Blood Relation Questions: Tricks and Family Trees

📑 On this page

⚡ The 20-second answer

Blood-relation questions hide a family tree inside a sentence. Start from the speaker, unwind the possessives one at a time, and track two things: generation (+1 up, −1 down, 0 for siblings and spouses) and gender. The #1 trap: building the chain from the wrong end and landing on the mirror relation.

🎬 The 30-second story

The wedding aunty quiz

“Free food, loud dhol, zero exams. Best day ever.”

💍

Aarav

Aarav at his cousin's wedding.

“Beta, pehchana? I'm your mother's brother's wife's sister.”

🍽️

An aunty corners him at the dessert counter.

“My… mamaji's… wife's… sister?”

😰

Aarav

He tries to hold four possessives in his head.

“Mother's brother = mama. His wife = mami. Her sister: mami's sister. Same generation as your mum.”

🖊️

Zoya

Zoya writes it on a napkin, one step at a time.

Tara's verdict: Never hold a chain in your head. Write one possessive per step, starting from the speaker, and keep a running generation count. Four links become four easy moves.

How does CLAT word blood relation questions?

CLAT asked blood relations as one-line chains in 2018 and 2019. The wider family of these questions comes in three shapes, and the opening words tell you which.

Stem you'll see	What it really asks	First move
"Samantha is your father's mother's grandson's daughter" (2018 Q113)	A chain of possessives from you.	Start at 'your', climb one link at a time.
"A man introduces a girl as the daughter of the sister of his father" (2019 Q6)	The same chain written with 'of'.	Read it backwards: father → sister → daughter.
"If A + B means A is the father of B…"	Coded relations.	Decode each symbol into an arrow.
"A family has six members…" + four facts	Build a tree, then answer two or three Qs.	Draw generations as levels first.

→ scroll to see more

What is the generation ladder?

Every relation is two facts: how many generations apart, and which branch. Give yourself 0. Each step up (father, mother) is +1; each step down (son, daughter) is −1; brother, sister, husband and wife keep you on the same rung.

🎚️ The scale

The generation ladder

← olderyounger →

Grandparents

e.g. dadi, nana

Parents, uncles, aunts

e.g. father's sister = bua

You, siblings, cousins, spouse

e.g. uncle's son = cousin

−1

Children, nephews, nieces

e.g. brother's daughter = niece

−2

Grandchildren

e.g. son's son = grandson

🧮 The formula

CLAT 2018's chain, as arithmetic

👨

father's

👵

mother's

👦

grandson's

−2

👧

daughter

−1

🎯

−1

one rung below you

📌 The rung tells you the family of answers

At −1 the answer can only be son, daughter, nephew or niece. Branch decides which: through you = your child; through your sibling = nephew or niece. Options on the wrong rung (sister, uncle) die instantly.

What is the fastest method for blood relation questions?

1
Find the speaker
Whose 'my' or 'your' is it? Write SELF, with gender if given. 'A man introduces…' = SELF ♂.
2
Unwind one link at a time
Start at the link touching SELF and move outward: 'father's mother's grandson' = father → his mother → her grandson. Write each person.
3
Count rungs, mark gender
+1 up, −1 down, 0 sideways. Write ♂/♀ only when the words prove it: 'daughter' does, 'child' doesn't.
4
Name it, then test options
Rung + branch + gender gives the word. If the chain could branch (grandson = you, brother or cousin), pick the option that can be true.

⚠️ The mirror answer is always in the options

Build the chain from the other person's end and nephew turns into uncle, daughter into mother. Setters always list that mirror. Start at the speaker, and check whether the question asks A to B or B to A.

Which relation traps does CLAT set?

The words are simple; the bookkeeping isn't. Five traps cover most wrong answers.

🧩 At a glance

Five blood-relation traps

🪞The mirror

Reading from the wrong person flips uncle ↔ nephew, mother ↔ daughter.

☝️'Only' means self

'My mother's only daughter', said by a woman, is the speaker herself.

⚧Gender not given

'B is A's sibling' doesn't make B a brother. 'Cannot be determined' can be right.

💍In-laws and marriage

Your father's sister's husband is your uncle, but by marriage, not blood.

🌿Branches

A grandmother's grandson can be you, your brother or your cousin.

Coded relations

Some papers turn relations into symbols: 'A × B means A is the father of B'. Turn each symbol into an arrow, chain the arrows, and read the relation from the first person to the last. Gender comes free: 'father', 'sister' and 'husband' each reveal one.

🔗 Who owes whom

A × B + C − D, drawn as arrows

A → B: father of (×)
B → C: sister of (+)
C → D: husband of (−)
A → D: father-in-law

The relation dictionary

The chain	Rung	The word
Father's or mother's brother	+1	Uncle (chacha / mama)
Father's or mother's sister	+1	Aunt (bua / mausi)
Uncle's or aunt's child	0	Cousin
Sister's husband; wife's brother	0	Brother-in-law
Brother's or sister's son / daughter	−1	Nephew / niece
Son's wife; daughter's husband	−1	Daughter-in-law / son-in-law

→ scroll to see more

🧭 Decision flow

Name the relation in three questions

❓ How many rungs apart are you?

0 →

❓ Same parents?

Yes →

Brother or sister

No →

Cousin (or spouse / in-law if linked by marriage)

±1 →

❓ Is one the other's parent or child?

Yes →

Parent or child

No →

Uncle / aunt (up) or nephew / niece (down)

±2 →

Grandparent or grandchild

Blood relation questions solved step by step

✍️ Worked example Warm-up ⏱ 30 sec

Zoya's only-daughter riddle

Zoya says: "Rohan's mother is the only daughter of my mother's father." How is Rohan related to Zoya?

1
Speaker: SELF = Zoya (♀).
2
Unwind: my mother's father = nana (+2). His only daughter = Zoya's mother (+1).
3
Count: Rohan is that woman's son: +1 − 1 = 0, same parents as Zoya.
4
Name: same rung, same mother: Rohan is her brother.

Answer: Brother

⚡ The exam-hall shortcut

'Only daughter of my mother's father' loops back to my mother. Spot the loop and skip two steps.

✍️ Worked example CLAT level ⏱ 40 sec

The coded group chat

P × Q means P is the father of Q; P + Q means P is the sister of Q; P − Q means P is the husband of Q. What does A × B + C − D tell you about A and D?

1
Speaker: no speaker; start at A.
2
Unwind: A is father of B (−1); B is sister of C (0); C is husband of D (0).
3
Count, gender: C is A's child and male (husband): A's son. D is his wife, one rung below A.
4
Name: father of D's husband.

Answer: A is D's father-in-law

⚡ The exam-hall shortcut

In a code chain, each symbol is one rung change. Add them, then read the last symbol for gender.

✍️ Worked example Tricky ⏱ 75 sec

The mehendi photo

At a mehendi: Meher is Rohan's only child. Rohan's sister Neha is married to Kabir. Aarav is Kabir's son, and Zoya is Aarav's sister. How is Kabir related to Meher, and how is Zoya related to Meher?

1
Speaker: none; anchor the oldest people. Neha and Rohan are siblings (rung 0); Kabir is Neha's husband (0).
2
Unwind: Aarav and Zoya are Kabir and Neha's children (−1). Meher is Rohan's child (−1).
3
Kabir to Meher: +1, married to her father's sister: her uncle by marriage (phupha), not a blood relative.
4
Zoya to Meher: rung 0, different parents, parents are siblings: cousins.

Answer: Kabir is Meher's uncle (by marriage); Zoya is her cousin

⚡ The exam-hall shortcut

Draw siblings side by side, spouses inside the same node, children one rung down.

🌳 The family tree

The mehendi family

👵

Nani

♀ · Neha and Rohan's mother
- daughter
  
  👩
  
  Neha
  
  ♀ daughter · married to Kabir ♂
  - son
    
    Aarav
    
    ♂ son
  - daughter
    
    Zoya
    
    ♀ daughter · Meher's cousin
- son
  
  Rohan
  
  ♂ son
  - daughter
    
    Meher
    
    ♀ only child

cousins: same rung, sibling parentsthe marriage link to Kabir

Kabir sits on Neha's rung: Meher's uncle by marriage, not by blood.

How has CLAT asked blood relations?

Both questions are single-sentence chains, worth one mark in under 30 seconds once the method is automatic.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2018 · Q113 Possessive chain with branches

Samantha is your father's mother's grandson's daughter.

Therefore, Samantha is your

Aniece

Bsister

Cuncle

Dbrother

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: A

Start at you (0). Father's (+1) mother's (+2) = your paternal grandmother. Her grandson (0) is you if you're male, your brother, or your first cousin. His daughter is at −1: your daughter, your niece, or your cousin's daughter. Only niece is on the options list, and only niece sits on rung −1. (The paper numbered options 1–4; the key gives 1.)

Why the others fail

B — Rung 0. Samantha is one generation below you.
C — Rung +1 and male: the mirror trap.
D — Wrong rung and wrong gender: 'daughter' makes Samantha female.

🌳 The family tree

CLAT 2018 Q113: every branch of 'grandson'

👵

Grandmother

♀ father's mother · +2
- son
  
  👨
  
  Father
  
  ♂ +1
  - child
    
    🙋
    
    You
    
    0
  - son
    
    👦
    
    Brother
    
    ♂ grandson · 0
    - daughter
      
      👧
      
      Samantha
      
      ♀ your niece · −1
- son or daughter
  
  🧑
  
  Uncle / aunt
  
  +1
  - son
    
    👦
    
    Cousin
    
    ♂ grandson · 0
    - daughter
      
      👧
      
      Cousin's daughter
      
      ♀ −1 · not an option

Three grandsons are possible (you, if male, are the third). Only one branch gives an answer on the options list.

🔬 Option autopsy

Option autopsy: CLAT 2018 Q113

Samantha is your father's mother's grandson's daughter. Therefore, Samantha is your…

A niece Tag it

✅ Correct

Rung −1, female, through your brother. The only option the chain can produce.

B sister Tag it

🌗 Half right

Right gender, wrong rung: you stopped at the grandson and forgot 'daughter'.

C uncle Tag it

🔄 Opposite direction

Rung +1 and male: the chain read from Samantha's end.

D brother Tag it

❓ Not supported by the text

Wrong rung and wrong gender; nothing in the chain makes Samantha male.

✅ Correct🌗 Half right🔄 Opposite direction❓ Not supported by the text

Guess the trap behind each option, then tap to check. Wrong options fail in a handful of predictable ways.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2019 · Q6 Chain written with 'of'

A man introduces a girl as the daughter of the sister of his father.

How the girl is related to the man

ADaughter

BNiece

CGrand daughter

DCousin

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: D

Our solution (2019 has no official key). 'Of' chains read from the end: his father (+1) → father's sister, his bua (+1) → her daughter (0). Same rung, and her parent is his parent's sibling: cousin.

Why the others fail

A — Daughter is rung −1 and would need 'my daughter' directly.
B — Niece is a sibling's child, rung −1.
C — Granddaughter is rung −2.

Which blood relation myths cost marks?

💥 Myth vs fact

Myth vs fact: blood relations

🙅 Myth

A name tells you the gender.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Only the words do: son, sister, husband, he, she. Unisex names are set on purpose.

🙅 Myth

Read the sentence left to right.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Start from the speaker and move outward, one possessive at a time.

🙅 Myth

Every uncle is a blood relative.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Your father's sister's husband is an uncle by marriage. If a question asks for blood, he's out.

🙅 Myth

If a chain could mean two things, the question is broken.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Often it's on purpose: pick the option that can be true, as in CLAT 2018 Q113.

Can you place these five on the tree?

🎯 Quick quiz

Blood relations quiz

0 / 5

Q1. Pointing to a man, Zoya says, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the man related to Zoya?

At Tara's cousin's mehendi, six relatives sit for one family photo: P, Q, R, S, T and U. P is the father of Q. Q is the sister of R. S is married to R. T is the son of S and R. U is P's wife. The photographer asks each of them to stand next to their own parent, and everyone is confused except T.

Q2. How is Q related to T?

A family WhatsApp group uses a private code for relations. A $ B means A is the mother of B. A # B means A is the brother of B. A @ B means A is the wife of B. A & B means A is the father of B. Cousins use it to tag each other in old wedding photos, and the elders refuse to learn it.

Q3. Which expression means M is the maternal uncle of N?

Q4. A is B's brother. C is A's mother. D is C's father. How is B related to D?

Q5. How is Meher's father's sister's husband related to Meher?

🎯 Blood relations in a nutshell

Start from the speaker; write SELF.
Unwind one link at a time, outward.
Track rungs: +1 up, −1 down, 0 sideways.
Gender only from words, never names.
Rung + branch + gender = the relation.
A branching chain? Pick the option that can be true.

📎 Cheat sheet

"my / your … 's … 's" → possessive chain → start at the speaker, one link at a time.
"the daughter of the sister of his father" → 'of' chain → read from the end.
"A + B means…" → coded relation → each symbol is an arrow.
"only son / only daughter" → check whether it's the speaker.
"pointing to a photograph" → speaker is SELF; the pronoun gives the other's gender.
"Cannot be determined" → right when gender or branch is never fixed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the trick to solving blood relation questions?

Start from the speaker and unwind the chain one link at a time, writing each person down. Keep a generation count: plus one for a parent, minus one for a child, zero for a sibling or spouse. The count plus the branch and gender names the relation, and wrong-generation options drop out at once.

Who is my cousin in blood relation questions?

A cousin is your uncle's or aunt's child: the same generation as you, but with different parents whose own parents are shared. In CLAT 2019, 'the daughter of the sister of his father' was the man's cousin. Cousin is gender-neutral, so the paper may say cousin brother or cousin sister.

How do I know someone's gender in these questions?

Only from words such as son, sister, husband, he or she. Names prove nothing, because setters use unisex names on purpose. If the chain never fixes a gender and the options split by gender, 'cannot be determined' is often the right answer.

Are blood relations still asked in CLAT?

They appeared as single questions in 2018 and 2019, before CLAT moved to passage-based reasoning. Pattern questions returned in 2025 with a seating set, so a one-line chain can come back. It is quick to learn and worth a sure mark in under thirty seconds.

Is an uncle by marriage a blood relative?

No. Your father's sister's husband or your mother's sister's husband is your uncle, but the link runs through a marriage. If a question asks specifically for a blood relative, check whether the chain crosses a marriage; if it does, that person is related by marriage only.