Odd Letters Reasoning: Tips, Tricks, and Practice Questions with Solutions

Odd Letters Reasoning: Odd letter reasoning is one of the interesting and tricky topics of logical reasoning. It is asked in various exams, such as all competitive and entrance exams such as SSC, Banking, Railways, CUET, BITSAT, Insurance, VITEEE, KMAT etc. This topic is asked in various exams to check the candidate’s evaluation ability and general knowledge about the terms used in the routine. In this article, we will cover odd letters reasoning examples, How to solve odd letter reasoning, odd letters out reasoning tricks, odd letters reasoning questions, odd letter series reasoning shortcuts etc.

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This Story also Contains

1. The Meaning of the Odd Letters Reasoning
2. Types of Odd Letters Reasoning
3. How to Solve the Odd Letters Reasoning Problems?
4. Tips and Tricks to Tackle the Odd Letters Problems
5. Practice and Resources for Odd Letters Reasoning
6. Practice Questions for Alphabet Problems/ Letter Based Odd One
7. Practice Questions for General Knowledge/ Word Pair-Based Odd One
8. Practice Questions for Mixed Odd One

The Meaning of the Odd Letters Reasoning

Odd Letters reasoning is defined as the process of grouping various letters, words or terms based on their common properties or characteristics such as shape, size, colour, positional values etc and determining the odd letter or term from the given letters or terms. It is also defined as a test of deductive reasoning, which is the ability to use facts and rules to come to a logical conclusion. The odd letters reasoning covers three types which are discussed below along with the odd letter out reasoning examples:

Types of Odd Letters Reasoning

There are three types of odd letters reasoning which are discussed below:

1) Alphabet Problems/ Letter Based Odd One

In this type of question, four random alphabets or groups of alphabets following some specific rule are given. To solve alphabet-based problems, the candidate has to learn the positional values of the alphabet from left to right and from right end to left end. It is defined as a process to find the odd alphabet or group of odd alphabets by determining the positional value of the letters or according to the vowels and consonants.

Example:
1) Directions: Three of the following four-letter clusters are alike in a certain way and one is different. Pick the odd one out.

1) OMSVY
2) ORUXA
3) CFILO
4) UXADG

Hint: Observe the difference between consecutive letters given in each option.
Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: OMSVY; O – 2 = M, M + 6 = S, S + 3 = V, V + 3 = Y

Second option: ORUXA; O + 3 = R, R + 3 = U, U + 3 = X, X + 3 = A

Third option: CFILO; C + 3 = F, F + 3 = I, I + 3 = L, L + 3 = O

Fourth option: UXADG; U + 3 = X, X + 3 = A, A + 3 = D, D + 3 = G

The first option is different from the other three options because the difference in the position value of the letters is – 2, 6 instead of 3, 3. Hence, the first option is correct.

2) General Knowledge/ Word Pair-Based Odd One

In this type of question, four meaningful words or word pairs are given. It is defined as a process to determine the odd word or odd word pair from the various given words or word pairs. The question based on word-based classification can be asked from general knowledge or the English vocabulary.

Example:
1) Directions: Four words have been given out of which three are alike in some manner, while one is different. Choose the odd one.

1) Stars

2) Planet

3) Galaxies

4) Rockets

Hint: Determine the man-made objects and the natural objects.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: Stars→The heavenly bodies of the Universe.

Second option: Planets→The heavenly bodies of the Universe.

Third option: Galaxies→The heavenly bodies of the Universe.

Fourth option: Rockets→ It is a man-made structure.

So, only the fourth option is different from the others. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

3) Mixed Odd One

In this type of question, pairs consist of letters and numbers following a pattern or some specific rules based on the letter and numbers. To solve the mixed odd one problems one should apply the logic on letters as well as numbers to find the odd term.

Example:
1) Directions: Three of the following four-letter/number clusters are alike in a certain way and one is different. Pick the odd one out.
1) AC4

2) GI16

3) KM23

4) EG12

Solution:

The above-given pairs consist of letters as well as numbers. The numbers are the sum of the positional values of the alphabet.

First Option: AC4; (1 + 3 = 4)

Second Option: GI; (7 + 9 = 16)

Third Option: KM23; (11 + 13 = 24)

Fourth Option: EG12; (5 + 7 = 12)

All options except option third numbers are the sum of the positional values but in the third pair, the number is 23 instead of 24. Therefore, the third option is the odd one.

Hence, the third option is correct.

How to Solve the Odd Letters Reasoning Problems?

To solve the odd letter reasoning problems the candidate has to find out the odd one, identify the terms except one, follow a specific pattern or rule or terms that have some common characteristics between them or one which is odd doesn’t have common characteristics.

The candidate must remember the below odd letters reasoning rules or points while solving odd letters reasoning problems:

1) Read the question carefully and relate each alphabet or group of alphabets.

2) Once the candidate understands the pattern or logic, apply the same to each alphabet or group of alphabets to find the odd one.

3) The candidate must learn the rank of each letter of the alphabet using EJOTY (5-10-15-20-25).

4) The candidate must learn new words regularly which helps them in their knowledge upgradation as well as in general knowledge-based odd ones.

5) The candidates must practice each type of question given below in this article so that the candidate must be well versed in each type of question.

Tips and Tricks to Tackle the Odd Letters Problems

The candidates can find various tips and tricks below for solving the questions related to the odd letters reasoning.

Tip 1: The candidate must learn the positional values from the left end as well as from the right end of the English alphabet.

Tip 2: The candidate must be well-versed in the English vocabulary and general terms used in daily routine.

Tip 3: The candidates know types of numbers such as whole numbers, natural numbers, even numbers, odd numbers, prime numbers etc.

Tip 4: The candidate must practice several questions of each type of odd letter reasoning which helps the candidate to gain confidence in each type and perform well in the exam.

Practice and Resources for Odd Letters Reasoning

Following are the recommended sources for the practice of the questions of odd letters reasoning for exams:

a) A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal

b) Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey

c) Logical and Analytical Reasoning by A.K. Gupta

d) Test of Reasoning by Edgar Thorpe

e) The candidates must practice the Odd Letters Reasoning pdf, Odd Letters example, and Odd letters reasoning worksheets available online to ace the topic Odd Letters reasoning.

Note: The candidates must attempt Odd letters reasoning practice questions of each type given below.

Practice Questions for Alphabet Problems/ Letter Based Odd One

1) Directions: In the following question, select the odd letter/letters from the given alternatives.

1) VWYB

2) LMOR

3) QSVY

4) ABDG

Hint: Check the difference between the place values of the letters.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: VWYB; V + 1 = W; W + 2 = Y; Y + 3 = B

Second option: LMOR; L + 1 = M; M + 2 = O; O + 3 = R

Third option: QSVY; Q + 2 = S; S + 3 = V; V + 3 = Y

Fourth option: ABDG; A + 1 = B; B + 2 = D; D + 3 = G

The third option is different from the other three options because the difference in the position values of the letters is different. Hence, the third option is correct.

2) Directions: Out of the given letter clusters, three are similar in a certain manner. However, one option is NOT like the other three. Select the option which is different from the rest.

1) ABC

2) JKL

3) RTU

4) FGH

Hint: Check the difference between the place values of the letters given in the options.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: ABC; A + 1 = B; B + 1 = C

Second option: JKL; J + 1 = K; K + 1 = L

Third option: RTU; R + 2 = T; T + 1 = U

Fourth option: FGH; F + 1 = G; G + 1 = H

The third option is different from the other three options because the difference in the position values of the letters is different. Hence, the third option is correct.

3) Directions: Four letter clusters have been given, out of which three are alike in some manner and one is different. Select the odd letter cluster.

1) QSU

2) UWY

3) CEG

4) HJI

Hint: Check the difference between the place values of the letters given in the options.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: QSU; Q + 2 = S; S + 2 = U

Second option: UWY; U + 2 = W; W + 2 = Y

Third option: CEG; C + 2 = E; E + 2 = G

Fourth option: HJI; H + 2 = J; J – 1 = I

The fourth option is different from the other three options because the difference in the position values of the letters is different. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

4) Directions: In the following question, select the odd letter/letters from the given alternatives.

1) UVSX

2) OPMR

3) ABZD

4) GHEJ

Hint: Check the difference between the place values of the letters given in the options.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: UVSX; U + 1 = V; V – 3 = S; S + 5 = X

Second option: OPMR; O + 1 = P; P – 3 = M; M + 5 = R

Third option: ABZD; A + 1 = B; B – 2 = Z; Z + 4 = D

Fourth option: GHEJ; G + 1 = H; H – 3 = E; E + 5 = J

The third option is different from the other three options because the difference in the position values of the letters is different. Hence, the third option is correct.

5) Directions: In the following question, select the odd letter/letters from the given alternatives.

1) OQJL

2) YAZB

3) UWDG

4) EGTV

Hint: Determine the odd term by using opposite pairs.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: OQJL; O, L, and Q, J are opposite pairs.

Second option: YAZB; Y, B, and A, Z are opposite pairs.

Third option: UWDG; U, G, are not opposite pairs but W, D are opposite pairs.

Fourth option: EGTV; E, V, and G, T are opposite pairs.

The third option is different from the other three options because U and G are not opposite pairs. Hence, the third option is correct.

Must Read: The candidates who are preparing for the upcoming entrance and Government exams can also refer to the links given below and master the reasoning ability section:

Practice Questions for General Knowledge/ Word Pair-Based Odd One

1) Directions: Three of the following words are alike in some manner and hence form a group. Which word does NOT belong to that group? (The words must be considered meaningful English words and must not be grouped based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word.)

1) Excel

2) Keynote

3) PowerPoint

4) Word

Hint: Identify the term that is not a part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: Excel; It is an application software used in the Microsoft Office suite.

Second option: Keynote; It is a presentation software application, but it is not a part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Third option: PowerPoint; It is an application software used in the Microsoft Office suite.

Fourth option: Word; It is an application software used in the Microsoft Office suite.

So, only the second option is different from the others. Hence, the second option is correct.

2) Directions: Three of the following words are alike in some manner and hence form a group. Which word does NOT belong to that group? (The words must be considered meaningful English words and must not be grouped based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word).

1) Chickens

2) Bats

3) Seals

4) Rodents

Hint: Think about the mammals and birds.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: Chickens; Chickens are domesticated birds.

Second option: Bats; Bats are mammals capable of sustained flight.

Third option: Seals; Seals are marine mammals. They are adapted to live in the water but give birth to their young on land.

Fourth option: Rodents; Rodents are mammals characterized by continuously growing incisors.

So, the first option is different from the other three options because the Chickens are domesticated birds, not mammals. Hence, the first option is correct.

3) Directions: Three of the following words are alike in some manner and hence form a group. Which word does NOT belong to that group? (The words must be considered meaningful English words and must not be grouped based on the number of letters/ number of consonants/ vowels in the word.)

1) Engineer

2) Doctor

3) Carpenter

4) Teacher

Hint: Identify the option in which the given profession does not involve interaction with other people.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: Engineer→To pursue a career as an engineer, one needs to obtain higher education or certain advanced degrees.

Second option: Doctor→To pursue a career as a doctor, one needs to obtain higher education or certain advanced degrees.

Third option: Carpenter→The key to success for a carpenter lies in hands-on training and experience rather than formal education.

Fourth option: Teacher→To pursue a career as a teacher, one needs to obtain higher education or certain advanced degrees.

So, Carpenter is the odd one. Hence, the third option is correct.

4) Directions: Three of the following words are alike in some manner and hence form a group. Which word does NOT belong to that group? (The words must be considered meaningful English words and must not be grouped based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word).

1) Clarinet

2) Flute

3) Piano

4) Piccolo

Hint: Determine the musical instrument that does not belong to the woodwind family.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: Clarinet; The clarinet is a musical instrument that belongs to the woodwind family.

Second option: Flute; The flute is another woodwind instrument, but unlike the clarinet, it produces sound through the flow of air across an opening rather than using a reed.

Third option: Piano; The piano is a keyboard instrument with a row of keys that are pressed to strike strings inside the instrument.

Fourth option: Piccolo; The piccolo is a small flute, also belonging to the woodwind family. It produces a high-pitched and bright sound and is often used in orchestras and military bands.

So, the third option is different from the other three options because the piano is a keyboard instrument, and it is classified separately from woodwind instruments. Hence, the third option is correct.

5) Directions: Out of the given options, three words are similar in a certain manner. However, one option is NOT like the other three. Select the option which is different from the rest.

1) Howrah bridge

2) Eiffel Tower

3) Taj Mahal

4) Red fort

Hint: Identify the place that is located outside India.

Solution

Let's check the given options –

First option: Howrah Bridge; It is located in West Bengal, India.

Second option: Eiffel Tower; It is located in Paris, France.

Third option: Taj Mahal; It is located in Agra, India.

Fourth option: Red Fort; It is located in New Delhi, India.

Out of all the options, only the second one is situated outside India. Hence, the second option is correct.

6) Directions: Select the word pair that represents exactly the relation expressed in the given word pair. (The words should be treated as meaningful words and should not be related based on the number of letters/consonants/vowels in the word.)

Hansini : Swan

1) Adult : Infant

2) Witch : Wizard

3) Banyan : Tree

4) Pig : Piglet

Hint: Think about the male-female relationship.

Solution

Given:

Hansini : Swan (Hansini is a feminine form of the word Hans, which means swan in Hindi. So, Hansini specifically refers to a female swan.)

Let's check the options –

First option: Adult : Infant; An Adult is a mature individual, and an Infant is a young, very young child.

Second option: Witch : Wizard; Witch is a female magic practitioner, and a Wizard is a male magic practitioner.

Third option: Banyan : Tree; Banyan is a type of Tree.

Fourth option: Pig : Piglet; A Pig is the adult version, and a Piglet is a young pig or pig offspring.

So, only the second option follows the same pattern as followed by the given pair. Hence, the second option is correct.

7) Directions: In the following question, select the odd word pair from the given alternatives.

1) Fan – Blade

2) Pedal – Cycle

3) Room – House

4) Chapter – Book

Hint: For each pair, the first word is the part of the second word.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: Fan – Blade; Blade is the part of the fan. But, here fan should be the second word and blade be the first word.

Second option: Pedal – Cycle; Pedal is the part of the cycle.

Third option: Room – House; A Room is an integral part of the house.

Fourth option: Chapter – Book; A chapter is an integral part of the book.

So, the first option is different from the others. Hence, the first option is correct.

8) Directions: Three of the four groups of words are alike in some manner. Select the odd group of words.

1) (Bangkok, Dhaka, Ottawa)

2) (Tokyo, Egypt, Oslo)

3) (Thimphu, Jakarta, Nairobi)

4) (Canberra, Beijing, Rome)

Hint: Think of the capital cities of the different countries in the world.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: (Bangkok, Dhaka, Ottawa); Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh, and Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

Second option: (Tokyo, Egypt, Oslo); Tokyo is the capital of Japan, and Oslo is the capital of Norway, but Egypt is a country, not the capital of any country.

Third option: (Thimphu, Jakarta, Nairobi); Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, and Nairobi is the capital of Kenya.

Fourth option: (Canberra, Beijing, Rome); Canberra is the capital of Australia, Beijing is the capital of China, and Rome is the capital of Italy.

So, only the second option is different from the other three options as here, all the words are not the capital cities. Hence, the second option is correct.

9) Directions: In the following question, select the odd word pair from the given alternatives.

1) Brick – Wall

2) Pulp – Paper

3) Wood – Furniture

4) Metal – Ore

Hint: Identify the option that does not show the relationship between constituents and final products.

Solution

Let us check each option –

First option: Brick – Wall; Bricks are used to construct the wall.

Second option: Pulp – Paper; Pulp is used to make paper.

Third option: Wood – Furniture; Woods are used to construct furniture.

Fourth option: Metal – Ore; Ore is a rock or earth from which metal can be taken.

So, the fourth option is different from the others. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

10) Directions: Three of the four groups of words are alike in some manner. Select the odd group of words.

1) (Truck, Scooter, Car)

2) (Lizard, Crocodile, Jungle)

3) (Lion, Leopard, Fox)

4) (Pen, Pencil, Eraser)

Hint: Identify the option in which the given group of words does not belong to the same community.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: (Truck, Scooter, Car); All these are types of vehicles.

Second option: (Lizard, Crocodile, Jungle); Lizard and Crocodile are animals, however, the jungle is not an animal.

Third option: (Lion, Leopard, Fox); All these are types of animals.

Fourth option: (Pen, Pencil, Eraser); All these are types of stationery.

Therefore, the second option is different from the others. Hence, the second option is correct.

Practice Questions for Mixed Odd One

1) Directions: In the following question, select the one which is different from the other three alternatives.

1) PQ33

2) AU23

3) CD7

4) RS37

Hint: Determine the odd term by using the difference between the letters and for numbers add the positional values of the letters.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: PQ33; P + 1 = Q; P(16) + Q(17) = 33

Second option: AU23; A + 1 = B ≠ U; A(1) + U(21) = 22 ≠ 23

Third option: CD7; C + 1 = D; C(3) + D(4) = 7

Fourth option: RS37; R + 1 = S; R(18) + S(19) = 37

So, the second option is different from the other three options because the difference in the positional value of the letters and the sum of the positional values of the alphabets is different. Hence, the second option is correct.

2) Directions: In the following question, select the one which is different from the other three alternatives.

1) CPBO4

2) BODQ4

3) ANHU4

4) ESGT3

Hint: Determine the difference between the letters to find the odd one and for numbers count the number of letters in each group.

Solution

Let's check each option –

First option: CPBO4; P – C = 13 and O – B = 13; the number of letters in the cluster is 4.

Second option: BODQ4; O – B = 13 and Q – D = 13; the number of letters in the cluster is 4.

Third option: ANHU4; N – A = 13 and U – H = 13; the number of letters in the cluster is 4.

Fourth option: ESGT3; S – E = 14 and T – G = 12; the number of letters in the cluster is 4 which is not equal to 3.

So, the fourth option is different from the other three options because the difference in the positional values of the letters is 14 and 12 instead of 13 and 13 and the total number of letters is 4 which is given 3. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

3) Directions: In the following question, select the one that is different from the other three alternatives.

1) ACB1

2) GIH1

3) MON1

4) PQR2

Hint: Determine the odd term by using the difference between the letters and count the number of vowels in each group.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: ACB1; A + 2 = C; C – 1 = B; the number of vowel is 1.

Second option: GIH1; G + 2 = I; I – 1 = H; the number of vowel is 1.

Third option: MON1; M + 2 = O; O – 1 = N; the number of vowel is 1.

Fourth option: PQR2; P + 1 = Q; Q + 1 = R; the number of vowels is zero but the number given is 2.

So, the fourth option is different from the other three options because the difference in the positional values of the letters is different and the count of vowels in the group is zero. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

4) Directions: In the following question, select the odd letter pair from the given alternatives.

1) CD7

2) PR33

3) ST39

4) WX47

Hint: Check the difference between the letters in the given options and for numbers add the positional values of the letters and find the odd one.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: CD7; C + 1 = D; C(3) + D(4) = 7

Second option: PR33; P + 2 = R; P(16) + R (18) = 34 ≠ 33

Third option: ST39; S + 1 = T; S(19) + T(20) = 39

Fourth option: WX47; W + 1 = X; W(23) + X(24) =47

So, the second option is different from the other options as the difference between the letters is 2 instead of 1 and the sum of positional values is written as 33 instead of 34. Hence, the second option is correct.

5) Directions: In the following question, select the odd cluster from the given alternatives.

1) BOH1

2) ERK1

3) HVO1

4) KXQ0

Hint: Determine the vowels in each letter cluster to find the odd one.

Solution

Let's check the options –

First option: BOH1; Vowel O is present in this option.

Second option: ERK1; Vowel E is present in this option.

Third option: HVO1; Vowel O is present in this option.

Fourth option: KXQ0; No vowel is present in this option.

So, the fourth option is different from the other options. Hence, the fourth option is correct.

Must Read: For Non-Verbal reasoning read the topics below:

About the Faculty
Tanu Gupta, with over a decade of experience as a reasoning faculty, specializes in preparing students for various entrance examinations and career development. Her extensive work with multiple educational platforms and institutions has honed her expertise in logical and analytical thinking. Her dedication to innovative teaching methods ensures these articles provide practical insights and expert guidance.