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L1: Coding & Decoding

Coding is a method of transmitting information between sender and receiver without a third person
knowing it.
Before sending the data is decoded at the sender's side. The data needs to be decoded at the receiver's
end.
There is a fixed pattern or keys that are common for encoding and decoding.

There are two types of problems that are asked in exam:

1. Letter coding
Following table can be used for mapping letters to numbers.
Some of the major types of coding logics are

Approach:
1) Observe alphabets or numbers given in the code keenly.
2) Find the sequence it follows whether it is ascending or descending.
3) Detect the rule in which the alphabets/numbers/words follow.
4) Fill the appropriate letter/number/word in the blank given.

Alphabets table
26 A 1

25 B 2

24 C 3

23 D 4

22 E 5

21 F 6

20 G 7

19 H 8

18 I 9

17 J 10

16 K 11

15 L 12

14 M 13
13 N 14
12 O 15
11 P 16

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 Page 2 of 14

10 Q 17
9 R 18
8 S 19
7 T 20
6 U 21
5 V 22
4 W 23
3 X 24
2 Y 25
1 Z 26

Example:
Question: If EARTH is written as FCUXM in a certain code. How is MOON written in that code?
Solution:
E A R T H

+1 +2 +3 +4 +5

F C U X M

=> MOON = NQRR

2. Mixed Coding
In this type three or four sentences are given. They are coded. Then code for a particular letter or word
is asked.

Example: In a certain code language,

'134' means 'good and tasty';
'478' means 'see good pictures' and
'729' means 'pictures are faint'.
Which of the following digits stands for 'see'?
a) 9
b) 2
c) 1
d) 8

Answer: D
Explanation: In the first and second statements, the common code digit is '4' and the common word is
'good'.
So, '4' stands for 'good'.
In the second and third statements, the common code digit is '7' and the common word is 'pictures'.
So, '7' means 'pictures'.
Thus, in the second statements, '8' means 'see'.

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Practice Problems:
1. If CAT is written as DBU, what is the code for TAP?

2. If SUNSHINE is written as TVOTIJOF, MOON is written as

a) NPPO
b) MPPO
c) PPON
d) NQQP

3. If WRONG is written as GNORW, RIGHT is written as

a) HIRGT
b) SJHIU
c) GHIRT
d) THIGR

4. IF SNOW is written as 71, WALL will be written as

a) 50
b) 47
c) 48
d) 40

5. If CAP = 61, PEN will be written as

a) 40
b) 66
c) 80
d) 46

6. If MOUSE is written as PNUFT, CLOCK will be written as

a) MDOLD
b) MDPLD
c) NDOLD
d) MDOLE

7. If KEYS = MDAR, then LOCK will be written as

a) NEJJ
b) MNEJ
c) JENN
d) JENJ

8. If RADAR is written as =*?*$, POOR = ?%%$, DAN will be written as

a) ?$%
b) *$?
c) *?%
d) ??$

9. If FIRE = $*?%, FREEZE will be written as

a) $&%%?*
b) ??%%$*
c) %%%?>>
d) ???%$@

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 Page 4 of 14

10. If THUMB = BMAHT, CRUMB will be written as

a) BCARM
b) BMARC
c) RCEMB
d) None

Answer
key

2 A

3 C

4 C

5 D

6 A

7 B

8 C

9 D
10 C

Homework
Problems
Q.1) In a certain code language, 'po ki top ma’ means 'Usha is playing cards’. 'kop ja ki ma’ means 'Asha
is playing tennis‟, 'ki top sop ho‟ means 'they are playing football‟ and 'po sur kop‟ means 'cards and
tennis‟. Which word in that language means 'Asha‟?
a) ja
b) ma
c) kop
d) top

Directions ( Q.2 – Q.3 ): Study the following information to answer the given questions:
In a certain code language,
“ROSE MONKEY BASKET JUG” is written as “9#E, 31%Y, 26$T, 10@G”
“JOB RIGID BALL MUG” is written as “5@B, 16$L, 9#D, 10%G”

Q.2) The code for the word “RAIN” is:

a) 8%N
b) 8*N
c) 18#N
d) 16$N

Q.3) The code “9#E” denotes which of the following word?

a) RAGA
b) REVERSE
c) RUPEE
d) RACE

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Q.4) In a certain code CHENNAI is written as EHCNIAN. How will JOURNAL be written in the code?
a) LANRUOJ
b) JRUONAL
c) UOJRLAN
d) UOJRALN

Q.5) If ROSE is coded as 6821, CHAIR is coded as 73456 and PREACH is coded as 961473, what will be the
code for SEARCH?
a) 246173
b) 214673
c) 214763
d) 216473

Q.6) In a certain code “FORUMIAS” is written as “HZRNFILU”, then “BEST” will be written as
a) GHVY
b) HGVY
c) YVHG
d) VHGY

Q.7) In a certain code language, 743 means Apples are good, 657 means Eat good food, and 934 means
Apples are ripe. Which digit means ripe in that language?
a) 5
b) 4
c) 9
d) 7

Q.8) In a certain code language. RESPECTFUL is written as TGURGEVHWN. In that code haw FAITHFUL
will written?
a) HKCHVJWN
b) HCKJVHWN
c) HCKVJHWN
d) CHKVJHWN

Direction for ( Q.9 - Q.12 ): Study the information given below and answer the given questions:
In a certain code ‘it started with bigbang’ is coded as ‘mlp hlt ngi snk’, ‘bigbang started what an’ is coded
as ‘hlt sa rtv mlp’, ‘an with honour lot’ is coded as ‘snk rtv lne riy’ and ‘it lot of responsibility’ is coded as
‘ngi riy nop hus’.

Q.9) What could be a code for “lne”?

a) it
b) with
c) honour
d) an

Q.10) “riy rtv roi” could be a code for which of the following?
a) an above lot
b) an bigbang lot
c) responsibility an lot
d) with an lot

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Q.11) “riy snk mlp” could be a code for which of the following?
a) started honour responsibility
b) lot with bigbang
c) with bigbang responsibility
d) honour lot it

Q.12) Which of the following is the code for ‘responsibility’?

a) riy
b) nop
c) ngi
d) Cannot be determined

Directions for ( Q.13 - Q.16 ): Four soldiers – Lucas, Elijah, Noah and William was on a secret mission
and for security reasons they got order to have conversation in coded language. They were expressing
their thoughts in a coded language. Lucas says, "le po ki ba" when he wants to convey that "friends make
life live". Elijah says, "te ki mo ba" when he wants to convey that "without friends life impossible". Noah
says, "lo mo se te" when he wants to convey that "without trouble gain impossible". William says, "st ba
po lo" when he wants to convey that "life make trouble joy".

Q.13) Which of the following is most probably the code for "life gives joy"?
a) st lo ba
b) ba fo st
c) le po st
d) ba fo go

Q.14) What is the code for "mission impossible"?

a) mo fi
b) te fi
c) fi se
d) Either A or B

Q.15) What is the code for "life impossible without"?

a) te mo se
b) ba mo te
c) se ki ba
d) ki te ba

Q.16) Which of the following is the code for "life without trouble"?
a) lo te ba
b) la le mo
c) Either option A or D
d) mo lo ba E.

Q.17) If CORONA is coded as DQRURF then, what is the code for VACCINE?
a) HQLFFDY
b) YDFFLQH
c) DDYFLQH
d) QLFYDDH

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Q.18) If “PAVNPA” is the code for MUMBAI then the code for DELHI is.
a) GHOKL
b) GNMKL
c) GHUTL
d) GKUTX

Q.19) What is the meaning of ‘mover’ in a coded language?

Statements-
1. The meaning of ‘pit na ja’ is ‘movers and shakers’ in that coded language.
2. The meaning of ‘na dik sa’ is ‘you like shakers’ in that coded language.
a) If only statement 1 is sufficient to answer the question.
b) If only Statement 2 is sufficient to answer the question.
c) If both the Statements 1 and 2 are sufficient to answer the question.
d) If both the Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient to answer the question.

Q.20) If BLANK is coded as 71489 and MOBILE is coded as 237619 then how would you encode BIBLE?
a) 65471
b) 76719
c) 54123
d) 34215

Solutions
Q.1) In a certain code language, 'po ki top ma’ means 'Usha is playing cards’. 'kop ja ki ma’ means 'Asha
is playing tennis‟, 'ki top sop ho‟ means 'they are playing football‟ and 'po sur kop‟ means 'cards and
tennis‟. Which word in that language means 'Asha‟?
a) ja
b) ma
c) kop
d) top

Ans) a
Exp) Comparing relation in each of the statement, we get Asha is coded as 'ja’.

Directions ( Q.2 – Q.3 ): Study the following information to answer the given questions:
In a certain code language,
“ROSE MONKEY BASKET JUG” is written as “9#E, 31%Y, 26$T, 10@G”
“JOB RIGID BALL MUG” is written as “5@B, 16$L, 9#D, 10%G”

Q.2) The code for the word “RAIN” is:

a) 8%N
b) 8*N
c) 18#N
d) 16$N

Ans) c
Exp) RAIN – 18#N
R–#
No of letters = Number of alphabet in word + Alphabet order of N (i.e. 14) = 18
Last letter – N

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 Page 8 of 14

Q.3) The code “9#E” denotes which of the following word?

a) RAGA
b) REVERSE
c) RUPEE
d) RACE

Ans) d
Exp) “9#E”– RACE
R–#
Last letter – E
No of letters = Number of alphabets in word + (Alphabet order of E = 5) = 9

Q.4) In a certain code CHENNAI is written as EHCNIAN. How will JOURNAL be written in the code?
a) LANRUOJ
b) JRUONAL
c) UOJRLAN
d) UOJRALN

Ans) c
Exp) Clearly, when CHENNAI is coded, some letters are interchange with respect to their positions, i.e.,
odd positions are interchanged

Position of 1 change to 3 and 3 to 1. Position of 5 changes to 7 and 7 to 5.

Q.5) If ROSE is coded as 6821, CHAIR is coded as 73456 and PREACH is coded as 961473, what will be the
code for SEARCH?
a) 246173
b) 214673
c) 214763
d) 216473

Ans) b
Exp) The letters are coded accordingly S as 2, E as 1, A as 4, R as 6, C as 7 and H as 3. i.e., 2146739.

Q.6) In a certain code “FORUMIAS” is written as “HZRNFILU”, then “BEST” will be written as
a) GHVY
b) HGVY
c) YVHG
d) VHGY

Ans) a

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Exp) The sum of the place value of the last digit of the word and first digit of code is 27 and a similar
pattern is followed for every alphabet of the word.

Q.7) In a certain code language, 743 means Apples are good, 657 means Eat good food, and 934 means
Apples are ripe. Which digit means ripe in that language?
a) 5
b) 4
c) 9
d) 7

Ans) c
Exp) In the first and the third statements, the common code digits are 4 and 3 and the common words
are Apples and are. So, 4 and 3 are the codes for Apples and are. Thus, in the third statement, 9 means
ripe.

Q.8) In a certain code language. RESPECTFUL is written as TGURGEVHWN. In that code haw FAITHFUL
will written?
a) HKCHVJWN
b) HCKJVHWN
c) HCKVJHWN
d) CHKVJHWN

Ans) c
Exp) Each letter in the word is moved two forward to obtain the corresponding letter of code.

Direction for ( Q.9 - Q.12 ): Study the information given below and answer the given questions:
In a certain code ‘it started with bigbang’ is coded as ‘mlp hlt ngi snk’, ‘bigbang started what an’ is coded
as ‘hlt sa rtv mlp’, ‘an with honour lot’ is coded as ‘snk rtv lne riy’ and ‘it lot of responsibility’ is coded as
‘ngi riy nop hus’.

Q.9) What could be a code for “lne”?

a) it
b) with
c) honour
d) an

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 Page 10 of 14

Ans) c
Exp)
Word Code
It ngi
With snk
Started / bigbang mlp / hlt
What sa
An rtv
Honour lne
Lot riy
Of / responsibility nop / hus

Q.10) “riy rtv roi” could be a code for which of the following?
a) an above lot
b) an bigbang lot
c) responsibility an lot
d) with an lot

Ans) a
Exp)
Word Code
It ngi
With snk
Started / bigbang mlp / hlt
What sa
An rtv
Honour lne
Lot riy
Of / responsibility nop / hus

Option (a), will be the choice because we have the code for bigbang, responsibility and with while “roi”
in the question implies that we have to use an word which is already not mentioned in directions.

Q.11) “riy snk mlp” could be a code for which of the following?
a) started honour responsibility
b) lot with bigbang
c) with bigbang responsibility
d) honour lot it

Ans) b
Exp)
Word Code
It ngi
With snk
Started / bigbang mlp / hlt
What sa
An rtv
Honour lne

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 Page 11 of 14

Lot riy
Of / responsibility nop / hus

Q.12) Which of the following is the code for ‘responsibility’?

a) riy
b) nop
c) ngi
d) Cannot be determined

Ans) d
Exp)
Word Code
It ngi
With snk
Started / bigbang mlp / hlt
What sa
An rtv
Honour lne
Lot riy
Of / responsibility nop / hus

Directions for ( Q.13 - Q.16 ): Four soldiers – Lucas, Elijah, Noah and William was on a secret mission
and for security reasons they got order to have conversation in coded language. They were expressing
their thoughts in a coded language. Lucas says, "le po ki ba" when he wants to convey that "friends make
life live". Elijah says, "te ki mo ba" when he wants to convey that "without friends life impossible". Noah
says, "lo mo se te" when he wants to convey that "without trouble gain impossible". William says, "st ba
po lo" when he wants to convey that "life make trouble joy".

Q.13) Which of the following is most probably the code for "life gives joy"?
a) st lo ba
b) ba fo st
c) le po st
d) ba fo go

Ans) b
Exp)
Word Code
Life ba
Friends ki
Make po
Live le
Trouble lo
Gain se
Joy st
Without mo/te
Impossible te/mo

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 Page 12 of 14

Q.14) What is the code for "mission impossible"?

a) mo fi
b) te fi
c) fi se
d) Either A or B

Ans) d
Exp)
Word Code
Life ba
Friends ki
Make po
Live le
Trouble lo
Gain se
Joy st
Without mo/te
Impossible te/mo

Q.15) What is the code for "life impossible without"?

a) te mo se
b) ba mo te
c) se ki ba
d) ki te ba

Ans) b
Exp)
Word Code
Life ba
Friends ki
Make po
Live le
Trouble lo
Gain se
Joy st
Without mo/te
Impossible te/mo

Q.16) Which of the following is the code for "life without trouble"?
a) lo te ba
b) la le mo
c) Either option A or D
d) mo lo ba E.

Ans) c
Exp)
Word Code
Life ba
Friends ki

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 Page 13 of 14

Make po
Live le
Trouble lo
Gain se
Joy st
Without mo/te
Impossible te/mo

Q.17) If CORONA is coded as DQRURF then, what is the code for VACCINE?
a) HQLFFDY
b) YDFFLQH
c) DDYFLQH
d) QLFYDDH

Ans) a
Exp)

Following same pattern, we can write VACCINE as HQLFFDY.

Q.18) If “PAVNPA” is the code for MUMBAI then the code for DELHI is.
a) GHOKL
b) GNMKL
c) GHUTL
d) GKUTX

Ans) d
Exp)

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 Page 14 of 14

Q.19) What is the meaning of ‘mover’ in a coded language?

Statements-
1. The meaning of ‘pit na ja’ is ‘movers and shakers’ in that coded language.
2. The meaning of ‘na dik sa’ is ‘you like shakers’ in that coded language.
a) If only statement 1 is sufficient to answer the question.
b) If only Statement 2 is sufficient to answer the question.
c) If both the Statements 1 and 2 are sufficient to answer the question.
d) If both the Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient to answer the question.

Ans) c
Exp) From Statement 1 and 2,
‘na’=> shakers
Therefore, from 1, movers = Either ‘pit’ or ‘ja’

Q.20) If BLANK is coded as 71489 and MOBILE is coded as 237619 then how would you encode BIBLE?
a) 65471
b) 76719
c) 54123
d) 34215

Ans) b
Exp)
B L A N K
7 1 4 8 9

M O B I L E
2 3 7 6 1 9

By same pattern,
B I B L E
7 6 7 1 9

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