Coding and Decoding Theory for Reasoning Exams

Coding -Decoding

A code is a ‘system of signals’. Coding can be used to send secret messages. Coding is to convert the message into some signals & Decoding is to convert it into the original form.
In almost all entrance exams, Coding Decoding questions are asked in the mental ability section. Today we will discuss major type of coding.

Letter Coding
TYPE 1:
Example: If MADRAS is coded as NBESBT. How is BOMBAY coded in that code?
(a) CPNCPX (b) CPNCBZ (c) CPOCBZ (d) CQOCBZ (e) None of these
Ans: CPNCBZ
Explanation: Now you can see that in the above example each letter in the word MADRAS is moved one step forward to obtain the corresponding letter of the code. M is coded as N, A is coded as B and so on.
M A D R A S
N B E S B T
So code for
B O M B A Y is
C P N C B Z
Likewise code may be moved one step backward also.
Example: If T A P is coded as S Z O Then code: F R E E Z E
Ans: E Q D D Y D
Letters may be moved alternately one step forward & one step backward or vice – versa.
Order of letters may be reversed.

TYPE 2:
First, you will be given a list of three “nonsense” words and their English word meanings. The question(s) that follow will ask you to reverse the process and translate an English word into the artificial language.

Here are some words translated from an artificial language.
gorblflur means fan belt
pixngorbl means ceiling fan
arthtusl means tile roof
Which word could mean “ceiling tile”?

A.	Gorbltusl	B.	Flurgorbl
C.	Arthflur	D.	Pixnarth

Answer: Option D
Gorbl means fan; flur means belt; pixn means ceiling; arth means tile; and tusl means roof. Therefore, pixnarth is the correct choice.

Here are some words translated from an artificial language.
hapllesh means cloudburst
srenchoch means pinball
resbosrench means ninepin
Which word could mean “cloud nine”?

A.	Leshsrench	B.	Ochhapl
C.	Haploch	D.	Haplresbo

Answer: Option D
Hapl means cloud; lesh means burst; srench means pin; och means ball; and resbo means nine. Leshsrench (choice a) doesn’t contain any of the words needed for cloud nine. We know that och means ball, so that rules out choices b and c. When you combine hapl (cloud) with resbo (nine), you get the correct answer

Here are some words translated from an artificial language.
agnoscrenia means poisonous spider
delanocrenia means poisonous snake
agnosdeery means brown spider
Which word could mean “black widow spider”?

A.	Deeryclostagnos	B.	Agnosdelano
C.	Agnosvitriblunin	D.	Trymuttiagnos

Answer: Option C
In this language, the noun appears first and the adjectives follow. Since agnos means spider and should appear first, choices a and d can be ruled out. Choice b can be ruled out because delano means snake.

Here are some words translated from an artificial language.
moolokarn means blue sky
wilkospadi means bicycle race
moolowilko means blue bicycle
Which word could mean “racecar”?

A.	Wilkozwet	B.	Spadiwilko
C.	Moolobreil	D.	Spadivolo

Answer: Option D
From wilkospadi, you can determine that wilko means bicycyle and spadi means race. Therefore, the first part of the word that means racecar should begin with spadi. That limits your choices to b and d. Choice b, spadiwilko, is incorrect because we have already determined that wilkomeans bicycle. Therefore, the answer must be choice d, spadivolo.

Here are some words translated from an artificial language.
migenlasan means cupboard
lasanpoen means boardwalk
cuopdansa means pullman
Which word could mean “walkway”?

A.	Poenmigen	B.	Cuopeisel
C.	Lasandansa	D.	Poenforc

Answer: Option D
Migen means cup; lasan means board; poen means walk; cuop means pull; and dansa means man. The only possible choices, then, are choices a and d. Choice a can be ruled out because migen means cup.

Other Reasoning Notes: