Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam Professional reviewer on family relationship puzzles: uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws, grandparents and coded relationships, solved step by step with a simple family tree.
Family relationship puzzles test logical reasoning: you are told how people are related and must work out an unstated relationship. Every puzzle here states relationships with words such as brother, sister, son and daughter, so you do not have to guess anyone's gender.
Draw a small family tree: put each generation on its own level, connect parents and children with vertical lines, and siblings and spouses with horizontal lines. Then trace the path from one person to the other.
Correct answer: D. Uncle
Ben is the brother of Ana's mother, so he is Ana's maternal uncle. A sibling of either parent is an uncle (if male) or an aunt (if female).
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Nephew
Since Rosa is a woman, her father's only son is her brother. The boy is her brother's son, which makes him her nephew. Draw the tree to check.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Uncle
Carlo is the brother of Elmer's mother, so he is Elmer's maternal uncle. Uncles on the mother's side are called maternal uncles, and those on the father's side are paternal uncles.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Lito's mother
Lito's mother is a daughter of his grandmother. If the grandmother has only one daughter, that daughter must be Lito's mother.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Brother-in-law
Mr. Cruz is married to Mr. Santos's sister, so he is Mr. Santos's brother-in-law. The husband of one's sister is a brother-in-law.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Grandfather
Ramon is the father of Tessa's father, so he is her paternal grandfather. Ramon is two generations above Tessa, so he is a grandparent. A great-grandparent would be three generations above.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Grandmother
Fe is the mother of Eva's father, which makes her Eva's paternal grandmother. (Fe is the mother of a son, so Fe is a woman.)
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Nephew
The son is the child of Pedro's brother-in-law (his wife's brother). A child of a brother-in-law or sister-in-law is commonly called a nephew or niece.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Cousin
Joy's father's sister is Joy's aunt. The aunt's son is Joy's first cousin. Children of siblings are first cousins to each other, whichever side of the family they come from.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Mother
Ana is a daughter of her own mother. If her mother has only one daughter, that daughter is Ana herself. So Ana is Ben's mother.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Wife
Lito is a man, so his mother's only son is Lito himself. The woman is therefore Lito's wife. Such puzzles test whether you notice that the speaker can be the person described.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Father
Ella, Frank and Gina are siblings, children of the same parents. Since Mr. Lim is Ella's father, he is also Gina's father.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Mother-in-law
The mother of one's spouse is one's mother-in-law. Likewise, the father of one's spouse is one's father-in-law. In-law relationships are created by marriage, not by blood.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Mother-in-law
Tess is the mother of her son-in-law's wife, so she is his mother-in-law. From Tess's side, her daughter's husband is her son-in-law.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. A is the father of C.
"A + B" means A is the father of B, and "B − C" means B is the sister of C. B and C are siblings, so A is the father of C as well.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. X is the sister of Z.
"X − Y" means X is the sister of Y, and "Y × Z" means Y is the brother of Z. So X, Y and Z are siblings, and X, being a sister, is the sister of Z.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Aunt
Your father's brother is your uncle, and your uncle's wife is your aunt (an aunt by marriage). She is related to you by marriage, not by blood, unlike your father's sister.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Grandson
The son is the child of Mr. Bautista's daughter, so he is Mr. Bautista's grandson. The son of one's son is also a grandson; the side of the family does not change the term.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Grandmother
Mrs. Garcia is Nilo's mother, and Nilo is Rico's father. So Mrs. Garcia is Rico's paternal grandmother. Lea's parents would be Rico's maternal grandparents.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Sister-in-law
Vina is the sister of Tom's wife, which makes her Tom's sister-in-law. Sara is mentioned only as extra information. Extra names are often included to distract; focus only on the path between the two people asked about.
Read details