--- title: "20 Chinese Riddles With Answers, Pinyin and English" description: "20 classic Chinese riddles: 12 character riddles (字谜) like 两个月亮 and 8 riddles about things like 麻屋子，红帐子, each with pinyin, the English and sound, and the answer one press away." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-riddles" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 20 riddles # Chinese riddles Guess each one, then open the answer. [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%91%8A%20%E6%9C%8B%20%E6%98%8E%20%E9%87%8D%20%E6%80%9D%20%E8%8C%B6%20%E5%9D%90%20%E8%82%89%20%E9%97%AE%20%E6%8B%BF%20%E8%87%AD%20%E7%A2%A7%20%E8%8A%B1%E7%94%9F%20%E9%9B%A8%20%E8%90%9D%E5%8D%9C%20%E5%A4%A7%E8%92%9C%20%E6%A1%8C%E5%AD%90%20%E8%A5%BF%E7%93%9C%20%E9%B9%85%20%E9%9D%92%E8%9B%99) Speed ## Character riddles · 字谜 yīkǒu一口yǎo咬diào掉niú wěiba牛尾巴 One bite takes off the cow’s tail. Answer 告 gào · to tell 牛 (cow) loses the tail of its last stroke and sits on 口 (mouth). liǎng两gè个yuèliang月亮 Two moons. Answer 朋 péng · friend 月 (moon) twice, side by side. rì日yuè月yī一qǐlái起来 The sun and the moon come together. Answer 明 míng · bright 日 (sun) beside 月 (moon). qiānlǐ千里xiāngféng相逢 A thousand li meet. Answer 重 zhòng · heavy 千 (thousand) on top of 里 (li). shí十zhāngkǒu张口，yī一kē颗xīn心 Ten mouths, one heart. Answer 思 sī · to think 十 (ten) inside 口 (mouth) makes 田, with 心 (heart) under it. rén人zài在cǎomù草木zhōng中 A person among grass and trees. Answer 茶 chá · tea 人 (person) between 艹 (grass) and 木 (tree). èr二rén人tǔ土shàng上zuò坐 Two people sit on the earth. Answer 坐 zuò · to sit Two 人 (person) on 土 (earth). yī一rén人zàinèi在内 One more person inside. Answer 肉 ròu · meat 内 (inside) with one more 人 (person) in it. ménnèi门内yǒu有kǒu口 A mouth inside the door. Answer 问 wèn · to ask 口 (mouth) inside 门 (door). yī一rén人yī一zhāngkǒu张口，kǒu口xià下zhǎng长zhī只shǒu手 One person, one mouth, and under the mouth grows a hand. Answer 拿 ná · to take 人, 一 and 口 make 合, with 手 (hand) under it. zìdà自大yīdiǎn一点 Self, big and one dot. Answer 臭 chòu · smelly 自 (self) over 大 (big), with one more dot: proud people stink. wáng王xiānsheng先生bái白xiǎojie小姐zuò坐zài在shítou石头shàng上 Mr Wang and Miss Bai sit on a stone. Answer 碧 bì · jade green 王 and 白 side by side on 石 (stone). ## Riddles about things · 谜语 má麻wūzi屋子，hóng红zhàngzi帐子，lǐmiàn里面zhù住zhe着gè个bái白pàngzi胖子 A rough house, red curtains, and a little white fatty living inside. Answer 花生 huāshēng · peanut The shell, the red skin and the white nut. qiān千tiáo条xiàn线，wàn万tiáo条xiàn线，diào掉dào到shuǐ水li里kànbujiàn看不见 A thousand threads, ten thousand threads; they fall in the water and vanish. Answer 雨 yǔ · rain Its drops fall in lines and disappear in the water. hóng红gōngjī公鸡，lǜ绿wěiba尾巴，yītóu一头zuān钻dào到dì地dǐxia底下 A red rooster with a green tail dives head first under the ground. Answer 萝卜 luóbo · radish A red radish grows in the earth with its green leaves above. dìxiong弟兄qībā七八gè个，wéi围zhe着zhùzi柱子zuò坐，dàjiā大家yī一fēnshǒu分手，yīfu衣服dōu都chě扯pò破 Seven or eight brothers sit around a pillar; when they part, their clothes all tear. Answer 大蒜 dàsuàn · garlic The cloves sit around the stem and their skins tear when you pull them apart. yǒu有miàn面méiyǒu没有kǒu口，yǒu有jiǎo脚méiyǒu没有shǒu手，suī虽yǒu有sì四zhī只jiǎo脚，zìjǐ自己bùhuì不会zǒu走 It has a face but no mouth, feet but no hands; it has four feet but can’t walk. Answer 桌子 zhuōzi · table 面 is both “face” and a table’s top. shēnchuān身穿lǜ绿yīshang衣裳，dù肚li里shuǐwāngwāng水汪汪，shēng生de的zǐr子儿duō多，gè个gè个hēi黑liǎn脸táng膛 Dressed in green, full of water inside, with many children, every one with a black face. Answer 西瓜 xīguā · watermelon Green rind, juicy inside, full of black seeds. tóu头dài戴hóng红màozi帽子，shēnchuān身穿bái白páozi袍子，zǒulù走路xiàng像gōngzǐ公子，shuōhuà说话shēn伸bózi脖子 A red hat, a white robe, walks like a young lord and stretches its neck to talk. Answer 鹅 é · goose The red knob on its head, white feathers and long neck. xiǎoshí小时chuān穿hēiyī黑衣，dà大shí时chuān穿lǜ绿páo袍，shuǐ水li里guòrìzi过日子，ànshàng岸上lái来shuìjiào睡觉 Dressed in black when small and in green when grown; it lives in the water and sleeps on the bank. Answer 青蛙 qīngwā · frog A black tadpole grows into a green frog. ## What is a Chinese riddle called? A riddle is 谜语 (míyǔ) and its answer 谜底 (mídǐ), “the bottom of the riddle”. A riddle whose answer is a character is a 字谜 (zìmí); riddles hung on lanterns to guess at the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth night of the new year, are 灯谜 (dēngmí). ## How do character riddles work? Most characters are built from smaller parts, and a character riddle names the parts: 两个月亮 (two moons) is 朋, two 月 side by side. Guessing them is a quick way to see how characters are put together. ## Can’t hear it? Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; on other browsers, add Chinese speech in your system’s language settings. ## More free tools - [Funny Chinese words and jokes](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/funny-chinese-words-and-jokes) - [Chinese tongue twisters](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-tongue-twisters) - [Chinese poems with pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-poems) - [Chinese radicals](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-radicals) Folk riddles; English ours; pinyin from our own reader.