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Question

Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and hence form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that group?
1. BRISK: DTKUO
2. CLOUD: ENQUF
3. FLAME: HMCOG
4. GRANT: HVCRV
5. HOUSE: JQWUG

This question was previously asked in
SSC Stenographer 2025 Question Paper (06-Aug-2025) Shift 2
The correct answer is
GRANT: HVCRV

Analyzing Alphabetical Patterns in Reasoning Questions

This question requires us to identify a pattern among pairs of words and find the pair that does not fit the established pattern. We need to analyze the relationship between the letters in the first word and the second word of each pair by examining the shifts in their alphabetical positions.

Methodology: Letter Position Shifts

The common approach for such problems is to check the shift in the alphabetical position of each letter. We assign numbers to letters (A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26) and calculate the difference between the corresponding letters in the given pairs to find the pattern.

Step-by-Step Analysis of Options

1. BRISK : DTKUO

Let's find the difference in positions for this pair:

Letter 1 Position 1 Letter 2 Position 2 Shift
B 2 D 4 $4 - 2 = +2$
R 18 T 20 $20 - 18 = +2$
I 9 K 11 $11 - 9 = +2$
S 19 U 21 $21 - 19 = +2$
K 11 O 15 $15 - 11 = +4$

The pattern observed is: $+2, +2, +2, +2, +4$. Most letters are shifted by $+2$, but the last letter shows a shift of $+4$.

2. CLOUD : ENQUF

Let's find the difference in positions for this pair:

Letter 1 Position 1 Letter 2 Position 2 Shift
C 3 E 5 $5 - 3 = +2$
L 12 N 14 $14 - 12 = +2$
O 15 Q 17 $17 - 15 = +2$
U 21 U 21 $21 - 21 = +0$
D 4 F 6 $6 - 4 = +2$

The pattern observed is: $+2, +2, +2, +0, +2$. Most letters are shifted by $+2$, but the fourth letter shows a shift of $+0$.

3. FLAME : HMCOG

Let's find the difference in positions for this pair:

Letter 1 Position 1 Letter 2 Position 2 Shift
F 6 H 8 $8 - 6 = +2$
L 12 M 13 $13 - 12 = +1$
A 1 C 3 $3 - 1 = +2$
M 13 O 15 $15 - 13 = +2$
E 5 G 7 $7 - 5 = +2$

The pattern observed is: $+2, +1, +2, +2, +2$. Most letters are shifted by $+2$, but the second letter shows a shift of $+1$.

4. GRANT : HVCRV

Let's find the difference in positions for this pair:

Letter 1 Position 1 Letter 2 Position 2 Shift
G 7 H 8 $8 - 7 = +1$
R 18 V 22 $22 - 18 = +4$
A 1 C 3 $3 - 1 = +2$
N 14 R 18 $18 - 14 = +4$
T 20 V 22 $22 - 20 = +2$

The pattern observed is: $+1, +4, +2, +4, +2$. This pattern significantly deviates from a consistent shift, involving multiple different shifts ($+1, +4$) and not predominantly following the $+2$ rule.

5. HOUSE : JQWUG

Let's find the difference in positions for this pair:

Letter 1 Position 1 Letter 2 Position 2 Shift
H 8 J 10 $10 - 8 = +2$
O 15 Q 17 $17 - 15 = +2$
U 21 W 23 $23 - 21 = +2$
S 19 U 21 $21 - 19 = +2$
E 5 G 7 $7 - 5 = +2$

The pattern observed is: $+2, +2, +2, +2, +2$. This pair follows a consistent $+2$ shift for all its letters.

Identifying the Outlier Pair

The question asks us to find the one pair that does not belong to the group, meaning four pairs share a common characteristic. Analyzing the patterns:

  • Pairs 1 (BRISK: DTKUO), 2 (CLOUD: ENQUF), 3 (FLAME: HMCOG), and 5 (HOUSE: JQWUG) are similar because they primarily follow a $+2$ alphabetical shift. Pair 5 adheres to this $+2$ shift perfectly for all letters. Pairs 1, 2, and 3 exhibit minor variations in the shift for one letter ($+4$, $+0$, and $+1$ respectively), but still largely follow the $+2$ shift rule.
  • Pair 4 (GRANT: HVCRV) presents a sequence of shifts ($+1, +4, +2, +4, +2$) that significantly differs from the others. It does not predominantly use the $+2$ shift and includes multiple irregular shifts like $+1$ and $+4$.

Based on this analysis, GRANT: HVCRV is the pair that does not conform to the pattern established by the other four pairs and is therefore the odd one out.

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Important Questions from Coding decoding

  1. In a certain code language, ‘watch is disturb’ is written as ‘xr pa qn’ and ‘don’t watch him’ is written as ‘tu bg pa’. How is ‘watch’ written in the given language?

  2. In a certain code language, ‘call on him’ is coded as ‘ol ni vc’ and ‘awaiting your call’ is coded as ‘ni dx sb’. How is ‘call’ coded in that language?

  3. In a certain code language, 'talk to me' is coded as 'aq yt bl' and 'do not talk' is coded as 'yt me wc'. What is the code for 'talk' in that language?

  4. In a certain code language, 'can we play' is coded as 'ae tc nx' and 'play in school' is coded as 'tc rm ef'. How is 'play' coded in that language?

  5. In a certain code language, 'BOOK' is written as 'ZNNI' and 'SHOP' is written as 'QFNN'. How will 'NOTES' be written in that language?

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