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Question

In a code language 'you must study' is coded as '531', 'he must work' is coded as '718', 'work is worship' is coded as '894' and 'work is fine' as coded as '864'. Then which of the following is NOT a correct combination of a word and its code in that language ?

This question was previously asked in
SSC Stenographer 2019 Previous Year Paper (24-Dec-2020) (Shift 2)
The correct answer is

he : 8

Understanding the Coding Decoding Problem

This question asks us to decipher a simple code language where words are represented by numbers. We are given several phrases and their corresponding numerical codes. Our goal is to figure out the code for each word and then identify which of the given word-code pairs is incorrect based on our findings.

Step-by-Step Decoding Process

Let's break down the given information and compare the phrases to find common words and their potential codes.

  1. 'you must study' is coded as '531'
  2. 'he must work' is coded as '718'
  3. 'work is worship' is coded as '894'
  4. 'work is fine' as coded as '864'

Comparing Phrases to Find Common Codes

  • Compare statement 1 ('you must study' - 531) and statement 2 ('he must work' - 718). The common word is 'must'. The common code is '1'. Therefore, the code for 'must' is 1.
  • Compare statement 2 ('he must work' - 718) and statement 3 ('work is worship' - 894). The common word is 'work'. The common code is '8'. Therefore, the code for 'work' is 8.
  • Compare statement 3 ('work is worship' - 894) and statement 4 ('work is fine' - 864). The common words are 'work is'. The common codes are '8' and '4'. Since we already found that 'work' is coded as 8, the code for 'is' must be 4.

Finding Codes for Remaining Words

Now that we have the codes for 'must', 'work', and 'is', we can find the codes for the other words by looking at the phrases again:

  • From statement 2 ('he must work' - 718), we know 'must' is 1 and 'work' is 8. The remaining word is 'he' and the remaining code is '7'. So, the code for 'he' is 7.
  • From statement 3 ('work is worship' - 894), we know 'work' is 8 and 'is' is 4. The remaining word is 'worship' and the remaining code is '9'. So, the code for 'worship' is 9.
  • From statement 4 ('work is fine' - 864), we know 'work' is 8 and 'is' is 4. The remaining word is 'fine' and the remaining code is '6'. So, the code for 'fine' is 6.
  • From statement 1 ('you must study' - 531), we know 'must' is 1. The remaining words are 'you' and 'study', and the remaining codes are '5' and '3'. Either 'you' is 5 and 'study' is 3, or vice versa.

Summary of Decoded Word-Code Pairs

Based on our analysis, here are the confirmed word-code pairs:

Word Code
must 1
work 8
is 4
he 7
worship 9
fine 6

Analyzing the Options to Find the Incorrect Combination

Now let's check each given option against our decoded list to see which combination is NOT correct.

  1. is : 4 - Our decoding shows 'is' is coded as 4. This is a correct combination.
  2. must : 1 - Our decoding shows 'must' is coded as 1. This is a correct combination.
  3. he : 8 - Our decoding shows 'he' is coded as 7, and 'work' is coded as 8. This combination suggests 'he' is 8, which contradicts our findings. This is NOT a correct combination.
  4. fine : 6 - Our decoding shows 'fine' is coded as 6. This is a correct combination.

The question asks for the combination that is NOT correct. Based on our analysis, the pair 'he : 8' is incorrect because the code for 'he' is actually 7.

Revision Table: Key Decoding Steps

Phrases Compared Common Element(s) Deduction
'you must study' (531)
'he must work' (718)
must (1) must = 1
'he must work' (718)
'work is worship' (894)
work (8) work = 8
'work is worship' (894)
'work is fine' (864)
work is (84) is = 4 (since work = 8)
'he must work' (718) he (7), must (1), work (8) he = 7
'work is worship' (894) work (8), is (4), worship (9) worship = 9
'work is fine' (864) work (8), is (4), fine (6) fine = 6

Additional Information: Types of Coding-Decoding

Coding-decoding questions are common in competitive exams and test your logical reasoning skills. They can appear in various forms:

  • Letter Coding: Letters are replaced by other letters based on a pattern (e.g., shifting positions in the alphabet).
  • Number Coding: Words are coded using numbers, as seen in this problem. The coding can be based on letter positions, number of letters, or arbitrary assignments deduced from multiple examples.
  • Symbol Coding: Letters or words are replaced by symbols.
  • Mixed Coding: A combination of numbers and symbols is used to code words or messages.
  • Sentence Coding: Entire sentences or phrases are coded, and you need to find the code for individual words by comparing different coded sentences, just like we did in this problem. This often involves identifying common words in different sentences and finding the common codes.

Solving these problems requires careful observation, comparison, and logical deduction to identify the rule or pattern used for coding.

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Similar Questions

  1. If ‘* ( )’ stands for ‘bread butter cake’, ‘& ! *’ stands for ‘cake and cutter’, ‘) (!’ stands for ‘bread and butter’, then ‘* * *’ stands for:

  2. If 'red' is called 'green', 'green' is called 'yellow', 'yellow' is called 'white' and 'white' is called 'pink', then what is the color of peas?

  3. In a certain coding language, 'lo re ga' indicates 'Doors Are Locked', 'sa ga pa' indicates 'People Are Angry', 'so du pa' indicates 'People Live Now' and 'bu so' indicates 'Go Now'. What would 'sa so' indicate in that code language?

  4. In a certain code language, 'he is my friend' is coded as '5692', 'my aunt is ill' is coded as '7635', 'friend is ill' is coded as '627'. What is the code for the word 'aunt' in this code language?

  5. In a code language, ' we are going' as 'ca da ga', 'you are Happy' as 'sa ga ta', 'she is going' as 'ma ra ca', and 'you were' as 'ta ka' is coded as. What is the code for the word "We were happy' in that language?
  6. In a certain code,

    ‘bi n pi’ means ‘some good books’,

    ‘n bat like’ means ‘some real characters’,

    ‘pi like ti’ means ‘many good characters’.

    Then what is the code of “Many good books”?
  7. If in a certain coding language, 'lo re ga' indicates 'Bears Are Scary', 'sa ga pa' indicates 'Kings Are Hungry', 'so du pa' indicates 'Kings Will Die' and 'bu so' indicates 'They Die'. What would 'bu du' indicate in that code language?

  8. In a certain code language, 'she ate food' is coded as 'sar par zar', 'food is tasty' is coded as 'zar gar rar' and 'she is fast' is coded as 'rar lar par'. What is the code for the word 'tasty' in that  code language?

  9. In a code language, honna son kolu means gold is yellow; kump son lapi means rose is red, kolu man lapi means yellow and red. What is the word for gold is that code language?

  10. If moon is called sea, sea is called water, water is called air, air is called sun and sun is called river, then what do we breathe in?


Important Questions from Coding and Decoding in Fictitious Language

  1. In a certain code language 'goolo yarn' means 'blue sky'; silko spadi' means 'bicycle race' and 'goolo silko' means 'blue bicycle'. Which word may mean 'race car'?

  2. In a certain code language, 1259 means 'box in the ring', 6941 means 'the square boxing ring' and 5713 means 'put the box out'. Find the code for 'ring'.

  3. In a code language, "let us go shopping'' is written as '3228', 'make one list' is written as '434', 'the cart is filled' is written as '3426'. What is the code for the phrase 'pay by cash or card' in this language?

  4. In a certain code language

    963 means flowers are beautiful

    438 means beautiful and expensive

    14 means expensive bag

    What is the code for 'and'?

  5. If * # + means Seema is pretty, - percent # means pretty and beautiful, - ? means beautiful girl, what is the code for 'and'?

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