8.1 Word Analogy

What a Word Analogy Tests

A word analogy (Filipino: analohiya) gives you a pair of words joined by a specific relationship and asks you to complete a second pair that shares the same relationship, in the same order. The notation is A : B :: C : ?, read as "A is to B as C is to what." On the Professional level these items sit in the Analytical Ability area and appear in both English and Filipino, so success depends on recognizing the underlying logic rather than the language.

The single most dependable technique is the bridge-sentence method. Write a short, precise sentence that states exactly how A relates to B, then substitute each answer choice into the identical sentence for C. The choice that keeps the sentence true — and preserves the direction of the original pair — is correct.

Worked Example (bridge sentence)

DOCTOR : PATIENT :: TEACHER : ? Bridge: "A doctor provides care to a patient." Rewrite for the second pair: "A teacher provides instruction to a ______." Testing choices: student fits (a teacher instructs a student); classroom, lesson, and principal do not fill the recipient role. Answer: student. Notice the direction — provider to recipient. If the choices offered school (where a teacher works) it would be a tempting association trap, but it breaks the bridge.

The Six High-Frequency Relationships

Almost every CSE analogy reduces to one of these relationship families. Learn the Filipino label beside each, because the Filipino subtests use the very same logic.

Two more show up often enough to memorize:

• Degree / intensity (Filipino antas): the second word is a stronger form of the first — warm : hot :: cool : cold, or in Filipino malamig : napakalamig (cold : very cold), bulong : sigaw (whisper : shout).
• Tool–function / measurement: an instrument paired with what it measures — thermometer : temperature :: clock : time, or termometro : temperatura :: relo : oras.

Worked Examples in Both Languages

Cause–effect: THERMOMETER : TEMPERATURE :: CLOCK : ? Bridge: "A thermometer measures temperature" -> "A clock measures ______." Answer: time. In Filipino: Ang termometro ay sumusukat ng temperatura; ang relo ay sumusukat ng oras.

Worker–product: AUTHOR : NOVEL :: COMPOSER : ? Bridge: "An author creates a novel" -> "A composer creates a ______." Answer: symphony. Reject orchestra (that is who performs it, not what the composer creates).

Degree: SCARCE : PLENTIFUL :: ANCIENT : ? Bridge: "Scarce is the opposite of plentiful" -> the opposite of ancient is modern. This is antonym, not degree — always confirm the bridge before committing.

Filipino solution-to-problem: GUTOM : KUMAIN :: UHAW : ? Bridge: Ang lunas sa gutom ay kumain (the remedy for hunger is to eat) -> the remedy for thirst is uminom (to drink).

Common Traps and a Reliable Routine

The examiners plant distractors that are topically associated with the stem but do not preserve the relationship. In GRAIN : SILO :: WATER : ?, the bridge is "grain is stored in a silo," so water is stored in a reservoir — rain, ocean, and pipe are water-associated but wrong. Guard against three errors: (1) direction reversal (answering the recipient's provider instead of the recipient), (2) level mismatch in category items (choosing a synonym when the pattern is type-to-class), and (3) too-broad or too-narrow category picks.

A disciplined four-step routine: build the bridge, check the direction, make the bridge specific enough to eliminate two choices, then test survivors in the exact sentence. If two choices still fit, tighten the bridge (add a defining word) until only one survives.

Two Look-Alike Relationships to Separate

Candidates most often confuse part-whole with category. In part-whole, the first word is a component of the second (finger : hand, pahina : aklat); in category, the first is a kind of the second (sparrow : bird, mangga : prutas). Test with the phrases "is a part of" versus "is a type of" — a distractor usually satisfies one but not the other.

Two More Filipino Worked Pairs

Degree (antas): LAMIG : GINAW :: INIT : ? Bridge: ang ginaw ay matinding lamig (bitter cold is intense cold), so the intense form of init (heat) is alinsangan (sweltering heat). Match the intensity direction — mild to strong, never strong to mild.

Unit-of-measure: KILOGRAM : MASS :: LITER : ? Bridge: "a kilogram is a unit of mass" -> a liter is a unit of volume. Reject weight and length, which name the wrong physical quantity. Building the bridge in whichever language the item uses — English or Filipino — keeps the relationship identical across both subtests.