SSC CGL Reasoning · Analogy
Letter Analogy
In a letter analogy each letter of a word is changed by a rule on its position in the alphabet: the same shift for every letter, a pattern of shifts, or a swap to the opposite letter.
Why this matters
Seventy-five questions in the bank, fifty EASY and twenty-five MODERATE, twenty-seven of them from the 2025 shifts. All of them rest on one skill: knowing the position of any letter at once. With that, the rule is found by writing the gaps between letters, and most options fall away after the first letter.
Concept 1 of 4: Letter positions, forward and backward
Every letter has a number: A is 1 and Z is 26. Counting from the other end, Z is 1 and A is 26. Once you know these numbers without counting on your fingers, a letter rule becomes simple arithmetic.
Definition
- Learn A = 1 to Z = 26.
- The anchors E J O T Y stand at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. Any letter is at most two steps from one of them: R is T less 2, so 18.
- The reverse position (counting from Z) is 27 less the forward position: G is 7th from the front and 20th from the back.
- Some questions turn letters into numbers. A pair such as HM may be written as , or as the squares of the positions. Write the positions under the letters and the rule shows.
Reverse position
- nthe position from A (A = 1, Z = 26)
Worked example
If CF is written as 9/36, how is DH written?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 15 Sep 2025, Shift 2 · Q16Easy
Example 1 · Analogy · Letter Analogy
In each of the following questions, a pair of letters is related to a numerical fraction based on their positions in the English alphabet. Determine the logic behind the relationship and apply the same rule to the second pair to find the missing value. JG : 100/49 :: TB : ?
Counting the starting letter
Moving 3 places on from P lands on S (Q, R, S). Counting P itself as the first step gives R, one short. Count only the letters you move onto, or add the numbers: , which is S.
Mixing the two directions
A rule may use positions from A or positions from Z. If one letter fits only when you count from Z, test every other letter from Z too before you trust the rule.
Concept 2 of 4: One shift for every letter
The simplest letter code moves every letter the same number of places along the alphabet. Find that number from the first letter, confirm it on a second, and apply it to the new word.
Definition
- The gap between a letter and its code letter is the shift: G to J is 3 forward.
- Check the gap on a second letter. If it holds, use it on every letter of the new word.
- Wrap round: after Z the alphabet starts again at A. If a position goes past 26, take away 26: Y + 4 is , and , which is C.
- A shift of 13 forward lands on the same letter as 13 back; 19 forward is the same as 7 back. Use the shorter way round.
- Fast route: work out only the first letter of the answer and strike out the options that start with another letter. Usually one or two are left; one more letter decides.
Shift with wrap-round
- nthe position of the letter
- kthe shift: positive forward, negative backward
Worked example
GOLD : JROG :: SILK : ?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 13 Sep 2025, Shift 3 · Q11Moderate
Example 2 · Analogy · Letter Analogy
In each of the following questions, the second word is coded from the first using a consistent letter substitution pattern (e.g., reverse alphabet cipher, positional shift, etc.). Identify the logic in the first pair and apply the same to find the correct code for the third word.
WRITE : JEVGR :: WRONG : ?
Forgetting to wrap past Z
X moved 4 forward is B, not a letter beyond Z. When a position comes out above 26, take 26 away before you look the letter up.
Trusting one letter
A gap found from the first letter alone may not hold for the rest; the code may be a pattern. Check at least two letters of the given pair before you work out the answer.
Concept 3 of 4: A pattern of shifts
When the gaps are not all equal, they usually follow a pattern you can see once they are written down: rising by one, changing sign each time, or one gap for vowels and another for consonants.
Definition
- Write the gap, with its sign, under every letter of the given pair.
- Common patterns: rising gaps (+1, +2, +3, +4), falling gaps (+4, +3, +2, +1), signs that take turns (+2, , +2, ), the first half moved one way and the second half another, a fixed gap for vowels and another for consonants.
- One letter becomes two: each letter may be replaced by the letters just before and after it, or by the next two letters. Then the code is twice as long as the word.
- Fast route: the length of the code tells you the family at once. Same length: a shift. Double length: one letter became two.
Worked example
LAMP : MCPT :: DESK : ?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 13 Sep 2025, Shift 2 · Q12Easy
Example 3 · Analogy · Letter Analogy
Find the best option that best completes the analogy.
CAB : EDF :: GIH : ?
Dropping the sign of a gap
From O to M is 2 back, not 2 forward. Write every gap with its sign; a pattern such as +2, is invisible if all the gaps are written as 2.
Treating vowels like the other letters
When the gaps agree for some letters and not others, check whether the odd ones are all vowels. A rule with one gap for vowels and another for consonants hides behind gaps that look random.
Concept 4 of 4: Opposite letters: pairs that add to 27
Write the alphabet forward and backward in two rows, one under the other: A sits over Z, B over Y, and so on. A letter and the one beneath it are opposite letters, and their positions always add to 27.
Definition
- The thirteen opposite pairs: AZ, BY, CX, DW, EV, FU, GT, HS, IR, JQ, KP, LO, MN.
- To find an opposite, take the position away from 27: K is 11, and , which is P.
- Spot it fast: if a letter and its code letter add to 27, test the rest of the word for the same rule.
- Some codes take the opposite and then shift it one or two places, or use 26 less the position (one before the opposite). Check one letter both ways.
Opposite letter
- the position of the opposite letter
Worked example
BIRD : YRIW :: FROG : ?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 14 Sep 2025, Shift 1 · Q12Moderate
Example 4 · Analogy · Letter Analogy
Find the group of letters that best completes the analogy. Use alphabetical positions and reverse position logic where necessary.
DINS : WRMH :: EKPT : ?
Opposite letters are not a reversed word
Reversing BIRD gives DRIB: the same letters in a new order. The opposite-letter code YRIW changes every letter. Check whether the code uses the word's own letters before you choose the rule.
One before the opposite
If a letter and its code add to 26 rather than 27, the rule is 'one before the opposite'. Test the sum on two letters; using the plain opposite then gives an answer one letter off throughout.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Formulas (3)
- Letter positions, forward and backward
Reverse position
- One shift for every letter
Shift with wrap-round
- Opposite letters: pairs that add to 27
Opposite letter
Watch out for (8)
- Counting the starting letter→ Letter positions, forward and backward
- Mixing the two directions→ Letter positions, forward and backward
- Forgetting to wrap past Z→ One shift for every letter
- Trusting one letter→ One shift for every letter
- Dropping the sign of a gap→ A pattern of shifts
- Treating vowels like the other letters→ A pattern of shifts
- Opposite letters are not a reversed word→ Opposite letters: pairs that add to 27
- One before the opposite→ Opposite letters: pairs that add to 27
Test yourself on Analogy
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.