Very Hard Riddles (200+ to Make You Say OMG)

Looking for really hard riddles that you might not be able to solve? If solving hard riddles is one of your favorite things to do, then look no further.

Here, there is a complete list of all the best mind teasers and trick questions so you can work on solving riddles.

From the most classic riddles to a hard riddle that will challenge the way you think about things, this is the complete list of all the best word puzzles!

hard riddles

Three consecutive double letters riddles

I am an English word with three consecutive double letters. What am I?

Answer: Bookkeeper.

Tricky riddles with answers

A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?

Answer: Four sisters and three brothers.

What has only two words but has thousands of letters in them?

Answer: A post office.

A woman shoots her husband and then holds him underwater for five minutes. Then, she hangs him. After that, they enjoy a lovely dinner together. How is this possible?

Answer: The woman shoots her husband in the form of a photo.

A man had four daughters, and each of his daughters has a brother. How many children does the man have?

Answer: Five (the sisters share the same brother).

The Riddler's Riddle: what do these letters signify?

I am an English word. My first two letters signify a male, my first three letters signify a female, my first four letters signify a great man, and my entire word signifies a great woman. What am I?

Answer: A heroine (a powerful or great woman).

Hard riddles with answers

What can you hold in your left hand and not in your right hand?

Answer: Your right elbow.

What is the longest fruit?

Answer: Longan.

I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?

Answer: An echo.

You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm think and slow when I'm fat. What am I?

Answer: A candle.

hard riddles

Hard riddles for adults

You see a boat filled with people. You look again, but this time, you don't see a single person on the boat. Why don't you see a single person?

Answer: Married people had the boat filled.

What can fill an entire room without taking up any space?

Answer: Light.

My name has ten letters. The first four letters represent power; you eat my fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth letters, and my last three letters represent a female. Also, I can fly. What am I?

Answer: A kingfisher.

A girl who was just learning to drive went the wrong way down a one-way street, but she didn't break the law. How is this possible?

Answer: Because she was walking.

Hard riddles and brain teasers

It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt. It cannot be heard, it cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after; it ends life and kills laughter. What is it?

Answer: Darkness.

How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?

Answer: Concrete floors cannot be cracked by an egg.

How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?

Answer: You are standing back to back with your father.

You are a bus driver. Eight people get on, two people get off, two more people get on, and another person gets off. Lastly, three more people get one, and another two get off. How old is the bus driver?

Answer: Whatever age you are (you are the bus driver).

What travels around the entire world but stays in one corner?

Answer: A stamp.

hard riddles

Hard riddles and logical thinking

I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains but no trees. I have water but no fish. What am I?

Answer: A map.

What is seen in the middle of March and April that cannot be seen at the beginning or end of either month?

Answer: The letter "R."

I came from a mine and get surrounded by wood always. Everyone uses me. What am I?

Answer: Pencil lead.

What disappears as soon as you say its name?

Answer: Silence.

I have keys but no locks and space and no rooms. You can enter, but you cannot go outside. What am I?

Answer: A keyboard.

What gets wet while drying?

Answer: A towel.

Tricky and hard riddles

How many letters are in the alphabet?

Answer: Literally speaking, there are 11 letters in the words "the alphabet."

A is the brother of B. B is the brother of C. C is the father of D. So, how is D related to A?

Answer: A is D's uncle.

When was the latest year that is the same upside down?

Answer: 1961.

What English word retains the same pronunciation even after you take away four of its five letters?

Answer: Queue.

What two combined words hold the most letters?

Answer: The post office.

This belongs to you but everyone else uses it. What is it?

Answer: Your name.

First, think of the color of the clouds. Next, think of the color of snow. Now, think of the color of a bright full moon. Answer quickly, what do cows drink?

Answer: Water.

tricky and hard riddles

Math riddles

Using only addition, add eight eights to get to the number 1,000.

Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000.

I add six to 11 and get five. Why is this correct?

Answer: When it is 11 AM, adding six hours makes it 5 PM.

A brother says of his younger brother, "Two years ago, I was three times as old as my brother was. In three years' time, I will be twice as old as my brother." How old are each of the brothers now?

Answer: The older brother is 17 and the younger brother is 7.

How is seven different from the rest of the numbers between one and ten?

Answer: Seven has two syllables and the other numbers have only one syllable.

How can the number four be half of five?

Answer: IV, the Roman numeral for the number four, which is half (two letters) of the word five (four letters).

What are the next three letters in this combination? OTTFFSS.

Answer: ENT (each letter represents the first letter in the written numbers one, two, three, etc.).

Hard riddles for young adults

First you eat me, then you get eaten. What am I?

Answer: A fishhook.

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

Answer: The letter "M."

Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?

Answer: The word "Incorrectly."

What can you hold in your right hand but never in your left hand?

Answer: Your left hand.

What is able to go up a chimney when down but unable to go down a chimney when up?

Answer: An umbrella.

Three different doctors said that Paul is their brother yet Paul claims he has no brothers. Who is lying?

Answer: No one is lying because the three doctors are Paul's sisters.

tricky and hard riddles

Hard riddles with letters

What word has five letters, but when you take two letters you are left with one?

Answer: Alone (take the "A" and the "L" and you are left with "ONE").

Take away my first letter and then take away my second letter. Then, take away the rest of my letters, yet I remain the same. What am I?

Answer: A postman.

Remove the first and last letters letter of my name and I will still remain the same. You can also remove the middle letter of my name and I will remain unchanged. If you remove all the letters from my name, then I will be the same thing. What am I?

Answer: Empty.

I start with the letter "E," and I end with the letter "E." I contain only one letter, but I am not the letter "E." What am I if I only contain one letter?

Answer: An envelope.

A word with six letters subtracts just one and 12 is what remains. What word is this?

Answer: Dozens.

Challenging riddles for families

A doctor and a boy were fishing. The boy was the doctor's son, but the doctor was not the boy's father. Who was the doctor?

Answer: His mother.

Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, and gives it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?

Answer: Advice.

A man was driving a black truck. His lights were not on and the moon was not out. A lady was crossing the street, How did the man see her?

Answer: It was a bright and sunny day.

What always comes into a house through the keyhole?

Answer: A key.

How many animals did Moses take on the ark?

Answer: None, Noah took the animals on the ark.

Even a stopped clock is correct how many times a day?

Answer: It is right twice a day.

My thunder comes before lightning. My lightning comes before the clouds. My rain dries all the land it touches. What am I?

Answer: A volcano.

tricky and hard riddles

Hard riddles for a road trip

What can cut like a knife, sting like a bee, and bite like a lion. Also it can carry truth and lies but never move or speak? What is being described?

Answer: Words.

George, Helen, and Steve are drinking coffee. Bert, Karen, and Dave are drinking soda. Using logic, is Elizabeth drinking coffee or soda?

Answer: Coffee (the letter "E" appears twice in her name and the rest of the others drinking coffee).

The riddle about the entire world signifies what?

Answer: The nature of the universe and the meaning of life.

You buy me to eat but you never eat me. What actual object am I?

Answer: Plates or bowls.

What word in the English language can run but not walk?

Answer: A river.

What word in the English language goes from Z to A?

Answer: "Zebra."

tricky and hard riddles

Tough riddles for everyone

Jimmy is seven years old and I go everywhere with him. I cast no shadow and breathe no air. I don't weigh anything and I can't be seen, heard, or touched. Who am I?

Answer: Jimmy's imaginary friend.

I am there at the beginning of love, the start of life, and am the end of evil. What am I?

Answer: The letter "L."

How many words are in a dictionary?

Answer: Two ("a" and "dictionary").

What has wheels and flies?

Answer: A garbage bin with wheels.

I rest above you without judging your actions and can protect and keep you warm. What am I?

Answer: A hat.

Hard riddles to work on critical thinking skills

I can heal and kill without touching you. What am I?

Answer: Time.

When is the only time that today and tomorrow come before yesterday?

Answer: In the dictionary.

I have a face and hands but my hands can never touch my face. What am I?

Answer: A clock.

What can bring tears to your eyes, make you move quicker, force you to slow down, and knock you over?

Answer: The wind.

Samuel's father has three sons; David, Andrew, and who else?

Answer: Samuel.

What has 15 diamonds but is not rich?

Answer: A deck of cards.

hard riddles

Difficult riddles for friends

What has leaves but no branches?

Answer: A book.

There are two fathers and two sons at a table but there are only three people at the table. How is this possible?

Answer: They are a grandfather, father, and son.

I have horses, a cat, and a trunk. What am I?

Answer: A car (horsepower, catalytic converter, and a trunk).

Why is it that when you have lost something, it's always in the last place you look?

Answer: Because you stop looking when you find it.

What has no beginning, middle, or end?

Answer: A doughnut.

Mind-bending riddles for young adults

Which is the only number that does not equal one when it's divided by itself?

Answer: Zero.

Even though lions are feared by most animals, they never attack tigers or bears. Why is this?

Answer: Lions are native to Africa, while tigers and bears are not.

What is something you have but can;t touch, can change, use everyday, but have never seen?

Answer: Your mind.

I am full of holes but am great at holding water. What am I?

Answer: A sponge.

Quick riddles

I stick strongly, but I'm not sticky in the slightest. What am I?

Answer: A magnet.

I can go through a door closed but I can't go through a door open. What am I?

Answer: An umbrella.

Which word in English is spelled backwards?

Answer: The word "backwards."

What is at the head of a llama and at the tail of a seagull?

Answer: Two of the letter "L."

What can be the same size as the world's tallest human but weigh nothing?

Answer: The world's tallest person's shadow.

Riddles about money

What kind of bank has nothing but water in it?

Answer: A snow bank.

When did money start to grow on trees?

Answer: Once people started using paper currency.

What has two banks but no money?

Answer: A river bank.

What do the dollar and the moon have in common?

Answer: They both have quarters.

What kind of book can make money?

Answer: A checkbook.

What has 100 heads and 100 tails?

Answer: 100 coins.

What goes further the slower it goes?

Answer: Money.

What five letter word has only one left when two letters are removed?

Answer: Money (Take away the "M" and the"Y" and you are left with "ONE").

Hard riddles to work on problem solving abilities

You walk into a dark room. In the room, there is an oil lantern, a candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first?

Answer: You can't because you don't have anything to light them with.

If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you don't have me. What am I?

Answer: A secret.

You're escaping a labyrinth and there are three doors in front of you. The left door leads to a fire. The middle door leads to a deadly assassin. The door on the right leads to a lion who hasn't eaten in three months. What door do you choose?

Answer: The door on the right because the lion would be dead after not eating for three months.

Turn me on my side. andI am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?

Answer: The number 8.

Hard riddles to work on problem-solving skills

What is the next number in this sequence of numbers: 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, 312211,...?

Answer: 13112221.

You're in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove, and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first?

Answer: The match.

Where can you find a hammer and an anvil that are too small for human hands to use?

Answer: In the human ear.

During our life, what are the two things we will do but will never remember?

Answer: Breathe our first and last breath.

Which candles burn longer, church or birthday cake candles?

Answer: Neither, candles only burn shorter.

When I was going to the store I saw a man and his wife with their two children. How many people were going to the store?

Answer: Only one person, me.

Brain teasers and tricky riddles

What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?

Answer: A pillow.

What can be given and accepted, is worth a great deal, but costs nothing and has no monetary value?

Answer: An apology.

Simon drinks more water in Janurary than in February but the same amount of water in August as in January. Why is this?

Answer: There are more days in January than February and the same amount of days in August.

Hardest riddles for adults

In a room there is a king, queen, and two wins but no people. How is this?

Answer: They are all beds.

What breaks every day but can never be fixed?

Answer: Dawn.

What can be opened and closed but no person has ever passed through it?

Answer: A mouth.

What is the most expensive thing people buy and own but never get to see?

Answer: A coffin.

Mary, Susan, Anne, and Martha are all best friends and sisters, but each of them is an only child. How is this possible?

Answer: They are all nuns.

I bend and never break. What am I?

Answer: Light.

Animals from around the world riddle questions

Why are penguins not afraid of being eaten by polar bears?

Answer: Penguins live in the North pole and polar bears live in the South pole.

The height of my legs is taller than most humans. What am I?

Answer: A giraffe.

It takes me two weeks to digest food, but I am not known for doing anything quickly. What am I?

Answer: A sloth.

I have two long ears and I hop instead of walk. What am I?

Answer: A rabbit.

My name sounds like something you might use as a hair product or eat for dessert. What am I?

Answer: A moose.

Easy riddles for kids

What goes up but never comes back down?

Answer: Your age.

If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become?

Answer: Wet.

What goes in a birdbath but never gets wet?

Answer: A bird's shadow.

What two things can you never eat for breakfast?

Answer: Lunch and dinner.

If you drop me, I'm sure to crack, but smile at me and I'll smile back. What am I?

Answer: A mirror.

More riddles for kids

What has hands and a face, but can't hold anything or smile?

Answer: A clock.

You'll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?

Answer: The letter "R."

I am light as a feather, but the strongest person can't hold me for over 11 minutes. What am I?

Answer: Your breath.

What can you break even if you never pick it up or touch it?

Answer: A promise.

What question can you never answer "yes" to?

Answer: "Are you asleep?"

Animal riddles for children

I grow down as I grow up. What am I?

Answer: A goose (goose feathers are called down).

What's bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?

Answer: A carrot.

Without me, Thanksgiving and Christmas are incomplete, when I'm on the table, everyone tends to overeat. What am I?

Answer: Turkey.

Why do bees have sticky hair?

Answer: Because they use honeycombs.

More animal riddles for kids

What do you call a bear with no teeth?

Answer: A gummy bear.

I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I?

Answer: A kangaroo.

I might be considered the father of fruits. What am I?

Answer: A papa-ya.

What animal is black, white, and blue?

Answer: A sad zebra.

Fun riddles for young kids

What is really easy to get into but hard to get out of?

Answer: Trouble.

What can jump higher than a building?

Answer: Anything because buildings don't jump.

What room do ghosts avoid?

Answer: The living room.

I can be cracked or played; told or made. What am I?

Answer: A joke.

What has a head and a tail but no body?

Answer: A coin.

Even more fun riddles for little kids

I sometimes run, but I cannot walk. What am I?

Answer: Your nose.

What has four fingers and a thumb but isn't alive?

Answer: A glove.

When I'm ripe, I'm green. When you eat me, I'm red. When you spit me out, I'm black. What am I?

Answer: A watermelon.

What food has to be broken before you can use it?

Answer: An egg.

You can cut me, dice me, and while doing so, you are the one that cries. What food am I?

Answer: An onion.

Related riddles

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author: patrick algrim
About the author

Patrick Algrim is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), NCDA Certified Career Counselor (CCC), and general career expert. Patrick has completed the NACE Coaching Certification Program (CCP). And has been published as a career expert on Forbes, Glassdoor, American Express, Reader's Digest, LiveCareer, Zety, Yahoo, Recruiter.com, SparkHire, SHRM.org, Process.st, FairyGodBoss, HRCI.org, St. Edwards University, NC State University, IBTimes.com, Thrive Global, TMCnet.com, Work It Daily, Workology, Career Guide, MyPerfectResume, College Career Life, The HR Digest, WorkWise, Career Cast, Elite Staffing, Women in HR, All About Careers, Upstart HR, The Street, Monster, The Ladders, Introvert Whisperer, and many more. Find him on LinkedIn.

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