Blood Relations Questions for SBI CLERK

Understanding the Basics

Blood relations questions give you a chain of relationships and ask you to find how two specific people are related. The trick is to always draw a family tree instead of trying to solve it in your head. Use symbols: a plus sign for male, a minus sign for female, a single horizontal line for siblings, a double horizontal line for married couples, and a vertical line going downward for parent to child.

• Always identify the gender of each person from clues like son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, uncle, aunt.
• Paternal means father's side. Maternal means mother's side.
• Father's brother is Uncle. Father's sister is Aunt. Mother's brother is Maternal Uncle. Mother's sister is Maternal Aunt.
• Son of Uncle or Aunt is your Cousin. This is one of the most tested relationships.
• Grandfather's only son means that person is your Father or Uncle depending on context — read carefully.
• Never assume gender unless stated. Names like Ravi, Priya help but always confirm from the clue itself.

Key Relationship Chart to Memorise

SBI Clerk loves to test a chain of 3 to 5 relationships. The moment you see words like 'pointing to a photograph' or 'introducing a person', treat it as a coded blood relation. Build the chain step by step from the anchor person — that is, the person who is speaking or pointing.

• Mother's or Father's Son = Brother (or Self).
• Mother's or Father's Daughter = Sister (or Self).
• Son's Wife = Daughter-in-law. Wife's or Husband's Father = Father-in-law.
• Brother's Son = Nephew. Brother's Daughter = Niece.
• Sister's Son = Nephew. Sister's Daughter = Niece.
• Husband's or Wife's Brother = Brother-in-law. Husband's or Wife's Sister = Sister-in-law.

Coded Blood Relations

SBI Clerk also presents blood relations in coded form. For example: A plus B means A is the father of B. A minus B means A is the wife of B. A multiply B means A is the brother of B. You are given an expression like P plus Q minus R and asked how R is related to P. The method is exactly the same — decode each symbol into plain English and draw the tree.

• Always write out what each symbol means before solving. One wrong decode ruins the whole answer.
• Start decoding from left to right, one pair at a time.
• After drawing the tree, trace the path from the asked person back to the reference person.
• If the gender is unclear after full decoding, the answer may be 'cannot be determined' — a very common trap option.
• Practice 5 different symbol sets before the exam since symbols change from paper to paper.

Generation Method — Cracking Chains Quickly

Assign a generation number to each person. The speaker or reference person is Generation 0. Parents are Generation plus 1 above, so Generation minus 1 in the upward direction. Children are Generation plus 1 in the downward direction. This helps you instantly know if the answer should be uncle, grandfather, nephew, or grandson without getting confused.

• Same generation as you: Brother, Sister, Cousin.
• One generation above: Father, Mother, Uncle, Aunt.
• Two generations above: Grandfather, Grandmother, Grand Uncle.
• One generation below: Son, Daughter, Nephew, Niece.
• Two generations below: Grandson, Granddaughter.
• If you land on the same generation but different family branch, think Cousin first.

Pointing to a Photograph Type

A very common SBI Clerk format: 'Pointing to a man in a photograph, Seema said, His mother is the only daughter of my mother.' You must work backwards. Only daughter of Seema's mother means Seema herself. So his mother is Seema. Therefore the man in the photo is Seema's son.

• The phrase 'only son' or 'only daughter' almost always refers back to the speaker.
• Work from the inside outward. Solve the inner clause first.
• Always re-read once after solving. The question may ask how the speaker is related to the photo person, not the other way around.
• Relationship is directional. A is father of B does NOT mean B is father of A. State the relation as asked.

• Assuming gender from names alone without confirmation from the clue. Names like Kiran or Rajan can be misleading and SBI setters exploit this.
• Getting the direction of relationship wrong. If A is the uncle of B, B is the nephew or niece of A — not uncle back.
• In coded relations, missing that a symbol represents a specific gender role. For example, plus means Father, not just parent. If the gender does not match, the chain breaks.
• Rushing past the word 'only'. Only son, only daughter, only child — these are massive hints that lock down who is who.
• Choosing a definite answer when gender is not established. Always check if the answer could be brother OR sister before picking one. If both are possible, select 'cannot be determined'.

• FAST tree drawing: Father Above, Siblings Across, Tin (children) Below. Draw this structure the moment you start any blood relation question.
• PIN rule for photographs: Point Inward first, then Navigate outward. Solve the inner bracket of the clue before mapping to the speaker.
• GOWN for generations: Grandparents, Own parents, Own level, Nephews/nieces, next-next (grandchildren). Five rungs on a ladder.
• Uncle-Aunt-Cousin triangle: Any parent's sibling is Uncle or Aunt. Any uncle or aunt's child is always your Cousin. Tattoo this triangle in your mind.

• SBI Clerk Prelims typically has 2 to 3 standalone blood relation questions and sometimes 1 set of 3 to 4 questions embedded in a puzzle. Total expected: 3 to 5 marks.
• Standalone questions take 45 to 60 seconds each if you draw the tree. Do not attempt these in your head to save time — you will make errors.
• The photograph-type question appears almost every year. Learn the 'only daughter/son loops back to speaker' pattern cold.
• In recent papers, blood relations are mixed inside seating arrangement or scheduling puzzles as additional data points. Stay alert for family clues hidden in puzzle paragraphs.
• If a question takes more than 2 minutes, skip and return. Blood relations should be easy marks — do not let one tricky question eat into your time for simpler questions.