Blood Relations Questions for IBPS RRB PO

Core Concept: Generations and Gender

A blood relation question is simply a family tree problem. Every person in the question belongs to a generation (grandparent level, parent level, own level, child level) and has a gender (male or female). Your only job is to draw a small family tree as you read the clues, then answer who is related to whom. Think of it like building a WhatsApp family group — you add members one by one as clues arrive.

• Always note gender first: Brother/Son/Father/Uncle/Husband = Male. Sister/Daughter/Mother/Aunt/Wife = Female.
• Draw a tree on paper as you read — never try to solve in your head.
• Horizontal line between two people = married couple. Vertical line downward = parent to child.
• If gender is ambiguous (name like 'Kiran' or 'clue says A is B's sibling'), mark a question mark and wait for more clues.
• Cousin, Nephew, Niece are common trap relationships — always expand them into the tree.
• Re-read the question stem carefully: it asks relationship of X with respect to Y, not Y with X.

Standard Relationship Chart

Memorize the most frequently tested relationship names. Questions in IBPS RRB often give a chain like 'A is the brother of B. B is the mother of C. C is the son of D.' and ask what D is to A. Trace each link on your tree.

• Father's or Mother's brother = Uncle. Father's or Mother's sister = Aunt.
• Uncle's or Aunt's child = Cousin (same generation as you).
• Brother's or Sister's son = Nephew. Brother's or Sister's daughter = Niece.
• Son's wife = Daughter-in-law. Daughter's husband = Son-in-law.
• Wife's or Husband's brother = Brother-in-law. Wife's or Husband's sister = Sister-in-law.
• Grandfather's only son and you have no uncle = that son must be your father.

Coded Blood Relations

This is the variant IBPS RRB loves most. Instead of plain English clues, symbols or operators encode the relationship. For example: A + B means A is the father of B, A - B means A is the wife of B, A x B means A is the brother of B. You are given an expression like P + Q x R - S and asked the relationship between P and S. Simply decode each symbol one by one and build the tree. The trick is to decode left to right without skipping any link.

• Write the symbol legend on your rough paper before starting — do not rely on memory mid-question.
• Replace each symbol with the actual relationship word, then draw arrows.
• The final answer is always found by tracing from the starting person to the ending person in your tree.
• Watch out: in expressions like A + B - C, the subject of each relationship changes. A + B means A is father of B. B - C means B is wife of C. So A is father-in-law of C.
• If the question says 'how is the last person related to the first', trace backward on your tree.

Pointing/Dialogue-Based Questions

In this type, a person points to someone in a photo and says something like 'His mother is the only daughter of my grandfather.' You have to find who the person in the photo is. These are tricky because you start from a roundabout clue and need to work backward to find the direct link. Always start from the known anchor (the speaker) and build outward.

• Identify the speaker first — they are your anchor point.
• Break the sentence into two parts: who is described, and what their relation is.
• Only daughter of my grandfather = my mother (if grandfather has only one daughter).
• His mother = my mother means He is my brother.
• Watch out for gender hints hidden in possessives — 'his', 'her', 'their' tell you the gender of the photo person.
• These questions appear 1-2 times per paper and are moderately tricky — do not spend more than 90 seconds.

Puzzle-Set Embedded Blood Relations

In recent IBPS RRB PO papers, blood relation clues are mixed inside a larger puzzle — for example, a seating arrangement where some people are related. Here you solve the arrangement first (or simultaneously) and then answer the blood relation sub-question at the end. Do not get confused between the arrangement logic and the family logic — keep two separate notes on your rough sheet.

• First solve the main puzzle (seating, floor, etc.), then layer the family clues on top.
• Often only 1 out of 5 questions in the set will test blood relations — worth picking up.
• Family clues here are usually simpler than standalone questions — just 2-3 links.
• If the puzzle is unsolved, try to answer the blood relation question independently using only the family clues.

• Confusing the direction of the question: 'How is A related to B' and 'How is B related to A' are opposite answers. Always re-read the final question line before answering.
• Assuming gender from Indian names (Kiran, Harish, Simran can be male or female in question setters' usage). Only confirm gender from relationship words like son, daughter, wife, husband.
• In coded relations, applying the relationship to the wrong person. In A + B, A is the parent — not B. Do not reverse the subject and object.
• Forgetting that 'only child' or 'only son' clues eliminate siblings and completely change the tree structure. Missing this makes the whole answer wrong.
• In pointing/photo questions, mixing up 'my' (speaker) with 'his/her' (the person in photo). Draw a box for the speaker and a separate box for the photo person right from the start.

• GPA Tree: Always label each person with G (grandparent), P (parent), O (own generation), C (child generation). This prevents mixing up generations.
• Mnemonic for in-laws: SWISH — Son-in-law, Wife's sibling, In-law chain, Sister-in-law, Husband's sibling. These 5 confuse most aspirants — practice these specifically.
• Arrow Rule for Coded Relations: Draw an arrow from left person to right person, write the relation on the arrow. Reading arrows forward gives the relationship, reading backward gives the reverse.
• Anchor and Expand: In any blood relation question, pick one person as your anchor (usually the speaker or the first person mentioned), draw them in the center of your rough sheet, and expand the tree outward. Never float people randomly on paper.

• IBPS RRB PO 2022-2024 papers consistently had 2-3 standalone blood relation questions and 1 embedded in a puzzle set. Total expected questions: 3-4. All are solvable in under 2 minutes total if you practice drawing trees fast.
• Coded blood relations appear more often than dialogue-based questions in recent RRB PO papers. Prioritize practicing coded types with at least 20 PYQs.
• The difficulty is usually Level 1 or Level 2 out of 5. Do not leave these questions — they are among the easiest guaranteed marks in the Reasoning section.
• In the exam, spend a maximum of 45-60 seconds per standalone question and 30 seconds on an embedded blood relation sub-question. If you cross 90 seconds, mark and move on.
• Questions sometimes give 4-5 person chains in coded form. Practice tracing 5-link chains on rough paper within 60 seconds — this is the real speed skill tested here.