22 Riddles to Learn English. Unlocking the English Language: An Adventure through famous English Riddles with answers
22 Riddles to Learn English
22 Riddles to Learn English
Learning a new language can be an exciting yet challenging journey. For those embarking on the path to mastering English, there are various creative methods that can enhance language acquisition. One such method is the use of riddles. These mind-bending puzzles not only stimulate critical thinking but also offer an engaging way to improve vocabulary, comprehension, and overall language skills.
Building Vocabulary
Riddles provide an excellent opportunity to expand your vocabulary. Each riddle presents a unique challenge, introducing new words and phrases within a contextual framework. By deciphering riddles, you encounter words in a practical and memorable manner, allowing you to understand their meanings and usage more effectively. As you solve riddles, you’ll find yourself naturally incorporating these newly acquired words into your everyday English conversations.
Enhancing Comprehension
Riddles often require you to think critically and consider multiple interpretations. This process enhances your comprehension skills by forcing you to analyze and understand the subtle nuances of language. As you decode the hidden messages within riddles, you become adept at interpreting context, idiomatic expressions, and figurative language. This heightened understanding of English usage will greatly benefit your overall language comprehension, making it easier to understand native speakers and various forms of written English.
Practicing Grammar and Syntax
Riddles are an enjoyable way to reinforce your grasp of grammar and syntax rules. Many riddles rely on wordplay, puns, and clever linguistic devices that demonstrate the intricacies of the English language. By analyzing the structure and arrangement of words within riddles, you can sharpen your understanding of sentence construction, verb tenses, prepositions, and other grammatical concepts. This hands-on approach to learning grammar makes it more engaging and memorable than traditional textbook exercises.
Cultivating Problem-Solving Skills
Mastering a language involves more than just memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules; it requires the development of problem-solving skills. Riddles provide an ideal platform to hone these skills, as they encourage logical thinking, deduction, and the ability to connect seemingly unrelated pieces of information. By grappling with riddles, you’ll sharpen your analytical mindset, which can be applied to various real-life situations, academic pursuits, and professional endeavors beyond language learning.
Fostering Creativity and Fun
Language learning can sometimes feel like a daunting task, but riddles inject an element of fun and creativity into the process. Solving riddles challenges your creativity by pushing you to think outside the box and consider alternative perspectives. The joy of unraveling a riddle can be immensely rewarding, boosting your motivation and confidence in your English language abilities. Additionally, sharing riddles with others creates a sense of camaraderie, as you can engage in friendly competition or collaborate to unravel the mysteries together.
Learning English through riddles is a captivating and effective method that harnesses the power of playfulness and problem-solving. By immersing yourself in this intriguing world of wordplay, you will expand your vocabulary, sharpen your comprehension skills, reinforce grammar concepts, and cultivate essential problem-solving abilities. So, embark on this adventure through riddles and watch as your English language skills soar to new heights, making your learning journey both enjoyable and rewarding.
Here are 22 Riddles to learn English
Jailbreak
Jack is placed in a cell with a dirt floor and only one window positioned so high no one could reach it. The cell is empty except for a shovel. It’s dry and hot in there, but Jack won’t get any food or drink anytime soon. He has only 2 days to break out of the jail. If not — he’ll die.
Digging a tunnel is not an option because it’ll take more than 2 days. How should Jack escape the cell?
A stolen necklace
Mrs. Smith went to the police claiming that her vintage necklace was missing. When the police arrived, they saw no signs of a break-in. Only one window was broken. There was a total mess inside the house and dirty footprints all over the floor.
The next day, Mrs. Smith was arrested for fraud. Why?
Murder at school
On the first day of the school year, a geography teacher was murdered. The police had 4 suspects: the gardener, the math teacher, the coach, and the school principal. They all had alibis:
– The gardener was cutting bushes.
– The math teacher was holding a mid-year test.
– The coach was playing basketball.
– The principal was in his office.
The killer was arrested immediately.
Who killed the geography teacher, and how did the police solve the mystery?
A lonely man
A lonely old man lived in his house in the suburb of a city. He never left the house for long. It was a midsummer Friday when the mailman walked by and called out for the man. There was no answer. The mailman looked into the window and saw him in a pool of blood. When the policeman arrived, he found Tuesday’s newspaper, 2 bottles of warm milk, and 1 bottle of cold milk.
The next day, the killer was arrested. How did the police find out who it was so quickly?
22 Riddles to Learn English
2 pills
A serial killer kidnapped people and made them take 1 of 2 pills: one was harmless, and the other was poisonous. Whichever pill a victim took, the serial killer took the other one. The victim took their pill with water and died.
The killer survived. How did the killer always get the harmless pill?
Frozen windows
Once on a winter day, John found his friend dead in his own house. John called the police and said that he was just passing by Jack’s house and decided to come in.
He’d been knocking and ringing the bell for a long time, but all was silent. However, he could see the light in the room through a frozen window. He breathed on the iced window glass and saw Jack on the floor.
The police arrested John as the main suspect. Why?
Chemical substances
A famous chemist was murdered in his own lab. There was no evidence except for a piece of paper with the names of chemical substances on it. On the day he was murdered, the chemist had only 3 visitors: his wife, Mary, his nephew Nicolas, and his friend Johnathan.
The police arrested the murderer right away. How did they know who it was?
The Building mystery
A dead body is found at the bottom of a multistory building. It looks quite clear that the person has committed suicide by jumping off from one of the floors.
A detective comes, goes to the first floor and walks in the room facing the direction in which the body was found. He opens the closed window of that room and flips a coin towards the floor.
He goes to the second floor and does the exact same thing till the last floor. Then, when he climbs down, he tells the team that it is a murder, not suicide.
How does he know that?
22 Riddles to Learn English
The Funeral mystery
A girl, at the funeral of her mother, met a guy whom she did not know. The girl fell for the guy and wanted to contact him. She looks for him but couldn’t find him. A few days later she kills her sister. What did she do that?
A few days later she kills her sister. Why did she do that?
The Cottage mystery
An old man lived alone in a small cottage. One certain Thursday morning, while the mailman was delivering a letter he found out that the old man is murdered. He immediately calls the cops.
When the cops arrive at the scene, they find two bottles of milk, Monday’s newspaper, a catalogue, flyers, and unopened mail.
The police find the suspect. Who is the suspect and why?
The Recorder mystery
A man was found dead with a cassette recorder in one hand and a gun in the other. When the police came in, they immediately pressed the play button on the cassette. He said “I have nothing else to live for. I can’t go on,” then the sound of a gunshot.
After listening to the cassette tape, the police knew that it was not a suicide. How did they know?
The Court mystery
A man is in court for killing his wife. In the closing statements, the man’s lawyer surprises everyone when he announces “His wife was just missing. Everyone look at those doors. His wife is going to walk in those doors in about 30 seconds.”
The entire court is silent and the jury stares at the door as the lawyer and the defendant stares at the jury.
After a couple of minutes, the lawyer says “See! If you were so sure he killed his wife, you wouldn’t be watching that door!”
The jury immediately gave a guilty verdict. Why did the jury convict him?
22 Riddles to Learn English
The Car mystery
A man was shot to death while in his car. There were no powder marks on his clothing, which indicated that the gunman was outside the car. However, all the windows were up and the doors locked. After a close inspection was made, the only bullet holes discovered were on the man’s body.
How was he murdered?
The Honeymoon mystery
A couple went on for their honeymoon trip. But only the husband returned from the vacation and said that his wife met an unfortunate accident and died. The police arrested him saying, “Your travel agent called. You murdered your wife.”
How did the agent know that it was a murder?
22 Riddles to Learn English
The Burglary mystery
A couple reported a robbery. The husband told the policeman, that he thinks that the burglar presumably entered the house by breaking through the window, pointing to the broken window glasses on the outside of the house.
The policeman noticed that the inside of the house only a few tiny pieces of window glass particles scattered around near the broken window area and told him that it was not a burglary and no outsider has entered his house through that window.
What made the policeman so sure?
A Chemical mystery
A famous chemist was found murdered. The police knew that two people were involved in the murder. They found a note that written by the chemist which read – 26-3-58/28-27-57-16′.
After reading the note the police immediately caught the murderers. How?
The Ship mystery
A Japanese ship was en route to the open sea. The captain went for a shower removing his ring and keeping it on the table. When he returned, he found it had gone missing. The captain immediately called the three suspected crew members and asked each one where they were and what were they doing in the last 15 minutes.
The cook said, “I was in the fridge room getting meat ready to cook.”
The Engineer said, “I was working on the generator engine.”
The seaman said, “I was on the mast correcting the flag which was upside down by mistake.”
The radio officer said, “I was messaging to a company about the arrival.”
The navigation officer said, “I was sleeping in my cabin.”
The captain immediately caught the thief. How?
22 Riddles to Learn English
The Hospital mystery
“Who shot her?” cried a man as he rushed into the hospital where his wife was kept. The man was stopped by the police who asked him where he was last night he told them he was spending the night at a friend’s place.
He told them that when he called to check on his wife, the maid answered the call and just told him that his wife has been taken to the hospital. And as soon as he heard this he came running to the
Hospital.
After hearing this, the police immediately arrested him. Why?
The Apple mystery
A serial killer invited a prospective victim to her place. They ate together and after the meal. She offered her an apple. When she refused, she insisted that they share the apple. So, she took the apple and cut into two halves. Both of them started eating the apple. As soon as her guest ate the apple she died.
If both of them had the same apple, how come one died and one survived?
22 Riddles to Learn English
The Tea mystery
A woman was horrified to find a fly in her tea. The waiter took her cup and went into the kitchen and returned with a fresh cup of tea. She shouted, “You brought me the same cup of tea!”
How did she know?
The man in the snow mystery
A man was found dead out in a field of snow. The only tracks that were left was a set of footprints between two parallel lines.
Who should the police be looking for?
The Border mystery
Every day, a man used to cross the border on a bicycle with two bags of sand. The border officers got a tip that he is a smuggler. So the customs officers checked his and found they had only sand. As they could not find any evidence, they allowed him to cross the border.
So, what was the man smuggling?
22 Riddles to Learn English – Answers
Riddle № 1
Jack should use the shovel to make a pile of dirt under the window, climb on it, and escape from his cell.
Riddle № 2
The police were sure that Mrs. Smith lied to them because the window was broken from the inside. If it was broken from the outside, little pieces of glass would be on the room’s floor.
Riddle № 3
The killer was the math teacher. According to his words, he was holding a mid-year test, but the crime happened on the first day of the school year.
Riddle № 4
It was obviously the mailman. He knew that no one in this house would read a newspaper on Wednesday or Thursday.
Riddle № 5
Both of the pills were harmless. The poison was in the glass of water the victim drank.
Riddle № 6
John wouldn’t be able to unfreeze the window glass because it’s usually icy on the inside.
Riddle № 7
The piece of paper had a clue on it. If you combine the short names of the chemical substances on the paper, you’ll get a name: Ni-C-O-La-S.
Riddle № 8
If it was a suicide and she had jumped out of the window then how come all the windows were closed.
Riddle № 9
She was hoping that he would come again to a funeral.
Riddle № 10
They suspect the newspaper boy, as Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s newspapers, were missing.
Riddle № 11
If the person died then who pressed the reverse button?
Riddle № 12
The man was guilty because he was watching the jury and not the door as he knew she won’t come.
Riddle № 13
It was a convertible car.
Riddle № 14
The man had booked only one-way tickets for his wife.
Riddle № 15
When a window is broken from the outside by a thief, most of the glass will be found on the inside of the house, not on the outside of the house.
Riddle № 16
The numbers correspond to atomic numbers on the periodic table of elements: ‘Fe-LiCe/Ni-Co-La-S’. Therefore, the name of the suspects was Felice and Nicolas.
Riddle № 17
It’s a Japanese ship so it has a Japanese flag, and Japanese flag is the same upside down.
Riddle № 18
As, soon as he entered the hospital, she cried “who shot her?”. How would he know that she was shot when no one informed him so.
Riddle № 19
She used a knife coated with just on one edge with cyanide/ poison. When she sliced the apple in two, only the victim’s half was poisoned.
Riddle № 20
There was already sugar in the tea.
Riddle № 21
A man in a wheelchair.
Riddle № 22
He was smuggling bicycles
22 Riddles to Learn English
22 Riddles to Learn English. Also check out these English riddles
Learning a new language can be an exciting yet challenging journey.