So tricky you’ll be fooled! A collection of trick riddles that both adults and kids can enjoy.

the sun (goes down) / (as) day falls

It doesn’t mean the “kureru” that indicates receiving something; it means “kureru” as in the sun setting (kureru as in day turning to evening).

T

You might think the last letter is “Z,” but you have to assume this is a trick question. It’s not asking for the last letter from A to Z; it’s asking for the last letter of the word “alphabet,” so the answer is “T.”

Because I exchanged money.

Turn one sheet of paper into ten without cutting it. Physically, that’s impossible—but it can be done if you exchange it for smaller bills. For example, one 10,000-yen note becomes exactly ten 1,000-yen notes. It’s a riddle that tests how flexible your thinking is. You could answer the same way with foreign currency, too.

Because there was no water in the pool

The reason the swimmer couldn’t swim was simple: there was no water in the pool. Naturally, you can’t swim without water.

2

When it comes to the smallest number in a deck of playing cards, you’d probably say “1,” right? But think about it: in playing cards, “1” is represented as “A,” which isn’t a number. So the answer is actually “2,” since it’s the smallest value that’s written as a numeral.

mosquito

If you rephrase 'foreign country' (外国) in other words, it becomes 'overseas' (海外). And if you play with the sounds, 'kaigai' (かいがい) turns into 'besides mosquitoes' (蚊以外). So, since everything except mosquitoes can go abroad, the answer is 'mosquito.'

pond

You might feel like saying, “But ponds are murky!”—however, this is a trick question. “Not murky” here doesn’t mean literally clear; it means words without dakuten or handakuten marks. Therefore, the answer isn’t ‘dam’ or ‘pool,’ but ‘pond’ (ike).