Hidden shapes
A small shape is hidden in one of five busy figures, and you find which one. Here's how to spot it every time.
Chapter 1
What are hidden shapes questions?
You’re shown a small shape on its own, and five figures, each a box crossed with straight lines.
The shape is drawn into exactly one of the figures, made from parts of its lines. You find that one. The hidden copy is the same size as the shape and the same way round.
The shape. A small outline, like this T.
The figures. Five of them, in Rush and in the exam. Four hide a shape that’s nearly right.
The answer. The one figure with every side of the shape drawn, each the right length.
Which figure is it hidden in?
An NVR question from Rush, level 1.
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Sides and the odd corner
A side is one straight line, from a corner to the next.
This flag has 5 sides. Most of its corners stick out, but one dents in. A corner like that is rare in a busy figure, so it’s the one to hunt for.
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Shape Turned Flipped Bigger Same size, same way round
In Rush the copy is never turned, flipped, bigger or smaller.
Some exam papers let the shape be turned, and the question says so (chapter 4). Read what it allows: any other change means it isn’t the shape.
Chapter 2
Solve it in 4 steps.
Here’s the question, one step at a time.
The question
Which figure is it hidden in?
An NVR question from Rush, level 1.
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Step 1
Count the sides. Find the odd corners.
The T has 8 sides. Six of its corners stick out. The two where the stem meets the bar dent in: those are what you hunt for.
8 sides. The two ringed corners dent in.
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Step 2
Trace every side from there.
Find the two dents in a figure, then run your finger round the outline, one side at a time. Every side must be drawn, all the way. Option 3 has no line along the top of the bar, so it’s out.
Option 3: no line along the top. Out.
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Step 3
Check every corner.
Every corner of the T is square, so its sides run only straight across or straight down. Options 2 and 5 each have a slanting side. In option 5 it cuts a corner off, leaving 7 sides. Both are out.
Option 2 Option 5 A slanting side in each. Both out.
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Step 4
Measure the sides.
Use the shortest side, the stem’s width, as your measure. The T’s bar is 3 of them long. Option 4’s bar is 4: it’s been stretched. Option 1’s is 3, with the stem in the middle. That’s the one.
Option 4: 4 long Option 1: 3 long Only option 1’s bar matches the T’s.
Three mistakes to avoid
| The mistake | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Picking the first T you see. Every figure has a T in it somewhere. Four of them are near misses. | Run all four steps on every figure before you choose. |
| Filling in a gap. Your eye joins up the top of option 3’s bar, though no line is there. A line that stops short of a corner is missing too. | Put your finger on every side. No line, no shape. |
| Judging the size by eye. Option 4’s bar is only one stem too long, so it looks about right. | Measure every side in stem widths. |
So it’s option 1. All 8 sides are drawn, every corner is square, and the bar is 3 stems long with the stem in the middle.
Remember: Count, corner, trace, measure.
Chapter 3
When the shape hides better.
At levels 2 and 3 in Rush the shape is drawn twice as big, and its lines melt into the figure. The four steps still work. Here’s what changes.
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Its sides run on into longer lines
A side can be part of a longer line, or the figure’s own edge.
Here’s a level 2 shape, traced in purple: a column 3 squares tall with an arm at the top. The line under the arm runs right across, the figure’s edges make two sides, and two diagonals cut through it. Trap: hunting for a shape drawn on its own.
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The shape Option 2 Measure in squares
These shapes are built from squares. Count them each way.
The shape’s column is 3 squares tall. Option 2 hides one 4 squares tall, with the same arm on top. Trap: one square too many looks almost right on a big shape.
Level 3: start from the slant
At level 3 one corner of the shape is cut off on a slant, half a square each way. Look for a short slant with a line across at one end and a line down at the other. In option 5 the slant is part of a long diagonal, and the figure’s top and right edges make two more sides.
Then keep tracing to the very last side. Option 1 starts exactly right, but under the arm a second slant cuts the column off: 8 sides, not 9.
Chapter 4: In the exam
When the shape may be turned.
Some 11+ papers say the hidden shape may have been turned. Rush never turns it, but the same steps work, with one more check.
The shape may have been turned. Which figure is it hidden in?
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Step 1
Read the question first.
This one says the shape may have been turned. So the boot can face any way round. It must still be the same size, and it can’t be flipped over: the question doesn’t allow that.
Any of the first four counts. The mirror image doesn’t.
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Step 2
Find the odd corner, any way round.
The boot’s odd corner is its sloping front. In figure 3 there’s a slope with the toe pointing down below it. Trace from there: all 6 sides are drawn, each the right length. It’s the boot, a quarter turn clockwise.
Figure 3: the boot, turned.
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Step 3
Measure it, then check it isn’t flipped.
Figure 1’s toe is twice as long. Figure 4’s boot is half the size. In figure 5 the toe’s end stops short of its corner. Figure 2’s boot has its toe pointing left: however you turn it, it never matches. It’s a mirror image.
1: toe too long 2: mirror image 4: half the size 5: stops short
So it’s figure 3. The boot is there a quarter turn clockwise, the same size, with all 6 sides drawn.
Remember: Turned is fine. Flipped is not.
Other ways the exam asks it
- “Which shape is hidden in this figure?” One figure and five shapes. Look for each shape’s odd corner in the figure, and trace. The one you can trace all the way round is the answer.
- “Which figure does not hide the shape?” The same steps, but you want the figure that fails. Underline “not” before you start.
- Other outlines. Some papers use hexagons, triangles or curved sides. The steps don’t change: a curved side has to bend just like the shape’s.
Chapter 5
Try it yourself.
Six real questions from Rush, easy to hard, 60 seconds on the clock.
Use the steps
- Count the sides. Find the odd corners.
- Trace every side from there.
- Check every corner.
- Measure the sides.
Remember: Count, corner, trace, measure.
For parents.
What parents ask us about hidden shapes.
Questions parents ask
How do you find hidden shapes in non-verbal reasoning?
Count the shape's sides, then pick its most unusual corner and look for that corner in each figure. Trace every side out from it, remembering that a side can be part of a longer line. Finish by checking each side's length against the shortest one.
Can the hidden shape be turned round?
In Rush, never: the shape is always hidden the same size and the same way round as it's shown. On paper it depends on the question, so read the instruction first, because some papers say the shape may have been turned. Expect it to be the same size unless the question says otherwise.
Why do children find hidden shapes so hard?
The eye groups lines into the shapes it sees first, and the hidden shape cuts across those. Its sides are pieces of longer lines, and other lines cross it. Starting from one distinctive corner and tracing outwards works better than staring at the whole figure.
What are embedded figures?
It's what psychologists call the same task: finding a simple shape inside a complicated figure. Hidden shapes questions are a version of it, with the shape shown first and five figures to search.
Rush: 11+ Practice & KS2 SATsPractise hidden shapes in Rush.
- Hidden Shapes as 100-second games, easy at first and harder as your child improves
- Every miss kept with the right answer and why
- Hidden Shapes is in Premium, and six other games are free
On the App Store for iPhone and iPad
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