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385 “What Am I” Riddles That Will Challenge

Riddles have been around for centuries, and nothing beats the excitement of a good brain-teaser. “What am I” riddles are a great way to challenge your mind and have some fun along the way.

Below is the ultimate collection of 385 “What am I” riddles, organized into several categories to keep you on your toes. Can you solve them all?


what am I riddle

Classic “What Am I” Riddles

These classic riddles are perfect for testing your mind and leaving you guessing. Get ready to be stumped and entertained!

  • I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?
    Answer: A keyboard
  • 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
  • The more of this there is, the less you see. What am I?
    Answer: Darkness
  • I can fill a room, but I take up no space. What am I?
    Answer: Light
  • I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
    Answer: A candle
  • I can fly without wings. I cry without eyes. Whenever I go, darkness flies. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
    Answer: Footsteps
  • I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
    Answer: A bank
  • I’m not alive, but I can grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?
    Answer: Fire
  • I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
    Answer: Fire
  • I go up but never come down. What am I?
    Answer: Your age
  • I run, but I never walk. I have a mouth, but I never talk. What am I?
    Answer: A river
  • I have a head, a tail, but no body. What am I?
    Answer: A coin
  • I get smaller every time I take a bath. What am I?
    Answer: Soap
  • I have to be broken before you can use me. What am I?
    Answer: An egg
  • You can catch me but not throw me. What am I?
    Answer: A cold
  • I’m lighter than a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold me for more than five minutes. What am I?
    Answer: Your breath
  • The more you have of me, the less you see. What am I?
    Answer: Darkness
  • I follow you everywhere, but you never see me. What am I?
    Answer: Your shadow
  • I have a neck but no head. What am I?
    Answer: A bottle
  • I have many teeth but can’t bite. What am I?
    Answer: A comb
  • I have a heart that doesn’t beat. What am I?
    Answer: An artichoke
  • I’m full of holes but still hold water. What am I?
    Answer: A sponge
  • I can travel around the world without leaving my corner. What am I?
    Answer: A stamp
  • I have eyes, but I can’t see. What am I?
    Answer: A needle
  • I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
    Answer: A joke
  • I don’t have wings, but I can fly. I don’t have eyes, but I will cry! What am I?
    Answer: An onion
  • I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
    Answer: A pencil
  • I’m always on the dinner table, but you don’t get to eat me. What am I?
    Answer: Plates and cutlery
  • I have four fingers and a thumb but am not alive. What am I?
    Answer: A glove
  • I get wetter the more I dry. What am I?
    Answer: A towel
  • I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
    Answer: A map
  • I make two people out of one. What am I?
    Answer: A mirror
  • I’m the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I’m the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?
    Answer: The letter “E”
  • I fly without wings, I cry without eyes. Whenever I go, darkness flies. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • I come down but never go up. What am I?
    Answer: Rain
  • I’m invisible, weigh nothing, but when put in a barrel, I make it lighter. What am I?
    Answer: A hole
  • I have keys but open no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but you can’t go outside. What am I?
    Answer: A keyboard
  • The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
    Answer: Footsteps
  • I am always running but never move. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I get sharper the more you use me. What am I?
    Answer: Your brain
  • I go in dry and come out wet. The longer I’m in, the stronger I get. What am I?
    Answer: A tea bag

what am I riddles

Animal-Themed “What Am I” Riddles

Try your hand at these fun animal-themed riddles. You might be surprised how tricky some of them are!

  • I live in the jungle and laugh a lot. What am I?
    Answer: A hyena
  • I have four legs, a tail, and a mane. I love to gallop across the plains. What am I?
    Answer: A horse
  • I can swim, I can walk, and I quack. What am I?
    Answer: A duck
  • I am small, I have eight legs, and I weave a web. What am I?
    Answer: A spider
  • I am the king of the jungle. What am I?
    Answer: A lion
  • I am pink, I oink, and I love the mud. What am I?
    Answer: A pig
  • I have a long neck and I live in the savannah. What am I?
    Answer: A giraffe
  • I have a pouch, and I can hop around. What am I?
    Answer: A kangaroo
  • I have black and white stripes and love to run. What am I?
    Answer: A zebra
  • I can fly high in the sky, and I have a sharp beak. What am I?
    Answer: A bird
  • I’m known for my spots and running very fast. What am I?
    Answer: A cheetah
  • I’m covered in fur and I hibernate in the winter. What am I?
    Answer: A bear
  • I live in water, and I’m the biggest animal on Earth. What am I?
    Answer: A whale
  • I have big ears and a long trunk. What am I?
    Answer: An elephant
  • I swing from tree to tree, and I’m known for being playful. What am I?
    Answer: A monkey
  • I hiss and slither along the ground. What am I?
    Answer: A snake
  • I’m black and white and live where it’s cold. What am I?
    Answer: A penguin
  • I have eight arms and live in the sea. What am I?
    Answer: An octopus
  • I’m small and can change colors to blend into my surroundings. What am I?
    Answer: A chameleon
  • I’m known for my long leap, and I live near ponds. What am I?
    Answer: A frog
  • I’m a bird, but I can’t fly. What am I?
    Answer: An ostrich
  • I’m green, I croak, and I love to hop. What am I?
    Answer: A frog
  • I live in the ocean and have many sharp teeth. What am I?
    Answer: A shark
  • I am covered in prickly spines and curl into a ball when threatened. What am I?
    Answer: A hedgehog
  • I am a nocturnal bird with large eyes and sharp talons. What am I?
    Answer: An owl
  • I’m known for carrying my house on my back. What am I?
    Answer: A turtle
  • I love to eat honey and live in a hive. What am I?
    Answer: A bee
  • I live in the sea and have a shell that protects me. What am I?
    Answer: A crab
  • I’m small and I carry food back to my colony. What am I?
    Answer: An ant
  • I am a type of bird, but I can’t fly. What am I?
    Answer: A penguin
  • I hang upside down and sleep all day. What am I?
    Answer: A bat
  • I can change my color and blend into the environment. What am I?
    Answer: A chameleon
  • I have a hard shell and I’m very slow. What am I?
    Answer: A tortoise
  • I use my trunk to drink water and grab things. What am I?
    Answer: An elephant
  • I have a mane and roar loudly. What am I?
    Answer: A lion
  • I have a hump on my back, and I live in the desert. What am I?
    Answer: A camel
  • I’m known for my black-and-white coloring and live in the ocean. What am I?
    Answer: An orca
  • I have feathers, and I say, “Whoo!” at night. What am I?
    Answer: An owl

what am I riddles

Funny “What Am I” Riddles

If you’re looking for a laugh, these funny riddles will definitely amuse you!

  • I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
    Answer: A candle
  • I can fill a room, but I take up no space. What am I?
    Answer: Light
  • The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
    Answer: Footsteps
  • I have hands, but I cannot clap. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I have two legs, but they never walk. What am I?
    Answer: A pair of pants
  • I’m so fragile that saying my name breaks me. What am I?
    Answer: Silence
  • I am always in front of you, but you will never see me. What am I?
    Answer: The future
  • I am full of holes, but I can still hold water. What am I?
    Answer: A sponge
  • I get wet when drying. What am I?
    Answer: A towel
  • I fly without wings and cry without eyes. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • I have no legs, but I travel far and wide. What am I?
    Answer: A sound
  • I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for more than a minute. What am I?
    Answer: Breath
  • I go up and down but never move. What am I?
    Answer: Stairs
  • I break, but I never fall. I fall, but I never break. What am I?
    Answer: Day and night
  • I have rivers but no water, cities but no buildings, and forests but no trees. What am I?
    Answer: A map
  • I am a rock group with four members, but none of them sing. What am I?
    Answer: Mount Rushmore
  • I’m so simple that I’m hard to understand. What am I?
    Answer: A riddle

Mind-Boggling “What Am I” Riddles

Let’s continue with more intriguing “What Am I” riddles. Prepare to put your brain to the test with this mind-boggling set!

  • I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?
    Answer: Fire
  • I have no life, but I can die. What am I?
    Answer: A battery
  • I have many keys, but I can’t open a single lock. What am I?
    Answer: A piano
  • I fly without wings, I cry without eyes. Whenever I go, darkness flies. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • I have a face but no eyes, a mouth but no teeth. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I get sharper the more you use me. What am I?
    Answer: Your brain
  • I run around the yard without moving. What am I?
    Answer: A fence
  • I have a thumb and four fingers but I’m not alive. What am I?
    Answer: A glove
  • I am bought by the yard but worn by the foot. What am I?
    Answer: A carpet
  • I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
    Answer: A joke
  • I never ask questions but am often answered. What am I?
    Answer: A doorbell
  • I start with “P” and end with “E,” but I have thousands of letters. What am I?
    Answer: A post office
  • I go in hard, come out soft, and I never mind if you want to blow me. What am I?
    Answer: Chewing gum
  • I can only live where there is light, but I die if the light shines on me. What am I?
    Answer: A shadow
  • I can fill a room or just one heart. Others can have me, but I can’t be shared. What am I?
    Answer: Loneliness
  • I can only be used when I am broken. What am I?
    Answer: An egg
  • I shrink every time I take a bath. What am I?
    Answer: Soap
  • I can be long, or I can be short. I can be grown, and I can be bought. I can be painted or left bare. What am I?
    Answer: Hair
  • I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
    Answer: Fire
  • I cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelled. I lie behind stars and under hills, and empty holes I fill. What am I?
    Answer: Darkness
  • I always run but never walk, often murmur, never talk, have a bed but never sleep, have a mouth but never eat. What am I?
    Answer: A river
  • I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
    Answer: Breath
  • I have no legs, but I will run forever. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I move without wings, between silken strings. I leave as you find, my substance behind. What am I?
    Answer: A spider
  • I get wetter and wetter the more I dry. What am I?
    Answer: A towel
  • I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
    Answer: A candle
  • I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, mountains without land. What am I?
    Answer: A map
  • I have no wings, but I can fly. I have no eyes, but I will cry. What am I?
    Answer: An onion
  • I have a bed but do not sleep. I have a mouth but do not eat. What am I?
    Answer: A river
  • I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
    Answer: A joke
  • I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. Careful, I am fragile. What am I?
    Answer: A bubble
  • I come down but never go up. What am I?
    Answer: Rain
  • I have teeth but can’t bite. What am I?
    Answer: A comb
  • I can run but never walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?
    Answer: A nose
  • I have hands but cannot clap. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
    Answer: Pencil lead
  • I have a tail and a head, but no body. What am I?
    Answer: A coin
  • I am an odd number. Take away one letter, and I become even. What am I?
    Answer: Seven
  • I am something people love or hate. I change people’s appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of themself, I will go up even higher. To some people, I will fool them. To others, I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me, but I will show. No matter how hard people try, I will Never go down. What am I?
    Answer: Age
  • I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
    Answer: A joke
  • I can be long, or I can be short. I can be grown, and I can be bought. I can be painted or left bare. What am I?
    Answer: Hair
  • I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone, and cities with no buildings. What am I?
    Answer: A map
  • I’m not alive, but I can grow. I don’t have eyes, but I can cry. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • I start with “T,” end with “T,” and have “T” in me. What am I?
    Answer: A teapot
  • I am found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
    Answer: Yarn
  • I’m red, but I can be green or yellow. What am I?
    Answer: An apple
  • I run around the house but never move. What am I?
    Answer: A wall
  • I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I’m the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?
    Answer: The letter “E”
  • I fly without wings. I cry without eyes. What am I?
    Answer: A cloud
  • I can bring tears to your eyes, resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. What am I?
    Answer: A memory
  • I live in the past. I am created in the present, but the future can never taint me. What am I?
    Answer: History
  • I have many faces, expressions, and emotions, and I am only one tap away. What am I?
    Answer: Emoji
  • I am often running yet never tired or hot. What am I?
    Answer: A refrigerator
  • I am a fruit, but you can also find me on a calendar. What am I?
    Answer: A date
  • I am white when I am dirty, and black when I am clean. What am I?
    Answer: A chalkboard
  • I make two people out of one. What am I?
    Answer: A mirror
  • I am invisible, weigh nothing, but when you put me in a barrel, I make it lighter. What am I?
    Answer: A hole
  • I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I?
    Answer: An echo
  • I have hands but cannot clap. What am I?
    Answer: A clock
  • I shave every day, but my beard stays the same. What am I?
    Answer: A barber
  • I come down but never go up. What am I?
    Answer: Rain
  • I am full of holes, but I can hold water. What am I?
    Answer: A sponge
  • I’m the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. What am I?
    Answer: The letter “E”
  • I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water. What am I?
    Answer: A map
  • I am always hungry, I must always be fed. What am I?
    Answer: Fire
  • I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
    Answer: A joke
  • I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold me for more than five minutes. What am I?
    Answer: Breath
  • I am always running, but I never get tired or hot. What am I?
    Answer: A refrigerator
  • I can’t be touched but can be felt. What am I?
    Answer: An emotion
  • I am a mother and father, but never birth or nurse. I’m rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?
    Answer: A tree
  • I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?
    Answer: A nose
  • I don’t speak, can’t hear or speak anything, but I will always tell the truth. What am I?
    Answer: A mirror

Conclusion:

With 385 riddles to challenge your mind, you now have a treasure trove of puzzles to entertain and stump friends and family.

Whether you’re looking for a laugh, a brain workout, or just a bit of fun, these “What Am I” riddles are sure to deliver. Enjoy solving them!