VERBAL
ANALOGY
General Intelligence & Reasoning
What is an Analogy?
An analogy is a comparison between two pairs of words in which the relationship between the first pair is the same as the relationship between the second pair.
Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : School
A doctor works in a hospital. A teacher works in a school.
Why are we studying Analogy?
Verbal analogy questions test your ability to recognise relationships between concepts and apply the same relationship to a new pair.
Identify the relationship between two words.
Understand what the relationship actually means.
Transfer the same relationship to another pair.
Reject options based only on loose association.
Verbal Analogy in SSC CGL
In the SSC CGL General Intelligence & Reasoning syllabus, analogy appears as part of the reasoning section. Verbal analogy is commonly approached as semantic analogy, where the relationship depends on the meaning of words.
Relationships based on meaning, function, category, occupation, habitat, cause-effect, synonyms, antonyms and other conceptual connections.
What SSC can test
- Profession and workplace
- Animal and habitat
- Object and function
- Part and whole
- Synonyms and antonyms
- Category and member
- Product and producer
- Disease and affected organ
The Relationship Sentence
One of the easiest ways to solve verbal analogy is to convert the first pair into a short sentence.
Bird : Nest
A bird lives in a nest.
A horse lives in ______.
Stable
Always identify the relationship in the first pair before looking for the answer to the second pair.
Profession → Workplace
A doctor works in a hospital. A teacher works in a school.
Animal → Habitat
Animal → Young One
Sheep : Lamb :: Goat : ?
A. Cub B. Kid C. Foal D. CalfObject → Function
The relationship is:
Product → Producer
Part ↔ Whole
Page : Book is different from Book : Page. Always preserve the direction of the original relationship.
Synonym Analogy
In a synonym analogy, the two words in the first pair have similar meanings. The same semantic relationship must be applied to the second pair.
Antonym Analogy
Here the two words have opposite meanings.
Disease → Affected Organ
Category → Member
Field → Object Studied
These questions require both reasoning and general vocabulary knowledge.
The 4-Step Method
Read the first pair carefully.
Find the exact relationship.
Apply it to the third word.
Check direction and options.
Test Yourself — I
Test Yourself — II
Practice Set — Answers
After solving each question, identify the relationship. This is what develops your analogy-solving skill.
Avoid These Mistakes
Choose the precise relationship, not merely something connected with the word.
Page : Book is different from Book : Page.
Prefer the simplest valid relationship.
Difficult words can hide an otherwise simple analogy.
Relationship Bank
Think in Relationships.
When you see:
Verbal Analogy
Select the word that has the same relationship with the given word as the first pair.
Your Verbal Analogy Score
Keep practising.
