new animal.

  3. Reject a different fact about the same animal (sound instead of home).

Why it works:

Each animal has one standard word for each fact, so only one option fits the chosen fact.

Try this

Lion : Den :: Bee : ? (a) Honey (b) Hive (c) Swarm (d) Buzz

Show solution

  1. A den is the lion's home.

  2. A bee's home is a hive.

  3. Honey is what it makes, swarm is its group, buzz is its sound.

Answer

(b) Hive

Type 3common2 practice Q

Country : currency / capital

How to spot it:

A country is paired with its money or its capital city.

Method

  1. See whether the model pair is currency or capital.

  2. Recall the same for the new country.

  3. The other options are real currencies or capitals of other countries, so be exact.

Why it works:

Only one option belongs to the given country.

Try this

India : Rupee :: Thailand : ? (a) Yuan (b) Baht (c) Ringgit (d) Dong

Show solution

  1. Rupee is the currency of India.

  2. The currency of Thailand is the baht.

  3. Yuan is China's, ringgit is Malaysia's and dong is Vietnam's.

Answer

(b) Baht

Type 4common2 practice Q

Instrument or unit : quantity

How to spot it:

A measuring instrument (barometer, hygrometer) or a unit (newton, pascal) is paired with what it measures.

Method

  1. Name the type of each word: instrument, unit or quantity.

  2. Keep the same types for the answer.

  3. Recall the fact.

Why it works:

The traps are usually a unit where a quantity is needed, or a nearby quantity.

Try this

Newton : Force :: Pascal : ? (a) Power (b) Pressure (c) Energy (d) Current

Show solution

  1. The newton is the unit of force.

  2. The pascal is the unit of pressure.

  3. Power, energy and current have other units (watt, joule, ampere).

Answer

(b) Pressure

Type 5common2 practice Q

Study : subject, product : raw material, part : whole

How to spot it:

A "-logy" science, or a product and what it is made from, or a small part and the whole thing.

Method

  1. Name the link: "is the study of", "is made from" or "is a part of".

  2. Apply it to the third word.

  3. Watch the direction: product → material, not material → product.

Why it works:

Once the direction is fixed, each of these links has one clear answer.

Try this

Butter : Milk :: Jaggery : ? (a) Sugar (b) Sugarcane (c) Sweet (d) Tea

Show solution

  1. Butter is made from milk: product : raw material.

  2. Jaggery is made from sugarcane.

  3. Sugar is another product, not the raw material.

Answer

(b) Sugarcane

Type 6common2 practice Q

Same meaning, opposite meaning and degree

How to spot it:

Two ordinary words that mean the same, the opposite, or a milder and a stronger form of one idea.

Method

  1. Decide: same meaning, opposite meaning, or mild → strong.

  2. Find the option with that link to the third word.

  3. Reject the option with the other type (an opposite when a same-meaning word is needed).

Why it works:

The setter usually places one same-meaning word and one opposite word among the options.

Try this

Warm : Hot :: Breeze : ? (a) Air (b) Gale (c) Calm (d) Rain

Show solution

  1. Hot is a stronger form of warm.

  2. A stronger form of a breeze is a gale.

  3. Calm is the opposite; air is only the general word.

Answer

(b) Gale

Type 7common2 practice Q

Tool : action and cause : effect

How to spot it:

An object and what it is used to do (needle : sew), or an event and what it leads to (rain : flood).

Method

  1. Say "X is used to ..." or "X leads to ...".

  2. Complete the same sentence for the third word.

  3. Reject places, users and materials linked to the object.

Why it works:

The answer must be an action or a result, which removes the noun traps quickly.

Try this

Needle : Sew :: Spade : ? (a) Garden (b) Dig (c) Soil (d) Farmer

Show solution

  1. A needle is used to sew.

  2. A spade is used to dig.

  3. Garden is a place, soil is what is dug, farmer is the user.

Answer

(b) Dig

Type 8common

Male : female

How to spot it:

Both words name the same animal (or person), one male and one female: Drake : Duck, Ram : Ewe.

Method

  1. Check that the model is male : female, not adult : young.

  2. Note which comes first, male or female.

  3. Find the female (or male) of the new animal.

Why it works:

Young-one and home words for the same animal are placed as traps; only the gender word fits.

Try this

Gander : Goose :: Fox : ? (a) Cub (b) Vixen (c) Den (d) Pack

Show solution

  1. A gander is a male goose: male : female.

  2. A female fox is a vixen.

  3. Cub is the young one, den is the home, pack is a group.

Answer

(b) Vixen

07

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ Two ticks on every option

Give each option a tick for "same kind of link" and a tick for "same exact link, same direction". The option with two ticks is the answer.

Example

Author : Novel :: ? (a) Poet : Poem (b) Editor : Newspaper (c) Reader : Library (d) Book : Print

Show solution

  1. Link: a person and the work the person creates.

  2. Editor : Newspaper: an editor does not write the whole paper. Reader : Library is a person and a place. Book : Print is a thing and a process.

  3. Poet : Poem gets both ticks.

Answer

(a) Poet : Poem

⚡ Tag animal pairs before reading options

For an animal pair, first tag it: adult : young, male : female, or animal : home, sound or group. Options often mix a young one with a female.

Example

Drake : Duck :: ? (a) Horse : Mare (b) Bull : Ox (c) Ram : Ewe (d) Dog : Pup

Show solution

  1. Tag: male : female of the same animal.

  2. Dog : Pup is adult : young. Bull : Ox is not male : female.

  3. Horse is the general word, not the male. Ram : Ewe is male : female of sheep.

Answer

(c) Ram : Ewe

08

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Choosing an option from the same topic (both medical, both animals).

Topics are decoys. Match the link sentence, not the topic.

Mistake 02

Missing the direction: taking Food : Hunger for Hunger : Food.

Say which word comes first in the model and keep that order.

Mistake 03

Mixing a unit with a quantity (Pascal for Pressure).

Name the type of each word (unit, quantity, instrument) and keep the same types.

Mistake 04

Picking the tool or raw material when the link is worker : product.

Decide first: tool, place or product. Then reject the other two.

Mistake 05

Adding a condition the pair does not state ("a judge also works in chambers").

Use the main, standard link that most people would name.

09

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

  • Say the link as a sentence; test every option with the same sentence.

  • Worker links: tool, place of work, product.

  • Animal links: young one, sound, home, group, male : female.

  • Keep word types the same: unit, quantity, instrument; tool, material, product.

  • Keep the direction: mild : strong, product : material, whole : part.

  • Synonym model needs a synonym answer; antonym model needs an antonym.

10

Practice: 19 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 10 questions

Suggested time 6 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

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