Zoho — Round 1: Pattern, Syllabus & Mock Test
Zoho — Round 1 pattern: 30 questions in 125 minutes across 2 sections. Sample questions, a preparation guide and a free timed mock.
- Pattern: Zoho
- Duration: 125 minutes
- Questions: 30
- Timing: Sectional — each section on its own clock
- Negative marking: None
Generous time, hard questions. Zoho tests depth rather than speed, on paper, at its own office.
- No negative marking
- Generous timing
- C output prediction
Sections
| Section | Questions | Time | Kind | Marks each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aptitude | 20 | 80 min | Multiple choice | 1 |
| Technical | 10 | 45 min | Multiple choice | 1 |
Zoho — Round 1 syllabus
Aptitude
- Number System
- Percentages
- Profit & Loss
- Ratio & Proportion
- Averages
- Problems on Ages
- Time & Work
- Time, Speed & Distance
- Simple & Compound Interest
- Permutations & Combinations
- Probability
- Mixtures & Alligation
- Mensuration
- Number & Letter Series
- Coding & Decoding
- Blood Relations
- Direction Sense
- Syllogisms
- Seating & Puzzles
- Analogies & Classification
- Mathematical Reasoning
Technical
Instructions
Zoho's first round is unlike anything else here. It is sat with pen and paper at a Zoho office, and the timing is deliberately unhurried — four minutes a question on the aptitude block.
- Depth over speed. These questions are meant to be worked through properly, not raced.
- The technical block is C output prediction, ten questions in forty-five minutes.
- No negative marking, and there is no CGPA cut-off to reach the test.
Zoho runs six or seven rounds for freshers. The programming rounds that follow, including the three-hour no-internet coding round, are not part of this paper.
How to prepare for this pattern
A guide to the Zoho Round 1 pattern, which tests depth rather than speed: generous time for hard aptitude questions, then C output prediction.
What the paper looks like
Two sections, sat in order: Aptitude, 20 questions in 80 minutes, and Technical, 10 questions in 45 minutes. That is 30 questions in 125 minutes. Each question is worth one mark and there is no negative marking. Each section has its own clock and closes when you leave it. The paper is not adaptive. The timing is deliberately unhurried, four minutes a question on the aptitude block and four and a half on the technical one, because the questions are meant to be worked through properly. The real round is sat with pen and paper at a Zoho office. Zoho's shape is stable but its numbers are not: three credible sources give three different Round 1 specifications, and this mock follows 2025 candidate reports. The programming rounds that follow are not part of this paper.
How to prepare, section by section
- Aptitude is fourteen quantitative questions, eight of them hard, and six logical. Work the hard questions in Number System, Permutations & Combinations, Probability, Time, Speed & Distance, Time & Work, Mixtures & Alligation and Ratio & Proportion, writing out full working as you would on paper. For the logical questions, Seating & Puzzles, Mathematical Reasoning and Number & Letter Series reward the same patience.
- Technical is seven Programming Fundamentals questions and three Pseudocode questions. C output prediction turns on details: operator precedence, pre- and post-increment, integer division and overflow, pointers and arrays, and what a loop prints on its last pass. There is no C study plan, but the C++ study plan shares that ground in its types, operators, and arrays, pointers and references modules.
- The rounds after. For the programming rounds that follow, the DSA roadmap and hubs such as Arrays, Strings and Matrix are the place to build up.
On the day
Depth over speed is the rule, and the timing backs it up: four minutes a question leaves time to work each one fully and check it. Work through the questions in order, and verify each answer by a second method or by substituting it back into the question. In the Technical section, trace each program line by line and write down every variable's value as it changes, rather than predicting the output from the shape of the code. With no negative marking, answer every question before each section closes.
This mock is modelled on 2025 candidate reports of Zoho's Round 1, since the published specifications vary; CodeKairo is not affiliated with Zoho.
Practice questions for the Zoho — Round 1 test
As old as you at your birth
A father tells his son, 'I was as old as you are now at the time of your birth.' If the father is 38 now, what was the son's age five years back?
- 14
- 19
- 24
- 33
Show the answer
A. 14 Worked solution
The odd letter group
Which one does not belong?
BD, FH, JL, MO
- BD
- FH
- JL
- MO
Show the answer
D. MO Worked solution
A manager joins the company
The average salary of 20 employees is ₹15,000. When the manager's salary is added the average rises by ₹500. What is the manager's salary?
- ₹20,000
- ₹25,500
- ₹27,000
- ₹30,000
Show the answer
B. ₹25,500 Worked solution
M, N, O and P
M is the sister of N, N is the brother of O, and O is the daughter of P. How is M related to P?
- Son
- Daughter
- Sister
- Mother
Show the answer
B. Daughter Worked solution
Reversed, then shifted
If COMPUTER is written as RFUVQNPC, how is MEDICINE written?
- EOJDJEFM
- EOJDJEFN
- MFEJDJOF
- EOJDIEFM
Show the answer
A. EOJDJEFM Worked solution
North, then two left turns
A man goes 5 km north, turns left and goes 3 km, then turns left and goes 5 km. Where is he relative to the start?
- 3 km east
- 3 km west
- 5 km west
- 8 km west
Show the answer
B. 3 km west Worked solution
The gap between CI and SI
What is the difference between compound and simple interest on ₹8,000 at 10% per annum for 2 years?
- ₹60
- ₹80
- ₹100
- ₹120
Show the answer
B. ₹80 Worked solution
Cause and effect
Statements: I. The government has raised the price of petrol sharply. II. Sales of electric scooters have risen this quarter.
Which best describes the relation?
- I is the cause and II is its effect
- II is the cause and I is its effect
- Both are independent causes
- Both are effects of a common cause
Show the answer
A. I is the cause and II is its effect Worked solution
A generator and a comprehension in one line
What does this Python program print?
nums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
print(sum(n for n in nums if n % 2 == 0), [n * 2 for n in nums][2])- 9 6
- 12 3
- 12 6
- 21 6
Show the answer
C. 12 6 Worked solution
Skipping the diagonal
What is printed?
Integer i, j, k
Set k = 0
For i = 1 to 3
For j = 1 to 3
If i == j Then
Continue
End If
Set k = k + 1
End For
End For
Print k- 3
- 6
- 9
- 12
Show the answer
B. 6 Worked solution
Dividing a negative number
What does this C program print? Assume a C99 or later compiler.
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
printf("%d %d", -7 / 2, -7 % 2);
return 0;
}- -4 -1
- -4 1
- -3 -1
- -3 1
Show the answer
C. -3 -1 Worked solution
Multiples of three or four
What is printed?
Integer i, c
Set c = 0
For i = 1 to 60
If i MOD 3 == 0 OR i MOD 4 == 0 Then
Set c = c + 1
End If
End For
Print c- 25
- 30
- 35
- 40
Show the answer
B. 30 Worked solution
About this pattern
Zoho's shape is stable but its numbers are not — three credible sources give three different Round 1 specs (20+10, 25 MCQ, or 10 programming plus 10 aptitude written). This follows 2025 candidate reports: 20 aptitude in 80 minutes, then 10 technical in 45.
Modelled on the published pattern; not affiliated with Zoho. Every sitting draws a fresh paper from the aptitude bank.
The Zoho interview process, round by round · Zoho coding questions