Blood Relations

About Blood Relations

Blood relation questions describe a family in a few sentences and then ask how two of the people are related. The clues are always enough to work the relationship out, so the task is to build the family in a sensible order rather than to guess. Drawing the tree, even roughly, is what stops the answer drifting.

What you need to understand

Every clue is a single link in the family tree, so each sentence adds one connection.

Work out the sex of each person from the words used: father and brother are male; mother, sister and wife are female.

A marriage is a link in its own right, and the spouse of a parent is also a parent of that person's children.

Count the generations before naming the relation: one step up is a parent, two steps up is a grandparent.

A sibling of one of your parents is an aunt or an uncle, and you are their nephew or niece.

Answer in the direction the question asks. How A is related to B is not the same as how B is related to A.

How to work through these questions

Read every clue once before drawing anything.

Put the generations on separate levels as you read, so parents sit above their children.

Mark the sex of each person beside their name.

Follow the links from the first person named in the question to the second, one link at a time.

Name the relation only after you reach the second person, and check the direction is the one asked for.

Mistakes that cost marks

Reading the relationship backwards, so a nephew is reported as an uncle.
Forgetting that the wife of a father is also the mother of his children, which breaks the chain.
Losing track of who is male and who is female when names do not make it obvious.
Skipping a generation and reporting a grandparent as a parent.
Treating a brother or sister of the person asked about as though they were the person themselves.

Worked example

Arun is the father of Bharat. Chitra is the wife of Arun. Deepa is the sister of Bharat. How is Chitra related to Deepa?

Arun is the father of Bharat, so Arun is one generation above Bharat.
Chitra is the wife of Arun, and the wife of a father is also the mother of his children, so Chitra is Bharat's mother.
Deepa is the sister of Bharat, so Deepa is also a child of Arun and Chitra.
Chitra is therefore one generation above Deepa, and is female, so she is Deepa's mother.

Answer: Mother

Practice questions with answers

A few Blood Relations questions with the full solution shown, so you can see how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.

Question 1

Study the family described below and answer the question. Kavita is the mother of Imran Eshan is the father of Imran Kamal is the son of Imran Imran is the father of Kamal Lata is the wife of Imran Jaya is the sister of Imran How is Eshan related to Kamal?

A father
B grandfather
C grandmother
D brother

Answer: Option B — with explanation

Eshan and Kavita are the parents of Imran, and Jaya is Imrans sister. Lata is Imrans wife, and Kamal is their child. Working from Eshan to Kamal through those links gives grandfather. Common mistakes - stopped one generation short: father - read the relationship in the wrong direction: brother - used the other side of the family: grandmother

Question 2

Study the family described below and answer the question. Falguni is the mother of Lalit Anita is the daughter of Lalit Chetan is the father of Lalit Ela is the sister of Lalit Gauri is the wife of Lalit Lalit is the father of Anita How is Falguni related to Anita?

A grandmother
B father
C cousin
D grandfather

Answer: Option A — with explanation

Chetan and Falguni are the parents of Lalit, and Ela is Lalits sister. Gauri is Lalits wife, and Anita is their child. Working from Falguni to Anita through those links gives grandmother. Common mistakes - used the other side of the family: cousin - stopped one generation short: grandfather - read the relationship in the wrong direction: father

Question 3

Study the family described below and answer the question. Farid is the father of Gopal Gopal is the father of Chitra Kavita is the wife of Gopal Chitra is the daughter of Gopal Deepa is the mother of Gopal Anita is the sister of Gopal How is Chitra related to Farid?

A aunt
B sister
C granddaughter
D cousin

Answer: Option C — with explanation

Farid and Deepa are the parents of Gopal, and Anita is Gopals sister. Kavita is Gopals wife, and Chitra is their child. Working from Chitra to Farid through those links gives granddaughter. Common mistakes - read the relationship in the wrong direction: cousin - stopped one generation short: sister - used the other side of the family: aunt

Question 4

Study the family described below and answer the question. Kavita is the daughter of Jatin Kamal is the father of Jatin Chitra is the sister of Jatin Gauri is the wife of Jatin Ela is the mother of Jatin Jatin is the father of Kavita How is Kamal related to Kavita?

A grandfather
B mother
C aunt
D brother

Answer: Option A — with explanation

Kamal and Ela are the parents of Jatin, and Chitra is Jatins sister. Gauri is Jatins wife, and Kavita is their child. Working from Kamal to Kavita through those links gives grandfather. Common mistakes - read the relationship in the wrong direction: brother - used the other side of the family: aunt - stopped one generation short: mother

Question 5

Study the family described below and answer the question. Bharat is the father of Harish Ira is the mother of Bharat Ela is the sister of Bharat Bhavna is the wife of Bharat Dinesh is the father of Bharat Harish is the son of Bharat How is Dinesh related to Harish?

A grandmother
B sister
C grandfather
D aunt

Answer: Option C — with explanation

Dinesh and Ira are the parents of Bharat, and Ela is Bharats sister. Bhavna is Bharats wife, and Harish is their child. Working from Dinesh to Harish through those links gives grandfather. Common mistakes - used the other side of the family: grandmother - stopped one generation short: aunt - read the relationship in the wrong direction: sister

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to solve a blood relation question?

Draw the family as you read, keeping each generation on its own line and marking who is male and who is female. Once the tree is drawn the relationship is usually obvious.

How do I work out who is male and who is female?

The words in the clues tell you. Father, brother, son, husband and uncle are male; mother, sister, daughter, wife and aunt are female.

Why does the wife of a father count as a mother?

Because the children of a marriage are the children of both partners. Treating the marriage as a link in the chain is what lets you reach the mother from the child.

How is 'how is A related to B' different from the reverse?

The direction matters. If A is B's uncle then B is A's nephew or niece, and these are different answers, so read the question carefully.

What if a name could belong to either sex?

Use the role the clue gives it. If the clue says someone is a sister, that settles it regardless of the name.