For elementary school kids! Fun riddles recommended for lower grades

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

Lively, curious lower-grade elementary school children.

They love learning new things and playing with friends.

Their thinking is still flexible, and they’re great at coming up with fun ideas.

Here, we’ll introduce riddles for elementary school kids that lower graders can enjoy.

Riddles help develop thinking skills and let you enjoy wordplay.

Have a wonderful time using your heads together with friends and family as you enjoy all kinds of fun riddles featuring familiar things!

For Elementary School Kids! Fun Riddles Recommended for Lower Grades (41–50)

Taro and Jiro are brothers born on the same day in the same year, but they are not twins. Why is that?

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Actually, I'm a triplet.

Taro and Jiro were born on the same day in the same year and are siblings, but they are not twins. That’s because they are actually two of a set of triplets. In the case of triplets or larger sibling sets, two of them alone are not called “twins,” which leads to this answer.

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mutō

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Which was built first, the Great Buddha of Nara or the Great Buddha of Kamakura?

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Neither of them is standing.

The question asks which came first: the Great Buddha of Nara or the Great Buddha of Kamakura. But since both the actual Great Buddha statues in Nara and Kamakura are displayed in a seated position, the correct answer is “Neither of them is standing.” The key is to read the question carefully and avoid being tricked.

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mayumi

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Among kindergarteners, elementary school students, and adults, which is the biggest?

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kindergarten

A kindergarten isn’t a person; it’s the name of a building. Elementary school students and adults are people, but a kindergarten is a large building that many people can enter. So if you compare sizes, the kindergarten is the biggest. The key to this riddle is noticing the meanings of the words.

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mutō

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What are the two things a younger brother has but a younger sister has only one of?

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The hiragana “to”

The word otōto (younger brother) contains two instances of the syllable “to,” while imōto (younger sister) contains only one. Both are family terms, but in this riddle the key is not their meanings—it’s the letters within the words. If you look closely at the words and consider which characters appear and how many times, you’ll arrive at the answer.

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mutō

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What is the name of the old man who appears in Urashima Taro?

@igosso.youtube
Translation Trick quiz Igossou
♪ Original Song – Igossou [YouTube] – Igossou [YouTube]

Speaking of Urashima Taro, it’s known as the story where he rides a turtle to the Dragon Palace, spends what feels like only a short time there, and when he returns, many years have passed in the world he came from and not a single acquaintance remains.

It’s a beautiful yet sorrowful tale, and surely everyone, from children to adults, has read it at least once.

Now, recall the story carefully and try this challenge.

If you’re thinking, “Did Urashima Taro have a grandfather?” you won’t reach the right answer.

The hint is to remember what happened to Urashima Taro when he opened the tamatebako (jeweled box)!

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sasashina

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What is something you can move easily but can never lift?

https://www.tiktok.com/@igosso.youtube/video/7494567204071984385

When you hear that something is easy to move, you probably imagine something small or light that’s easy to carry.

But in this riddle, it says it’s something you absolutely can’t lift.

What could it be? First, think of something you can move yourself.

It’s something everyone has, and even if you go outside with nothing but the clothes on your back, it naturally follows you.

Among those, think of something you can’t lift.

The answer is “your shadow”! You can easily make it move by moving yourself, but you can’t hold it in your hand, so you can never lift it.

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sasashina

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What is something you can see but can’t touch?

Something you can see but can’t touch… Huh? A ghost? That might be the kind of answer you’d think of, but that’s not it.

Don’t worry, it’s not a scary question—feel free to give it a try.

The answer to this riddle is something unique to elementary schoolers, or rather, it even comes up in lower grades’ classes.

If you have a flash of insight, even a first-grader could solve it.

The hint: it’s something you can usually find in a classroom or a room.

Try solving it while thinking, “What is it that I’m always looking at?” The answer is “time.” You can see it, but since it isn’t a physical object like a clock, you can’t touch it—that’s the trick.

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sasashina

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