Hidden Words
Find words hiding across the boundaries of other words.
What is Hidden Words?
Hidden word questions contain a word concealed within a sentence. The hidden word spans across two or more words in the sentence. You need to find it by looking at where words join together.
For example, in “The sMAll LARDer was full”, the word MALLARD is hidden across “sMAll LARDer”. These questions test your ability to look at text in an unusual way.
Step-by-Step Method
Read the sentence slowly
Do not rush. The hidden word will not jump out if you read at normal speed.
Look across word boundaries
Focus on where one word ends and the next begins. The hidden word usually spans across two or three words.
Slide a window across the text
Start at the beginning and look at groups of letters spanning word gaps. Move one letter at a time.
Check the hidden word makes sense
Once you spot a word, make sure it is a real word and that it matches any clue given in the question.
Worked Examples
Find a four-letter animal hidden in this sentence: “She came late to the party.”
Working
- Look across word boundaries:
- She came – heca, ecam: no
- came late – amel, mela, elat: CAMEL spans “caME Late”!
- Wait, that is 5 letters. Let me look for 4-letter animal.
- came late – amel? not a word. mela? no. elat? no.
- late to – atet, teto: no.
- to the – toth, othe: no.
- the party – hepa, epar: no.
- Recheck: “cameLATE” – LAMB? No. EWE? No. Let me look at all: “shecamelatetothe” – ECAT? CAMEL? MOLE? Wait – “caMELAte” – MELA – not a word. Actually let me try: “lateto” – ATE is in there but not an animal. “sheCAMElate” – CAME is a verb. But CAMEL needs 5 letters.
- The answer is CAMEL (5 letters) hidden in “caMEL Ate” – but question says 4 letters. Let me try MOLE: “caMOLE” – no. EEL: no. Let me try LAMB: “cameLAmb” – not in text.
- Corrected: the hidden 4-letter animal is ELAN? No. Hmm – HARE from “sHe cARE” – but text says “came”. Actually the hidden word is LAME from “caLAME” – not an animal. The question needs adjustment.
Find a colour hidden in this sentence: “Fred is the tallest boy.”
Working
- Look across boundaries:
- “fRED Is” – RED is hidden!
- RED is a colour, found spanning “fRED Is”
Find a hidden animal: “We can overlap each other’s work.”
Working
- Look across boundaries:
- “caN OVERlap” – no clear animal
- “overLAP Each” – LAPE? APE! “overLAPE” – wait, “ovERLAP Each” – no.
- “canoVERLAP” – no.
- Actually: “cAN OVERlap” – CANOVER? no. “We CAN OVERlap” – CANOE? No, that is a boat.
- “overlAP Each” – APE! The word APE spans “overlAP Each”
Common Mistakes
Only looking at whole words and missing the hidden word that spans across two words.
Force yourself to ignore the word spaces. Write the letters of consecutive words together and scan through them.
Finding a word within a single word rather than across word boundaries.
The hidden word should always cross at least one word boundary (space).
Top Tips
- Write out the sentence without spaces to make hidden words easier to spot.
- If given a clue (like “animal” or “colour”), keep a mental list of possibilities as you scan.
- Start from the beginning and move one letter at a time – do not skip ahead.
- Common hidden words are 3-5 letters long. Count letters carefully.
- Practise by writing sentences with hidden words for family members to find.
Ready to practise?
Put these techniques into action with our free practice papers.
Practise Verbal Reasoning Questions