What Coding-Decoding Questions Test
- Letter-shifting codes (+n, −n, reversal)
- Substitution codes from example sentences
- Number and symbol coding
- Conditional/mixed coding with multiple rules
Question bank coverage by sub-pattern
How Coding-Decoding Appears in IBPS PO
Coding-Decoding is part of the Reasoning Ability section (20% of the IBPS PO syllabus). See the full IBPS PO Prelims breakdown.
Coding-Decoding Solved Examples for IBPS PO
Exam-pattern questions from the practice bank, with full solutions.
If 'speak politely always' is coded as 'la pu na', 'always be kind' is coded as 'na si to', and 'speak truth politely' is coded as 'la re pu', then how is 'truth' coded?
- A.la
- B.pu
- C.reCorrect
- D.na
Solution
'speak politely always' : la pu na, 'always be kind' : na si to, 'speak truth politely' : la re pu. 'speak' and 'politely' are coded as 'la pu' (not necessarily in that order) because they are common between the first and third statements. 'always' is coded as 'na' because it is common between the first and second statements. Therefore, 'truth' is coded as 're'.
If 'A' is coded as 'Z', 'B' is coded as 'Y', 'C' is coded as 'X' and so on, then what will be the code for 'GOOD'?
- A.TLLW
- B.TOOWCorrect
- C.TLLD
- D.TOOD
Solution
This is a letter substitution where each letter is replaced by its opposite letter in the alphabet. G (7th letter) is replaced by T (20th letter), O (15th letter) is replaced by L (12th letter), D (4th letter) is replaced by W (23rd letter). Therefore, GOOD becomes TOOW.
In a certain code, 'red apple tree' is coded as 'mno pqr stu', 'green grass field' is coded as 'vwx yza bcd', and 'apple grass house' is coded as 'pqr yza efg'. What is the code for 'tree house'?
- A.mno efg
- B.efg mno
- C.stu efgCorrect
- D.efg stu
Solution
'red apple tree' : mno pqr stu, 'green grass field' : vwx yza bcd, 'apple grass house' : pqr yza efg. 'apple' is coded as 'pqr', 'grass' is coded as 'yza'. Therefore, 'tree' must be 'stu' and 'house' must be 'efg'. So, 'tree house' is coded as 'stu efg'.
Coding-Decoding — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing to check in a coding question?
Compare letter positions of the word and its code. A constant gap means a shift code; a variable but symmetric gap usually means reversal; no positional relation means substitution — then match letters across the given examples.
How are sentence-coding questions solved quickly?
Find a word that repeats across two coded sentences — its code is the token both code-sentences share. Eliminate word by word instead of decoding everything.
How many Coding-Decoding practice questions does Parikshala have for IBPS PO?
39 exam-pattern Coding-Decoding questions for IBPS PO Reasoning Ability, each with a step-by-step solution. Practice is free — no sign-up needed to start.