What You Must Know About Coding Decoding | RBI Grade B | IBPS PO

Coding Decoding is an important part of the reasoning section of any banking and government examination. No matter whether you are studying for RBI Grade B or IBPS PO or even the Indian Bank PO, it will be an important part nonetheless. There are 3 main types of coding-decoding questions including the first kind of coding which is based on the alphabetical jumbling of letters only while the second one is a jumbling of letters, but the order is slightly different in the sense that it has preceding as well as following letters. Since it is not known which kind of questions a student can expect for the examination, it is best to be prepared for both kinds of questions.

Coding Decoding Question Type 1

The first kind of coding-decoding question is where the jumbling of numbers happens, and for this kind of question in the coding-decoding question category. To better understand how such questions can be in the examination, consider the example below:

In a certain code, the word INSTITUTION is written as NOITUTITSNI. In the same code, how would you write the word MONETARY?

In this question, the code is the same word written backward. Therefore, the same could be applied to the case of the word, ‘MONETARY’. Hence,

INSTITUTION –> NOITUTITSNI

MONETARY –> YRATENOM

Therefore, this is the simplest kind of question that one can expect in the examination from the coding-decoding topic. While it is not possible for the bank exams to include questions as simple as this, it is necessary still to better understand the underlying concept due to which the complicated types may later be based on. Let’s move on to the second type of coding-decoding questions which is slightly harder than the first type or type 1.

Some other common patterns that you can expect for the type 1 questions include:

• When the code word is backward of the actual word
• When the code word is the half-backward of the actual word

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Coding Decoding Question Type 2

The second kind of coding-decoding question is slightly harder than that of the first one because of a more complicated pattern used to put the words in code language. However, once the pattern is visible, it is quite simple to find the answer. To better understand, consider the following example:

The word FINANCE in a coded language is written as HKPCPEG. How would you write the word FISCAL in the same coded language?

The first step to understanding this is to know how the code is formed. Consider the word FINANCE; we know that the second kind of questions would depend on the preceding or the succeeding alphabets and hence it makes sense to test out the same theory.

F –> G –> H

I –> J –> K

N –> O –> P

A –> B –> C

N –> O –> P

C –> D –> E

E –> F –> G

Therefore, it can be seen that the same pattern has been applied in the case of the word FINANCE. Now, coming over to the word, the same pattern can be used –

F –> G –> H

I –> J –> K

S –> T –> U

C –> D –> E

A –> B –> C

L –> M –> N

So, the word FISCAL in the coded language could be written as HKUECN. In the exam, you will have multiple choices no doubt, but it is best to not focus on them for too long as that can confuse you and you will end up picking the wrong pattern.

There is a third kind of coding-decoding question type that might be asked but only so in some examinations. It is nevertheless important to know such kind of questions as they might be asked in the harder examinations like the RBI Grade B or IBPS SO.

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Coding Decoding Question Type 3

The third kind of question in the coding-decoding is about the substitution of the entire word in a sentence with another and using this pattern in multiple cases to better determine whatever the substituted word might mean. This might all sound a bit too complex, so it is better to take an example as we did before:

In a coded language, “ame te ra su” means “it is raining today”, while “su te amu” means “today is Sunday. In a similar code, “li wyn semo su” means “I will see today”. From those three coded sentences, what is the code word for “today”?

To answer this kind of question the first and foremost of things to be done is that you make note of all the given information:

“ame te ra su” stands for “it is raining today”

“su te amu” stands for “today is Sunday”

“li wyn semo su” means “I will see today”

In all of those three cases, it can be highlighted that if we go on decoding word-by-word, then “su” stands for “today”.

So, those are the three kinds of questions that you can expect in the exam from the coding-decoding topic. Now, please make note that those kinds of questions can have infinitely many kinds of twists and turns, but if you know the fundamentals, then it becomes easier overall to attempt any question as such.

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All the Best!