Word Analogy

Snapshot

• A verbal analogy gives you a pair of words in a fixed relationship and asks you to complete a second pair in the same relationship — Hand : Glove :: Foot : ? → Sock.
• The whole skill is naming the relationship precisely in a short sentence ("a glove is worn on a hand"), then applying that exact sentence to the second pair. If your sentence fits both pairs, you have the answer.
• CUET tests a fixed menu of relationship types — synonym, antonym, part–whole, worker–tool, cause–effect, category–example, degree, function. Learn the menu and you can classify any question in seconds.
• Exam reality: +5 / −1. Get the relationship right, keep the order the same, and pick the closest fit.

Part 1 — The relationship menu (learn every type)

Part 2 — The 3-step method

1. Bridge the first pair with a precise sentence. For Author : Novel, say "an author writes a novel." Vague sentences ("they are related") cause errors — be specific.
2. **Apply the same sentence to the options.** "A composer ___ a symphony" → writes/creates → Composer : Symphony fits.
3. Keep the order. Author : Novel is creator : creation. The answer must also be creator : creation, not creation : creator. If the order flips, the pair is wrong even if the words are related. If two options survive, make your bridging sentence narrower until only one fits.

Part 3 — Worked examples

1. Glove : Hand :: Sock : ? → bridge "a glove covers a hand" → "a sock covers a ___" → Foot.
2. Thermometer : Temperature :: Barometer : ? → "X measures Y" → Pressure.
3. Bee : Hive :: Spider : ? → "X lives in Y" → Web.
4. Hunger : Food :: Thirst : ? → "X is relieved by Y" → Water.
5. Cobbler : Shoes :: Blacksmith : ? → "X makes Y" → Tools / Horseshoes.
6. Light : Blind :: Sound : ? → "without X you are blind" → "without sound you are ___" → Deaf.
7. Puppy : Dog :: Cub : ? → "X is the young of Y" → Lion / Bear.
8. Pen : Write :: Knife : ? → "X is used to Y" → Cut.
9. Captain : Team :: Conductor : ? → "X leads Y" → Orchestra.
10. Drizzle : Downpour :: Breeze : ? → "X is a mild form of Y" → Gale / Storm.

Part 4 — Letter / number analogies (non-verbal cousins)

CUET also asks symbol analogies. The relationship is positional, not meaning-based:

• AB : CD :: EF : ? → each letter +2 → GH.
• AZ : BY :: CX : ? → first goes forward, second goes backward (mirror) → DW.
• 2 : 8 :: 3 : ? → cube? 2³=8, 3³=27 → 27.
• 5 : 26 :: 6 : ? → n² + 1 → 6²+1 = 37. Method: test simple rules in order — +n, −n, ×n, squares, cubes, mirror (A↔Z), alternate letters. The first rule that fits the given pair is almost always intended.

Part 5 — Common traps

• Order reversal — Doctor : Patient (treats) vs Patient : Doctor; the answer must keep the same direction.
• Too-broad bridge — "they go together" fits many options; narrow it ("X is the tool of Y").
• Category confusion — Rose : Flower is example : category; Flower : Rose is the reverse. Watch which way.
• Tempting wrong relationship — Cow : Milk could be "produces" (so Bee : Honey), not "animal : young".
• Degree mismatch — Warm : Hot is mild→strong; the answer must also go mild→strong, not strong→mild.

Part 6 — Why a precise bridge wins

Most analogy mistakes are not vocabulary failures — they are bridge failures. A student who says "a carpenter and wood are related" cannot choose between tailor : cloth, cook : food and painter : wall; but a student who says "a carpenter shapes wood into furniture" instantly sees that tailor : cloth (shapes cloth into clothes) is the true parallel. The lesson: spend your first three seconds forging the narrowest true sentence that links the pair, including the direction of the action and the role of each word. Then the options sort themselves. When a question feels impossible, it is usually because your bridge is too loose; tighten it by adding a verb and a purpose ("a key opens a lock", "a clue helps solve a mystery") and the fog clears. With the relationship menu in Part 1 memorised, you will recognise the type even before you finish reading the pair, and that recognition is what makes analogies one of the quickest scoring sections in the paper.

Part 7 — Extended practice bank (classify each)

For each row, say the bridge sentence aloud, then confirm the completing pair obeys the same sentence in the same direction. This drill, repeated daily, makes classification automatic.

Part 8 — The most-tested relationship types (focus here)

Across past CUET-style papers, a handful of relationships appear again and again, so weight your practice toward them: worker–tool / worker–product (carpenter:saw, poet:poem), part–whole (petal:flower), cause–effect (germ:disease, negligence:accident), category–example (metal:copper), degree of intensity (like:adore, dislike:detest), and object–function (scissors:cut). A subtle favourite is the degree pair, where two words sit on the same scale: cool → cold → freezing or fond → loving → devoted. When you see two near-synonyms, suspect a degree relationship and check which is milder and which is stronger, because the answer pair must climb the scale in the same direction. Another favourite is the worker and what they fight/study pair — meteorologist : weather, cardiologist : heart, philatelist : stamps. Mastering these high-frequency families covers the large majority of questions, so although you should know the full menu, spend most of your revision time where the marks actually are.

Part 9 — Rapid-fire practice (cover the answers, then check)

1. Author : Book :: Composer : ? → creates → Symphony / Music.
2. Knife : Sharp :: Pillow : ? → quality of object → Soft.
3. Doctor : Disease :: Lawyer : ? → professional : what they tackle → Crime / Dispute.
4. Fire : Ashes :: ? : ? → cause : remnant → Flood : Debris.
5. Mountain : Valley :: ? : ? → high : low (opposite terrain) → Crest : Trough.
6. Hour : Minute :: Minute : ? → larger : smaller unit → Second.
7. Bird : Nest :: Bear : ? → animal : home → Den.
8. Teacher : Student :: Master : ? → leader : follower → Servant / Disciple.
9. Joy : Ecstasy :: Anger : ? → mild : intense → Rage / Fury.
10. Sculptor : Chisel :: Surgeon : ? → worker : tool → Scalpel.
11. Water : Dam :: Traffic : ? → flow : what controls it → Signal.
12. Petal : Rose :: Feather : ? → part : whole → Bird. For every one of these, force yourself to speak the bridge before choosing — "a chisel is the tool a sculptor shapes with, so a surgeon's tool is a scalpel." The habit of speaking the bridge is the single biggest score-raiser in analogies.

Part 10 — How to use this page

Memorise the relationship menu in Part 1, practise writing a one-line bridge for every pair you meet, drill the symbol-analogy rules in Part 4 and the banks in Parts 7 and 9, focus on the high-frequency types in Part 8, and review the traps in Part 5 before the exam. Then attempt the practice questions, naming the relationship aloud each time.

One-line revision: name the relationship in a precise sentence, keep the same order and direction, apply it to the options, and narrow the bridge until only one fits.