I’ve gathered some riddles for children.
Many of them are fun to solve like a game, and they’re sure to train the brain and boost kids’ thinking skills!
There are also some riddles that turn out to be surprisingly tricky once you start thinking about them, so adults should give them a try too.
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Riddles full of mysteries that you can solve from a child’s perspective. The more flexible your mind, the higher your chances of getting them right! (1–10)
Riddles and quiz for children
These riddles are perfect for young children in the lower grades of elementary school and younger.
Since they use only hiragana, even small children can enjoy them safely.
The questions are simple, so this video is recommended when trying riddles for the first time.
What vehicle do you pedal and pedal but end up going back and forth in the same place?
When you row a boat or pedal a bicycle, you move forward, right? But the answer to this riddle seems to be something that goes back and forth in the same place no matter how much you push.
The key to solving it is to focus on “going back and forth.” If you’re an elementary school student, that phrase might make something click.
Here’s a hint: the park.
Think back to your time playing at the park—there was a fun piece of playground equipment that goes back and forth! That’s right, the answer is a swing.
Did you get it right?
What do you hold while eating rice?
Something you “hold” while eating… A busy mother might hold her child while eating something safe even if it’s dropped, but normally you don’t hold anything in your arms during a meal, right? So no matter how much you think about what you could hold while eating, you won’t reach the answer.
The key to solving this riddle is to recall what you always do during a meal, and to try expressing “dakko” (to hold/hug) with a different word.
The correct answer is “ita” (board)! Because you say “ita, dakimasu”—a pun on “Itadakimasu.”
Even though it was taken, everyone’s laughing. I wonder why.
I ended up fighting after my friend and I both tried to take it… It’s something every elementary schooler has probably experienced at least once.
Having something taken from you feels awful and makes you sad, right? So let’s try this puzzle.
Why is everyone smiling even though something was ‘taken’? The first thing to think about when solving this is the meaning of the word ‘taken’ (torareta).
It’s deliberately written in hiragana, so try converting it to kanji and imagining what situation it might describe.
The answer is: because it was a photograph.
No matter how many times you call it, it never answers—what is it?
If you call your dad or mom, your teacher or your friends, they all answer you, right? But in this world, there are things that won’t respond no matter how much you call them… What are they? The answer is something you all know well.
The key to solving this riddle is to focus on the hiragana word yondemo.
First, try converting it to kanji.
If you try different options like 呼んでも (even if you call) and 読んでも (even if you read), you’ll arrive at the answer.
By the way, the correct answer is “a book.”
What is a ball that’s square, even though it’s still a ball?
Speaking of balls, they’re one of the tools used in ball sports, right? When you picture a ball, most of you probably imagine a round sphere.
However, since the question in this quiz says “square,” we need to look for a square ball.
Let’s forget about balls used in sports for a moment and think of something square that includes the word “ball” (booru) in Japanese.
If you’re an elementary school student, you’ve probably seen it at home or used it for crafts.
The correct answer is “danbooru” (cardboard).
What gets smaller the bigger it gets?
The bigger it gets, the smaller it becomes… What does that even mean? you might wonder.
“Getting bigger” and “getting smaller” are opposites, and something that gets bigger doesn’t become smaller.
What we need to consider when solving this riddle is how to interpret “bigger.” In this puzzle, “bigger” means “growing.” When you grow, isn’t there something that becomes smaller? You probably experience it often when the seasons change.
The answer is clothes! As your body grows and gets bigger, the clothes you wore last year become too small and no longer fit.
An elevator that can hold ten people broke and fell. Yet no one was injured. Why is that?
See the answer
Because no one was riding (it)/Because nobody was on it.
If an elevator breaks and falls down, normally you’d expect serious injuries, but the key point here is that no one was inside at the time. It says it’s for ten people, but it doesn’t say anyone was riding it. In other words, no one was in the elevator, so no one was injured.
Five people are playing hide-and-seek. Two have been found. How many are left?
See the answer
2 people
When five people are playing hide-and-seek and two are found, that means three still haven’t been found. But one of those three is the seeker, so only two are actually hiding. The seeker is the one who looks for others, not the one who gets found, so they’re not counted.
What is something you use but cannot own?
Scissors, pencils, erasers, rulers… most tools you’re familiar with are basically things you hold in your hand to use, right? So let’s try a riddle: “What can be used but cannot be held?” You might think of various tools, but you won’t easily get the right answer if you only think in terms of “objects.” First, try considering things you can use that aren’t objects.
By the way, the answer is “your name.” You use it when introducing yourself or when you want friends to know about you, but you certainly can’t “hold” it.