Blood Relations • Topic 1 of 4

Relation Terms

Lock in the vocabulary: paternal vs maternal (father's vs mother's side), in-laws, niece/nephew, first cousins, and the 'grand'/'great-grand' levels. Many SSC items are pure definition checks — 'mother's brother' is your maternal uncle.

The symbols you draw with

Every blood-relation question becomes easy once you draw it. Use this fixed notation:

Male Female = couple parent–child Father = Mother Son Daughter
Triangle = male, circle = female, "=" = married, vertical line = parent to child.

The vocabulary that gets tested

PhraseMeans
Mother's / Father's brotherMaternal / Paternal uncle
Mother's / Father's sisterMaternal / Paternal aunt
Brother's / Sister's sonNephew
Brother's / Sister's daughterNiece
Son's wife / Daughter's husbandDaughter-in-law / Son-in-law
Wife's or husband's brotherBrother-in-law
Paternal vs maternal. "Paternal" = father's side; "maternal" = mother's side. SSC often hides the answer in this one word, so translate each phrase to a single relation before combining.

✅ Solved examples

1. Who is your mother's brother?
Maternal uncle.
2. Who is your father's father?
Paternal grandfather.
3. Your son's wife is your?
Daughter-in-law.
4. Your sister's daughter is your?
Niece.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Father's sister is your?
Paternal side.
—
—
Aunt (paternal)
2. Brother's son is your?
Next generation.
—
—
Nephew
3. Mother's mother is your?
Maternal side.
—
—
Maternal grandmother
4. Daughter's husband is your?
By marriage.
—
—
Son-in-law
5. Wife's brother is your?
In-law.
—
—
Brother-in-law

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

Auto-graded with full solutions; saved to your dashboard. Use the calculator and formula sheet (top-right) any time.

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