While introducing a boy, Raju says, "He is the son of my wife's sister." How is the boy related to Raju?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Nephew

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:

This is a straightforward blood-relation question where the key phrase is "my wife's sister". Problems like this are extremely common in verbal reasoning sections of competitive exams because they train you to recognize in-law relationships (on the spouse's side) and correctly identify terms such as nephew, niece, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Raju is introducing a boy.
  • Raju says: "He is the son of my wife's sister."
  • Raju is married and has a wife.
  • His wife has a sister; that sister is Raju's sister-in-law.
  • The boy is the son of that sister-in-law.
  • We must determine the boy's relation to Raju.


Concept / Approach:

The main idea is to understand how relatives on the spouse's side are named. A wife's sister is a sister-in-law. The children of one's brother or sister (and also of one's spouse's siblings) are called nephews or nieces, depending on gender. Because the boy is explicitly male, he must be Raju's nephew. This holds regardless of whether we are considering blood relations or in-law extensions, as the term "nephew" comfortably covers both in ordinary reasoning questions.


Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Identify Raju's wife. She is his spouse and belongs to a different family before marriage. Step 2: "My wife's sister" is the sister of Raju's wife. In family terminology, she is Raju's sister-in-law. Step 3: The boy is described as "the son of my wife's sister". So he is the son of Raju's sister-in-law. Step 4: The son of a person's brother or sister is called a nephew. This term also extends easily to the children of one's in-laws when they are siblings of the spouse. Step 5: Therefore, the boy is Raju's nephew. From Raju's perspective, he can say, "He is my nephew."


Verification / Alternative check:

Imagine a simple example. Suppose Raju's wife is Meera. Meera has a sister, Sita. Sita has a son, Arun. When Raju introduces Arun, saying "He is the son of my wife's sister", we immediately see that Arun is the child of Raju's sister-in-law. In everyday language, Raju would refer to Arun as his nephew. This perfectly matches the standard exam interpretation of such questions.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

He cannot be Raju's real brother, because there is no indication that they share parents; the relationship is clearly through Raju's wife's side.

He is not Raju's son, because the boy's mother is Raju's sister-in-law, not Raju's wife.

"Cousin" would be used for someone who shares grandparents with Raju. Here, the boy shares grandparents with Raju's wife, not necessarily with Raju himself.


Common Pitfalls:

Candidates sometimes get confused when relations are described through the spouse. A good habit is to pause and re-phrase: "wife's sister" means "sister-in-law", and the child of a sister-in-law is usually treated in reasoning problems as a nephew or niece. Writing a small family diagram and placing Raju, his wife, her sister and the boy can help avoid mistakes.


Final Answer:

The boy is related to Raju as his nephew.

More Questions from Blood Relation Test

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion