Blood Relations Questions for RRB NTPC

Core Family Relationships to Memorise

Before solving any question, you must know the standard relationships by heart. Think of your own family tree — grandfather, grandmother at the top, then parents, then siblings, then you. Every question is just a variation of this tree. Male and female sides must be tracked carefully.

• Father's or Mother's Father = Grandfather; Father's or Mother's Mother = Grandmother
• Father's Brother = Uncle; Father's Sister = Aunt; Mother's Brother = Maternal Uncle (Mama); Mother's Sister = Maternal Aunt (Mausi)
• Brother's Wife = Sister-in-law; Sister's Husband = Brother-in-law
• Son's Wife = Daughter-in-law; Daughter's Husband = Son-in-law
• Spouse's Father = Father-in-law; Spouse's Mother = Mother-in-law
• Uncle or Aunt's child = Cousin (not brother or sister — common trap)

The Family Tree Method

Always draw a small tree on your rough sheet. Use boxes or circles for each person and arrows to show parent-child links. Write M for male and F for female next to each node. This prevents gender mix-ups. Start from the person whose relation is given first and build outward. Never try to solve blood relation questions in your head — even toppers draw trees.

• Draw nodes top-down: grandparents at top, children at bottom
• Use a horizontal line between husband and wife, vertical line for parent-child
• Mark gender immediately: triangle for male, circle for female, or just M/F
• When the question says A is the son of B's father, first find B's father, then place A as his son
• Re-read the final question carefully — it asks the relation of X with respect to Y, not Y with X

Coded Blood Relations

In this type, symbols like +, -, *, / or letters like A, B, P, Q are used to represent relationships. For example, A + B means A is the father of B, A - B means A is the mother of B. Read the code table given in the question very carefully before solving. These look scary but are just the same family tree in disguise.

• Always write the code key before starting — do not keep it in memory
• Decode the full expression step by step, left to right
• Identify gender from the relationship clue, not from the name
• If P $ Q # R means P is father of Q and Q is brother of R, then P is also father of R
• Final answer: trace from first person to last person in the decoded chain

Dialogue or Conversation Based Questions

Here, one person introduces another through a statement. The trick is identifying who is speaking and who is being pointed at. People often get confused about whose perspective the relationship is given from. Always anchor: the speaker is the reference point.

• Identify the speaker clearly — this is your starting node
• Identify the person being referred to — this is your endpoint
• Build the tree from speaker outward
• Watch for phrases like only son, only child — they limit the family size
• Gender of the speaker matters: if a woman says my brother's son, the son is her nephew

• Confusing cousin with brother or sister — in Indian families cousins feel like siblings but in logic they are always cousins
• Mixing up the reference point — the question asks how X is related to Y but you solve it as Y to X, giving the reverse answer
• Assuming gender from names — in RRB questions names like Kiran, Ravi, Priya may be used to trick you; always confirm gender from the relationship clue
• In coded questions, skipping the code key or misreading one symbol ruins the entire chain
• Forgetting that wife's brother is brother-in-law but wife's sister's husband is also brother-in-law — same label, different path

• TREE trick: always draw a Tree, mark Relations, track gender with an Eye, then Extract the answer. TREE = Try, Relate, Eye on gender, Extract.
• For in-law relations remember: add in-law to the base. Father in law = your spouse's father. Sister in law = your spouse's sister OR your sibling's spouse.
• Mnemonic for common relations: PUMM = Paternal Uncle, Maternal Mama, these are your father's brother and mother's brother respectively — two different uncles, often confused.
• Visual hook: think of a family photo album. Grandparents sit in the back row, parents in the middle, you and siblings in front. Every question rearranges seats in this photo.

• RRB NTPC typically gives 2 to 3 blood relation questions per shift, mostly from the dialogue or statement type. Coded type appears occasionally.
• Questions are usually single-step or two-step chains. Three-step chains appear rarely in RRB NTPC unlike SSC CGL.
• Time target: spend no more than 60 to 90 seconds per question. If it takes longer, skip and return — these should be easy marks.
• Recent PYQ pattern: Pointing to a photograph type questions are very common. Practice at least 20 such questions before exam.
• Do not overthink gender when names are ambiguous. The question itself will clarify gender through relationship words like son, daughter, husband, wife.