[For Preschoolers] Thinking Is Fun! Riddle Special
This article introduces riddles for preschoolers in their middle year.
For younger preschoolers, the answers often focus on appearance or simple features.
But by the middle year, children can start finding clues within the words themselves and using their imagination, so they can enjoy slightly more challenging riddles.
The riddles we’re sharing this time are packed with fun ones that encourage imaginative thinking!
If the questions are too hard, some children may not enjoy them or may feel discouraged if they can’t get the right answer.
So try using hints effectively and have fun tackling the riddles together.
For Preschoolers: Riddles That Make Thinking Fun! (1–10)
What is the delicious fruit found within 'kakikukeko'?
See the answer
kaki
Let’s look for the name of a fruit among the letters lined up as “ka ki ku ke ko.” You’ll find a fruit called “kaki” (persimmon). Therefore, the answer to this riddle is “kaki.”
What is the vehicle that the tiger is riding?
See the answer
Tiger
Since it says “a tiger is riding,” we look for a vehicle whose name contains the characters or sound ‘tora’ (tiger). The word ‘truck’ in Japanese is ‘torakku,’ which hides ‘tora,’ so the answer is ‘truck.’
What creature is hiding among the laundry?
See the answer
cloud; spider
The creature hiding among the laundry is a spider, isn’t it? “Laundry” refers to washing, drying, and keeping the clothes you wore each day clean. If that’s difficult, it might help to ask whether they’ve ever seen any creatures while hanging out the laundry.
What vegetable has a name that reads the same from top to bottom and from bottom to top?
See the answer
tomato
If you separate the word “tomato” into individual characters and read them, from the top it’s “to,” “ma,” “to,” and from the bottom it’s also “to,” “ma,” “to.” A word that reads the same from either direction is called a palindrome, and among vegetable names, “tomato” is such a palindrome, so the correct answer is “tomato.”
What kind of animal is in the wallet?
See the answer
rhino
Focus on the word “saifu” (wallet) in the sentence “inside the wallet.” The word “saifu” contains the animal name “sai” (rhinoceros). Therefore, the animal that is inside the wallet is “sai” (rhinoceros).
Even though it’s mochi, what kind of mochi makes your butt hurt when you pound it?
See the answer
falling on one’s butt
First, since it says “mochi wa mochi demo,” the answer must be a word that has “mochi” at both ends. Next, let’s pay attention to the “oshiri” in “oshiri ga itai” (“my butt hurts”). If we combine “oshiri” and “mochi,” we get the word “shirimochi.” This perfectly matches the condition of “oshiri ga itai,” so the answer is “shirimochi” (falling on one’s bottom).
Which animal catches a cold and goes cough-cough?
See the answer
fox
Focus on the sentence “An animal that goes kon-kon and coughs.” Let’s replace the expression “coughs” with an animal’s cry. The animal that goes “kon-kon” is a fox, right? Therefore, the answer to the riddle is “a fox.”


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