Riddles for kids are widely considered to be not only entertaining but also a great learning opportunity. However, when it comes to riddles for adults, their developmental value is often overlooked.
A riddle can be defined as a verbal puzzle that is presented in the form of a question or a statement. Usually, the answer lies in the double meaning of certain words, different interpretations, or your ability to think unconventionally. It has been proven through research that puzzles of all sorts are very beneficial for the brain at any age, as they help us keep an agile mind, exercise critical thinking, and stay sharp.
Of course, adult brain teasers tend to be more complex because the life experience we’ve accumulated while growing up enables us to see hidden layers that will help solve the riddle. And while some easy riddles exist more for fun than to exercise your brain cells, there are some hard riddles too that will take quite some thinking before you can find the answer.
We have collected some riddles of various levels of difficulty. Try solving them all yourself before peeking at the answers. You could even hold a riddle game with your friends and see who can solve the most riddles.
This post may include affiliate links.
What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
If Silence is Golden... I'd be a rich man if my partner would let me get a word in edgewise !
The person who made it doesn’t need it. The person who bought it doesn’t want it. The person who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?
Why is a cemetery so noisy ? Because of all the coffin . ( "coughing" Dad joke)
I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back, None suffer to have me, but do from my lack. What am I?
What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?
What thrives when you feed it, but dies when you water it?
What is one thing that all people, regardless of their politics or religion, have to agree is between heaven and earth?
I do not speak, cannot hear or say anything, but I will always tell the truth. What am I?
Mirror mirror on the wall.. tell me a lie so you won't fall. Broken pieces will be your fate. So tell me how I look so great !
Turn me on my side, and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
You walk into a room with a rabbit holding a carrot, a pig eating slop, and a chimp holding a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?
What kind of ship has two mates but no captain?
What do you have to break before you can use it?
A plane crashed on the border of Spain and Portugal. Where were the survivors buried?
What month of the year has 28 days in it?
If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, then who is she to you?
What belongs to you, but is used by everyone you meet?
What word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
What can you catch, but not throw?
Two people are born at the same moment, but they don't have the same birthdays. How?
You can you hold me in your right hand, but never in your left hand. What am I?
What does nobody want, yet nobody wants to lose?
What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?
What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
What word contains 26 letters, but has only three syllables?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious came in second before Superciliouspontification and the town in Wales . Llanfairpwllgwyngllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiligogogoch .
What do you lose the moment you share it?
I am harder to catch the faster you run. What am I?
I have many keys, but I can't open a single lock. What am I?
If you throw a blue stone into the Red Sea, what will it become?
What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?
I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you cannot go outside. What am I?
You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn't a single person on board. How is that possible?
I taste better than I smell. What am I?
I can be hot or cold. I can run and be still. I can be hard and soft. What am I?
What has many teeth, but cannot bite?
What can fill a room, but takes up no space?
I don't have eyes, but once I did see. Once I had thoughts, but now I'm white and empty. What am I?
What do the letter "t" and an island have in common?
A man was just doing his job when his suit was torn. He died a few minutes later. Why?
I thought it is a matter of seconds to die in open space. My whole life's been a lie!
What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?
I can break, I can get clogged, I can be attacked, I can be given, I can be kept, I can be crushed, yet I can be whole at the same time. What am I?
What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don’t want to use it?
What's lighter than a feather, but impossible to hold for much more than a minute?
What can be swallowed, but can also swallow you?
A king, queen and two twins all lay in a large room. How are there no adults in the room?
The king and queen are older children, like 16, and the twins are one of their younger siblings.
My head is red, but if you scratch me it’s getting black. What am I?
I am a hunter, but I don’t have a rifle, I lay net but I am not a fisherman. What am I?
What is always in front of you, but can't be seen?
What type of cheese is made backward?
This Gouda been better... but Cheddar jokes are coming and I'll Brie back.
I am an odd number. Take away just one letter and I become even. What number am I?
I have four wings, but cannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; On the same spot I'm always found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?
Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.
I have cities, but not houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have coasts, but no sand. What am I?
What do you tell yourself when you wake up late for work and realize you have a fever?
Two mums and two daughters went out for dinner and each ate one portion. Only three portions were eaten in total, how is this possible?
Who has married many people, but has never been married himself?
Depends what kind of priest. And even then doesn’t really make sense. Some catholic priests have been married before they become priests.
What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
When it is alive we sing, when it is dead we clap our hands. What is it?
What can’t be burned during a fire not either drowned in water?
I begin with an "E" and contain just one letter. What am I?
The answer I give is “yes”, but what I mean is “no”. What was the question?
The answer I give is No when I really mean YES.. when asked Do You Mind ?
Where is the only place where today comes before yesterday?
Some say I put doctors out of business. Sometimes I am sour. Other times, I am sweet. You can eat me, and you can drink me. What am I?
Sam's dad has 3 daughters. Two are named Stephanie and Amanda. What's the name of the third daughter?
How do you know that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are about to get married?
Lovely and round, I'm shimmery white, grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. What am I?
What can't talk, but will reply when spoken to?
What type of building contains the most stories?
What gets wet while drying?
People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
I have a neck but no head. What am I?
What gets smaller every time it takes a bath?
What do you bury when it's alive and dig up when it's dead?
A man goes outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat, but doesn't get a single hair on his head wet. How?
The day before yesterday I was 21, and next year I will be 24. When is my birthday?
If you are running a race and pass the person in second, then what place are you in?
If the day before yesterday was the 23rd, then what will be the day after tomorrow?
A is B's father, but B isn't A's son. How?
Often held, but never touched, Always wet, but never rusts, Often bites, but seldom bit, To use me well you must have wit. What am I?
There are two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?
Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you will die. What is it?
You walk into a room that contains a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What should you light first?
I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
What goes all around the world, but stays in a corner?
A man rode into town on Tuesday and left a few days later on Tuesday. How is that possible?
What cuts across cities and fields, but never moves?
A man and his boss have the same parents, but they are not siblings. How is this possible?
A man is preparing for a business trip. He stops by his office on the way to the airport. The night watchman stops him before he leaves and asks him not to get on the flight. He explains he had a dream the plane crashed and everyone on board died. The man does cancel his trip. And sure enough, the plane does crash, killing everyone on board. He gave the watchman a few thousand dollars for saving his life and then fired him. Why?
When my dad was 31, I was just 8 years old. Now his age is twice as old as my age. What is my current age?
It is 9 a.m. now. Josephine studies for 2 hours, takes a bath for 1 hour and then has lunch for 1 hour. How many hours are left before 9 a.m. tomorrow?
There is an empty basket that is one foot in diameter. What is the total number of eggs that you can put in this empty basket?
Answer: Just one! After that, it doesn't count as an empty basket.
What is the smallest number that increases by 12 when it is flipped and turned upside-down?
Answer: 86. When turned upside-down and flipped, it becomes 98.
I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?
When someone asks Michael how old he is, he replies, "In two years I will be twice as old as I used to be five years ago." How old is he?
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?
What do you call two Italian ants in love?
Why did the banker break up with his girlfriend?
I am present at the beginning of love; the start of life and I am the end of evil. What am I?
Most of the time, my color is red, I am beautiful, and everyone loves me, especially ladies. Sometimes I can hurt you. I don't mean it, I am sorry. What am I?
I am a nine-lettered word and rhyme with perfection. People use me as another name for love. What am I?
What can fill a room, but takes up no space?
I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
I have legs, but I do not walk? What am I?
What comes at the end of everything?
What has three feet. but cannot walk?
What do you call a nose that's 12 inches long?
What runs around a whole yard without moving?
What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
What's always found on the ground, but never gets dirty?
What goes up but never comes down?
What's a single-digit number with no value?
What do you see once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May?
A mother and father have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?
A man looks at a painting in a museum and says, "Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man’s father is my father’s son." Who is in the painting?
My life is often a volume of grief, your help is needed to turn a new leaf. Stiff is my spine and my body is pale, but I'm always ready to tell a tale. What am I?
How can you drop a raw egg on the concrete floor without cracking it?
I can't be bought, but I can be stolen with a glance. I'm worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?
What's as small as a mouse, but guards a house like a lion?
What has roots that no one sees and rises much higher than trees? Yet does not grow. What is it?
When you hear about me, I deserve everything. When you find out who am I, I am nothing. Who am I?
Alexa has four daughters, and each one has a brother. How many children does she have in total?
Answer: Five children — all four daughters have the same brother.
How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?
Answer: Just one—after that, your stomach is no longer empty.
If it takes 5 elves, 5 minutes to make 5 dolls, then how long will it take 100 elves to make 100 dolls?
What can you find in a cupboard that can never be put in a saucepan?
Whoever makes it doesn't tell. Whoever takes it doesn't know. Whoever knows it doesn't want. What is it?
I don’t have eyes, ears, nose and tongue, but I can see, smell, hear and taste everything. What am I?
People knead me to buy things. What am I?
Thousands lay up gold within this house, but no man made it. Spears past counting guard this house, but no man wards it. What is it?
A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but he doesn't know the password. Another man walks to the door and the doorman says 12, the man says 6, and is let in. Another man walks up and the doorman says 6, the man says 3, and is let in. Thinking he had heard enough, the man walks up to the door and the doorman says 10, he says 5, and he isn't let in. What should the man have said? Answer: Three. The doorman wanted to know how many letters were in the numbers he said.
A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but he doesn't know the password. Another man walks to the door and the doorman says 12, the man says 6, and is let in. Another man walks up and the doorman says 6, the man says 3, and is let in. Thinking he had heard enough, the man walks up to the door and the doorman says 10, he says 5, and he isn't let in. What should the man have said? Answer: Three. The doorman wanted to know how many letters were in the numbers he said.
