How to solve SSAT analogies

Updated November 3, 2026

An analogy asks which pair of words is related the same way as the first pair, like "Potter is to clay as..." Half of the middle level SSAT verbal section is analogies, 30 questions in all. They're very learnable, because the same kinds of relationships come up again and again.

Make a sentence

  1. 1Make a short sentence that links the first pair, e.g. "A potter shapes clay."
  2. 2Try the same sentence with each choice: "A weaver shapes yarn" works. "A painter shapes a studio" doesn't.
  3. 3If more than one choice works, make the sentence more exact: "A potter shapes clay into a finished object."
  4. 4Check the direction. If the first pair goes from part to whole, the answer must too.

Relationships that come up often

RelationshipExample
Worker and toolcarpenter : saw
Worker and materialpotter : clay
Part and wholechapter : novel
Kind and categorypine : tree
Oppositescautious : reckless
Intensity (milder or stronger)annoyance : fury
Cause and effectspark : ignition
Person or thing and placepilot : cockpit

Common traps

  • A choice with the right words but the wrong relationship, e.g. a tool when the question wants a material.
  • The right relationship in the wrong direction, e.g. novel : chapter for chapter : novel.
  • A choice about the same topic as the first pair. Only the relationship matters.

Try a few

Question 1

Knitter is to needles as...

  1. Apotter is to vase
  2. Btailor is to cloth
  3. Cphotographer is to tripod
  4. Dmusician is to orchestra
  5. Emechanic is to garage
Show the answer

C, photographer is to tripod. A knitter uses needles as a tool, and a photographer uses a tripod. Tailor is to cloth is tempting, but cloth is a material, not a tool.

Question 2

Chapter is to novel as...

  1. Aparagraph is to essay
  2. Bpen is to letter
  3. Creader is to magazine
  4. Dlibrary is to book
  5. Eposter is to movie
Show the answer

A, paragraph is to essay. A chapter is one section of a novel, and a paragraph is one section of an essay. Library/book puts the bigger thing first, so its direction is reversed.

Question 3

Annoyance is to fury as...

  1. Aterror is to unease
  2. Bjoy is to contentment
  3. Cexhaustion is to tiredness
  4. Dconcern is to panic
  5. Eadoration is to admiration
Show the answer

D, concern is to panic. Fury is a much stronger form of annoyance, and panic is a much stronger form of concern. Every other pair moves from stronger to milder, the opposite direction.

Question 4

Pine is to tree as...

  1. Arice is to grain
  2. Bforest is to oak
  3. Cseed is to soil
  4. Dwood is to chair
  5. Eroot is to plant
Show the answer

A, rice is to grain. A pine is a kind of tree, and rice is a kind of grain. Root is to plant is close, but a root is a part of a plant, not a kind of plant.

Rookling tracks 24 kinds of analogy relationships separately, so practice goes to the ones your child mixes up. When a choice is wrong, the coaching names the relationship that was missed.

Questions parents ask

How many analogies are on the middle level SSAT?
30, in the verbal section with 30 synonyms. The whole section is 30 minutes.
What if my child doesn't know a word in the question?
Work from the words they do know. If the first pair is clear, rule out choices that don't fit the sentence, then guess among the rest if at least one is ruled out.

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