Ninja Riddles: 27 Sneaky Riddles for Kids with Answers on Riddlepedia
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Ninja Riddles: 27 Sneaky Riddles for Kids with Answers

27 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

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Ninjas were the secret agents of old Japan, famous for moving without a sound and slipping in and out of castles unseen. These 27 ninja riddles are all about sneaking, hiding and outsmarting, with a few real facts about how ninjas worked (and a few things the movies got wrong).

The easy riddles are perfect for little ninjas. The medium ones include a logic puzzle and a climbing problem, and the tricky ones are brain teasers that need a ninja’s sharp mind. Every riddle has a hint, so you can stay quiet and still win.

Easy Ninja Riddles for Kids

I follow a ninja everywhere, but I never make a sound. When the lights go out, I disappear. What am I?

Hint
On a sunny day, I’m stuck to your feet.
Answer
A shadow

I’m a cloth that wraps around a ninja’s head and face so that only the eyes peek out. What am I?

Hint
Superheroes often wear one too.
Answer
A ninja mask (hood)

I’m a small metal star, but I never shine in the sky. In movies, a ninja keeps me hidden and throws me spinning through the air. What am I?

Hint
In Japanese I’m called a shuriken.
Answer
A throwing star

I’m tall, green and leafy, and I grow in the garden. A ninja crouching behind me can’t be seen from the path. What am I?

Hint
Gardeners trim me into neat shapes.
Answer
A bush

I’m a ninja’s favorite time to sneak around, because the sun has gone to bed and the sky is dark. What am I?

Hint
The moon and stars come out during me.
Answer
Night

Ninjas came from me, an island country in Asia. My flag is white with a big red circle, for the rising sun. What am I?

Hint
My capital city is Tokyo.
Answer
Japan

I’m a belt, but I don’t hold up your pants. In karate, I’m the color only the most skilled students get to wear. What am I?

Hint
I’m the darkest color of all.
Answer
A black belt

What kind of shoes do ninjas wear?

Hint
Ninjas are very good at sneaking.
Answer
Sneakers!

I’m the quietest way to walk: you stay up on the ends of your feet so your heels don’t thump. What am I?

Hint
Ballet dancers do it too.
Answer
Tiptoeing

I’m so fragile that if you even say my name, I break. A ninja keeps me whenever she’s sneaking. What am I?

Hint
“Shhhh!”
Answer
Silence

A ninja can hide in the dark, move without a sound and climb any wall, but sometimes this sneaks up on the ninja instead. What is it?

Hint
It starts with a tickle in your nose.
Answer
A sneeze

Medium Ninja Riddles

I’m the training hall where martial artists practice on soft mats. Students bow when they walk in and when they walk out. What am I?

Hint
My name rhymes with “mojo”.
Answer
A dojo

Real ninjas rarely wore black in the daytime. To get into a castle, they dressed up as farmers, monks or traveling sellers. What is this trick called?

Hint
It’s a costume that hides who you really are.
Answer
A disguise

I’m a rope with sharp metal claws at one end. Throw me up to the top of a wall, give a tug, and climb. What am I?

Hint
My name says I grab and hold on.
Answer
A grappling hook

I’m a sock or a soft shoe from Japan with a split at the front, so your big toe gets a room all to itself. Ninjas liked me because I’m quiet. What am I?

Hint
My name has four letters and starts with T.
Answer
Tabi

I’m a Japanese warrior who followed a strict code of honor and fought in the open with a long curved sword. Ninjas often did the secret jobs I would not do. What am I?

Hint
My name comes from an old Japanese word meaning “to serve”.
Answer
A samurai

I’m what ninjas are best at: moving around without being seen or heard. Some airplanes that are hard to spot on radar are named after me. What am I?

Hint
My word has seven letters and starts with S.
Answer
Stealth

A ninja throws me at her feet, there’s a big gray puff, and when it clears, she’s gone. What am I?

Hint
I’m named after what comes out of a fire.
Answer
A smoke bomb

Three ninjas, Kai, Mei and Ren, hide in a tree, a barrel and a flooded rice field. Ren is hiding higher up than anyone else. Mei got her feet wet. Where is each ninja hiding?

Hint
Use each clue to place one ninja, and the last one goes in the leftover spot.
Answer
Ren is in the tree, Mei is in the rice field, and Kai is in the barrel.

A ninja climbs a 10-meter castle wall. Every minute she climbs up 4 meters, then slides back down 2 meters before she can grab on. How many minutes until she reaches the top?

Hint
Once she gets to the top, she doesn’t slide back down.
Answer
4 minutes. After 3 minutes she is at 6 meters, and in the fourth minute she climbs 4 more meters to reach 10. (If you said 5, you forgot she stops sliding once she’s at the top.)

Tricky Ninja Riddles for Grown-Ups

If real ninjas didn’t usually dress in black, why do we always picture them that way?

Hint
Think of Japanese theater.
Answer
In Japanese kabuki theater, stagehands dress in black so the audience pretends not to see them. Plays showed sneaky ninja characters dressed the same way, and the look stuck.

Four famous cartoon ninja turtles are named after great artists of the Italian Renaissance. Can you name all four?

Hint
One of them painted the Mona Lisa.
Answer
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael

In a castle in Kyoto, the wooden floors chirp like birds whenever anyone walks across them. Why would anyone build a floor like that?

Hint
Who would want to walk across a floor without making a sound?
Answer
To warn guards of sneaking intruders. They’re called nightingale floors.

What can a ninja hold for a long time without ever touching it?

Hint
You do it before you jump into a pool.
Answer
Her breath

A ninja sneaks into a dark room with only one match. Inside there is a candle, an oil lamp and a fireplace. What should she light first?

Hint
Read the question again slowly.
Answer
The match

The more of me there is, the less a ninja can see, and that’s exactly how ninjas like it. What am I?

Hint
I’m what you get when you switch off the light.
Answer
Darkness

I’m a short word that means to sneak a quick look, and I’m spelled the same forwards and backwards. What am I?

Hint
A baby chick makes this sound too.
Answer
Peep

Make It a Game

  • Ninja freeze: read a riddle aloud. Players who think they know the answer must sneak up to you silently and whisper it. If you hear their footsteps, they go back to the start.
  • Shadow guessing: for the easy riddles, act out the answer behind a sheet with a flashlight and let kids guess from the shadow.
  • Belt levels: give a “white belt” for each easy riddle solved, a “green belt” for medium and a “black belt” for tricky. Kids love moving up.

Want more sneaky riddles? Try our shadow riddles, our Japan riddles or our detective riddles.