Lithuanian Riddles with Answers
Showing: 40
Household objects
A tiny, tiny woman, in linen clothes, a skirt of fat and a golden cap.
Reveal the answer
candle
The linen wick is pictured as a shirt, the layer of tallow as a skirt, and the flame as a golden cap.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 75185; UUID ac937c5f-db68-4191-a56a-4357ce9d18ed; LMD I 873(156-1) · CC BY 4.0
#Food
A round thing rolls up, not very big; when it spoils, no craftsman can mend it.
Reveal the answer
egg
An egg is enclosed and rounded. A craftsman cannot mend a spoiled egg as he would an object; the Lithuanian word meisteris means a craftsman.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 36386; UUID 59cc39ce-5aa9-432e-b4c3-bd62f316207a; LTR 960(353-44); Utenos r., Užpaliai · CC BY 4.0
#House
A very, very small horse, ridden day and night, but never fed by anyone.
Reveal the answer
threshold
People constantly step over the threshold as though mounting a little horse. This wooden part of the house needs no feed.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 56176; UUID 9b32946a-18f1-43e0-a714-dc2600944826; LTR 37(1759); Šilutės raj. · CC BY 4.0
#Sewing
A little iron mare with a little hemp tail races across the fields, scattering foals.
Reveal the answer
needle
The metal needle is compared to a mare, the thread to her tail, and the stitches left in the cloth while sewing to foals.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 15738; UUID 4b559a7c-8158-45bc-ba16-ea53480a2b3d; LTR 5112(142); Godlaukės km., Raseinių apsk. · CC BY 4.0
#Grain processing
A bear runs howling, heaping up white snowdrifts, turning its little tail and feeding on dry grain.
Reveal the answer
hand quern
The turning quern makes a rumbling sound; its handle resembles a tail, and the white flour falling around it resembles snowdrifts.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 33581; UUID 25ec4d7f-12b2-4e9f-b8ad-d9b37e0026e9; LTR 37(439); Suvalkija · CC BY 4.0
#Time and objects
It goes and goes but gets nowhere, strikes and strikes but kills no one, and always points to itself.
Reveal the answer
clock
The hands move within the clock face. Here “strikes” means sounding the hours, rather than hitting a person.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 44621; UUID 3d88f3b4-b776-4eda-a341-223734ead23f; LTR 3157(1528); Patolupio k., Girkalnio vls., Raseinių aps. · CC BY 4.0
#Household objects
It has legs but does not walk, has straw but does not eat, has feathers but does not fly.
Reveal the answer
bed
A bed’s legs do not move; its mattress used to contain straw and its pillows feathers. These materials suggest an animal, but the piece of furniture is not alive.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 43048; UUID b4d384ec-b2ad-4cbe-babb-e6d5056b1754; LTR 4627(740); Rokiškis · CC BY 4.0
#Travel
If I stood up, I would prop up the sky; if I had hands, I would catch a thief.
Reveal the answer
road
The long road is imagined standing upright. A thief running along it leaves tracks, but the road cannot hold him back.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 35652; UUID 4774eee8-d565-4784-9fb0-2e7753851552; LMD I 900(44-10); Šakaldonių k., Semeliškių v. · CC BY 4.0
#Farming
Born in the forest, grown in the forest, dead and brought to life again; I go out into the field and hop about.
Reveal the answer
harrow
A wooden harrow is made from a felled tree. When pulled across the soil, it moves again as though it has come back to life.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 34091; UUID 164eaf72-519a-4f24-92ca-d5c1888ada06; LTR 3649(14); Rokiškio raj., Kriaunų km. · CC BY 4.0
#Clothing
A pretty little barrel, open at both ends, with its inside full of flesh.
Reveal the answer
ring
The ring resembles a small open barrel. Its “flesh” is the finger slipped through it.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 64050; UUID 825b7497-f182-49f3-9473-a902fb169ba8; LMD I 232(40) · CC BY 4.0
#House
A crumb stands in the corner, but three horses could not haul that crumb away.
Reveal the answer
masonry stove
The stove is jokingly called a crumb, though it is so heavy that three horses could not haul it.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 41048; UUID feeb3479-b99a-474a-bc3b-f150e0047708; LTR 2146(40-6); Domeikių k., Užvenčio vls. · CC BY 4.0
#Farming
It gleams like a grass snake, eats like a horse, comes home and hangs itself on the gate.
Reveal the answer
scythe
The scythe’s blade gleams and cuts grass as though eating it. When the work is done, the tool is hung up.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 26733; UUID dd6848fc-1304-4819-a374-24de869a010d; LTR 1001(451-8); Lazdijų raj. · CC BY 4.0
#Flax processing
Born in the forest, grown in the forest, never having seen the sun; it comes home and barks.
Reveal the answer
flax brake
A flax brake is made of wood. As it crushes dried flax stalks, its wooden parts knock together, making a sound like barking.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 49305; UUID e0da700c-ad83-47a8-8707-b0b543a808ec; LTR 830(1-10); Kretingos aps. · CC BY 4.0
#House
A little dog guards the house.
Reveal the answer
lock
The lock is compared to a guard: it prevents the door from being opened, although it is not a living, barking dog.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 79989; UUID c5d345a8-114a-4b42-9ad7-a2c72e8fab50; LTR 5314(79) · CC BY 4.0
#Household objects
A young lady got up early in the morning, poked into every corner, then stood in the corner again.
Reveal the answer
broom
The broom reaches the corners of the room when the floor is cleaned. Once the sweeping is done, it is stood back in its place.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 67936; UUID 096427a5-91f3-495b-a58c-647723966986; LTR 2145(1) · CC BY 4.0
#Household objects
Four maidens stand under an umbrella; four maidens await many guests.
Reveal the answer
table
The table’s four legs are the “maidens”, and the tabletop is the umbrella they all stand beneath.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 60967; UUID 7bb4354c-f127-4ca1-9f38-e5cc04197f3e; LTR 3044(81); Būdvietis, Lazdijų raj. · CC BY 4.0
#Sounds and music
I will solve a riddle through a ram’s sinew: whoever pulls that sinew will summon the whole world.
Reveal the answer
bell
The bell rope is called a sinew. Pulling it rings the bell and calls people who can hear it from far away. Here the old Lithuanian word baronas means a ram.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 55156; UUID e510d158-420d-435e-b670-95a741affe0d; LTR 275(36-5); Jurbarkas · CC BY 4.0
#House
It sits on the roof and smokes, needing neither a pipe nor tobacco.
Reveal the answer
chimney
Smoke rises from the chimney, making it resemble a person smoking. It needs no separate pipe.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 33782; UUID 62ba3d11-ffce-4ac2-96f5-8cb19d767727; LTR 613(1-5); Eišiškių raj., Lastaučių km. · CC BY 4.0
#Light
It crosses water without sinking, crosses fire without burning, and passes over a straw without moving it.
Reveal the answer
shadow
A shadow is the shape made when light is blocked. It can move across a surface without touching or disturbing it.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 64863; UUID c90dd92a-48cd-4f24-b75e-52366277521f; LTR 888(700) · CC BY 4.0
#Spinning
A little sheep eats its fill as it runs: the faster it runs, the sooner it is full.
Reveal the answer
bobbin
As the bobbin turns, thread winds onto it and it grows thicker. “Eating” describes the winding of thread, rather than an animal feeding.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 58164; UUID d32bb9ef-2f40-4b61-bd80-60c9226576e3; LTR 1192(116); Čekiškės vls., Baravių km. · CC BY 4.0
#Travel
With no hands and no feet, it rides all the same.
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saddle
The saddle rests on a horse’s back and travels with it. It is said to ride in a figurative sense.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 24502; UUID e42edbf5-ba89-43d7-96f7-e54d290b87d4; LTR 4342(391); Rokiškio raj., Ragelių k. · CC BY 4.0
#Sounds and music
Grown in the forest, made in a factory, bought in a shop; take it in your arms and it weeps pitifully.
Reveal the answer
violin
The wooden violin begins as a tree, then becomes an instrument that is made and sold. Its sound is compared to weeping.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 79541; UUID 423797b0-c90d-466a-b41e-1f62fd14d935; LTR 1105(18) · CC BY 4.0
#House
A riddle of riddles: a little sinew runs across a belly; if the sinew breaks, the belly will cave in.
Reveal the answer
beam
A beam supports a building’s floor or ceiling structure. If this support broke, the structure above it could collapse.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 54948; UUID 687f08b5-010d-4305-9987-2ad9da707198; LTR 29(192); Savickų km., Skiemonių v., Utenos ap. · CC BY 4.0
#Clothing
Five in a house with one door.
Reveal the answer
glove
The five fingers in a glove are compared to the occupants of a house. They all enter through the same opening at the wrist.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 52273; UUID 8d53f12f-5faa-43c6-88f4-5c210bbc8830; LTR 2198(90)10.; Pagiriai · CC BY 4.0
#Tools
A wooden body, an iron head.
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axe
The axe has a wooden handle and an iron cutting head. The names of human body parts help identify the tool’s structure.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 51693; UUID 9ef9b7f4-743b-405b-b52a-2a077ee2973a; LTR 37(1808); Žukliškių k., Dusetų p., Zarasų aps, · CC BY 4.0
#Tools
Stems at one end, blossoms on those stems, a nail in the middle.
Reveal the answer
scissors
The scissors have finger rings in their handles, and a rivet joins the two parts in the middle. The moving parts cut together. Lithuanian žiedai means both blossoms and rings.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 67622; UUID a36b1a8f-9ace-4218-90b6-f4feccc958d8; LTR 271(281-220) · CC BY 4.0
#House
Without legs or hands, it climbs onto the stove and grows taller than a tree.
Reveal the answer
smoke
Smoke rises from the stove and can reach above the trees. “Climbing” here pictures the movement of rising air.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 17157; UUID d48c8bcd-391d-4f6e-a732-71300ff85fd6; LTR 37(399); Tverečiaus apyl., Švenčionių apskr. · CC BY 4.0
#Farming
A little hunchback rode around all the fields, then ran home and lay idle all winter.
Reveal the answer
sickle
The sickle’s curved blade resembles a hump. It is used in the fields at harvest time and put away for the winter.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 49842; UUID 441bd95a-e56e-465d-b357-c1996d23b127; LTR 37(1793); Marijampolė · CC BY 4.0
#Travel
Two little brothers run, two little brothers chase them, but none catches another.
Reveal the answer
wheels
The front and rear wheels of a cart turn together. Their shared frame keeps the distance between them from shrinking.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 52672; UUID 3308ac9b-3b25-41c0-b531-f132278efa2f; LTR 618(68-13); Vozgėlių k., Dusetų pšt., Zarasų apskr. · CC BY 4.0
#Tools
Tartals is a fathom tall, his wife Tartalienė half a fathom, and their little Tartaliukai not even a handspan each.
Reveal the answer
rake
The rake’s long handle, shorter crosspiece and small teeth are compared to a family whose members are different heights. A fathom is an old measure based on an armspan.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 32717; UUID 6fc51102-67d3-44a5-80ed-bf37732865f5; LTR 4883(106); Akmenės raj. · CC BY 4.0
#House
One side warms up, the other grows cold; its head has dried out, but its feet have rotted.
Reveal the answer
door
One side of an outside door faces a warm room, the other the outdoors. The bottom gets wetter, while the top dries more easily.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 29994; UUID ed69f1ed-ed59-485e-846a-a8a03c89199d; LTR 37(3055); Domeikių k., Užvenčio vls. · CC BY 4.0
#Spinning
Grown in the forest, born in the forest, covered in leaves in the forest; it came home and kept a girl company.
Reveal the answer
spinning wheel
A wooden spinning wheel is made from a tree that grew in the forest. In the home, it becomes the companion of the person doing the spinning.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 65964; UUID d7c36023-004a-41fa-b2bc-259f22fa33ac; LTR 4924(315) · CC BY 4.0
#Writing
Not a tree, yet it has leaves; not a garment, yet it is stitched; not a person, yet it tells everything.
Reveal the answer
book
A book’s leaves are not tree leaves. Its bound pages resemble sewing, and the text conveys a story without a living voice.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 37811; UUID 2f772fa6-5ad4-4d76-8210-795f19541b0e; LTR 4009(135); Pašaltuonys · CC BY 4.0
#Travel
A little imp runs about with its snout turned up, runs home and goes into the barn.
Reveal the answer
sleigh
The ends of the sleigh’s runners curl upwards. After a journey, the sleigh is put away in a barn or another farm building.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 67076; UUID 97345e74-d31e-42c8-b1bb-bed771c7dffd; LTR 2032(1) · CC BY 4.0
#Everyday life
Sweet and delicious, but you cannot pick it up or put it on a plate.
Reveal the answer
sleep
The pleasure of sleep is described in words of taste. Yet sleep is not food that can be picked up in your hand.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 47859; UUID 4ac67b37-fc37-4bc0-a8f5-13796563466f; LTR 337(998); Panevėžys · CC BY 4.0
#House
Stone legs, a wooden body, a straw hat; an old man sits smoking his pipe.
Reveal the answer
house
The stone foundations are legs, the walls a body and the thatched roof a hat. The smoking figure evokes smoke rising from the chimney.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 44306; UUID 05086e78-2795-4ee2-8db1-7e90c091b653; LTR 4171(29-4); Linkuvos par., Panevėžio aps. · CC BY 4.0
#Laundry
Born in the forest, grown in the forest; when she comes home, she thrashes the dirty ones.
Reveal the answer
washing bat
A wooden washing bat is used to beat laundry. Its origin as a tree is linked with the tool’s job of removing dirt.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 49299; UUID d9a9b736-297b-42c7-a929-c123aebef6a3; LTR 2145(1); Šiaulių aps. · CC BY 4.0
#Household objects
“Yva yvavo”: four linden trees swayed; everyone heard, but only two felt pity.
Reveal the answer
cradle
Everyone can hear the rocking cradle and the crying baby, but the two parents care most. The “linden trees” stand for the wooden parts.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 50592; UUID 263cb999-4836-4e58-8cd0-1da60f14287d; LMD I 710(140); Zapyškio parap. · CC BY 4.0
#Writing
I sent out a bird without wings to speak without a tongue.
Reveal the answer
letter
A letter carries a message over a distance, although it has neither wings nor a speaking tongue. Its journey is compared to a bird’s flight.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 59731; UUID 13caa333-69b2-40cc-a555-17facfe41c45; LTR 1632(31); Nemakščių k., Raseinių rj. · CC BY 4.0
#House
A little mare sank into an iron puddle; five wolves pulled, two hawks waited.
Reveal the answer
key
The key turns in an iron lock. The five “wolves” are the fingers of a hand, and the two waiting “hawks” are the watching eyes.
LLTI: Mįslės su atsakymais · LLTI misles_id 65906; UUID e2317331-9a22-4d7c-9a67-a9b89c0fd77d; LTR 1881(112-2) · CC BY 4.0
#No entries match this search.
Work out the image
Read a riddle before revealing its answer. Which quality matters most: colour, shape, movement, material or sound? Afterwards, read the explanation and see how the clues fit together.
The same object can be described in different ways. Comparing two clues changes how we see familiar things: a hand quern might become a roaring bear, or something that chews without teeth.
Everyday objects from another time
These texts mention hand querns, flax brakes, spinning bobbins, carrying yokes and quill-written letters. An unfamiliar answer is explained through the object and how it works.
A year becomes a tree, snow becomes bedding, and fingers become brothers working together. These are traditional images, not literal accounts of nature or history.
Recorded text and editorial explanation
The Lithuanian edition preserves the texts and answers supplied in LLTI’s open dataset, including dialect spelling and punctuation. The explanations were written for this collection; they interpret the selected image and are not the original narrator’s words.
Each entry gives the dataset number, unique identifier, archival reference and recording locality when available. Place names in the source locator retain their archival form. We selected published, active entries with understandable answers from a dataset released under CC BY 4.0.
Try asking each other
Read a riddle aloud to a partner and ask which clues led them to the answer. Compare two riddles about the same object, or choose a theme to explore together.
English and Russian versions are meaning translations of the Lithuanian originals. They are not traditional texts in those languages and do not claim to reproduce the original rhyme or sound.