riddle
riddle — 名詞
1. A game in which one person asks a puzzling question with a surprising or amusing
謎語
問答形式的猜謎遊戲
A game in which one person asks a puzzling question with a surprising or amusing answer, and the other person must guess that answer.
Eitan asked his younger sister a riddle: 'What has keys but cannot open locks?' — the answer was a piano.
Eitan 問妹妹一個謎語：「什麼東西有鑰匙卻打不開鎖？」——答案是鋼琴。
riddle + question with surprising answer
The children spent a rainy afternoon laughing at silly riddles from a book their grandmother had given them.
孩子們在一個下雨的午後，笑著讀一本奶奶送的書裡那些搞笑的謎語。
Some teachers use riddles at the start of class to get students thinking creatively.
有些老師會在課堂開始時用謎語來激發學生的創造力。
Gita told a riddle about a man who could not see his reflection, and her friends tried to solve it.
Gita 講了一個關於看不見自己倒影的人的謎語，她的朋友們都努力猜答案。
- puzzle
broader term — a puzzle can be a visual, logic, or word-based challenge; a riddle is always a question-answer format.
- conundrum
more formal or humorous; often refers to a tricky problem rather than a children's game.
- brainteaser
informal; focuses on the mental challenge rather than the playful question-answer format.
文法句型
a riddle about [topic]
ask/tell/solve a riddle
用法筆記
A riddle is always a question with an answer. If there is no question-answer structure, use 'puzzle' or 'mystery' instead.
常見錯誤
2. A situation, event, or person that is very difficult to understand or explain.
謎團
難以理解或解釋的事物
A situation, event, or person that is very difficult to understand or explain.
The sudden disappearance of the painting remained a riddle that no one in the town could explain.
那幅畫突然消失，至今仍是鎮上無人能解的謎團。
collocation: remain a riddle
To the doctors, the patient's unusual symptoms were a complete riddle — none of the standard tests gave them any answers.
對醫生們來說，病人不尋常的症狀完全是一個謎團——所有標準檢查都找不到任何線索。
Why the ancient civilisation abandoned their city is a riddle that archaeologists are still trying to solve.
那個古老文明為何遺棄他們的城市，是一個考古學家仍在試圖解開的謎團。
Takeshi's behaviour at the meeting was a riddle; he agreed with every suggestion but then did the exact opposite.
Takeshi 在會議上的行為真是個謎團；他同意了每一個建議，卻做了完全相反的事。
- mystery
very similar but slightly broader; a mystery can be solved by clues, while a riddle feels more puzzling or contradictory.
- enigma
more formal; suggests something deeply mysterious and perhaps permanently unsolvable.
- puzzle
suggests a problem that can be solved with effort; less dramatic than 'riddle'.
文法句型
remain a riddle
be a riddle to [someone]
用法筆記
Common with 'remain', 'be', and 'solve'. Unlike sense 1, this meaning does not involve a question-answer game — the 'riddle' is the confusing thing itself.
常見錯誤
riddle — 動詞
1. To make many small holes through something, especially by shooting at it or by y
射穿；打滿洞
用子彈等打出許多洞
To make many small holes through something, especially by shooting at it or by years of wear and damage.
After the battle, the old wooden wall was riddled with bullet holes from the enemy attack.
戰鬥結束後，那面舊木牆被敵軍的子彈打得滿是彈孔。
passive: be riddled with bullet holes
Moths had riddled the woollen jumper with tiny holes, making it impossible to wear.
蛀蟲把那件羊毛衫蛀出了許多小洞，變得無法再穿了。
active: riddle + object + with + holes
The target board at the shooting range was riddled with marks from hundreds of practice shots.
射擊場的靶子上滿是數百次練習射擊留下的痕跡。
Years of dampness had riddled the roof beams with holes, so the house needed urgent repair.
多年的潮濕讓屋頂梁木蛀滿了洞，房子急需修繕。
文法句型
be riddled with + [bullets/holes]
riddle + object + with + [something sharp]
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the passive form 'be riddled with [something]'. The active form (e.g. 'Moths riddled the jumper') is grammatical but less common.
常見錯誤
2. To be filled with many bad or undesirable things such as mistakes, problems, dis
充滿；充斥
充滿錯誤、問題等不良事物
To be filled with many bad or undesirable things such as mistakes, problems, dishonest actions, or disease.
The student's essay was riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, so the teacher asked her to rewrite it.
那位學生的作文充滿了拼寫錯誤和文法問題，老師請她重寫。
be riddled with + errors/mistakes
The construction project was riddled with problems from the start — missed deadlines, poor materials, and budget overruns.
那個建築工程從一開始就問題叢生——工期延誤、用料低劣、經費超支。
Historians later discovered that the old report was riddled with lies and had been written to hide the truth.
歷史學家後來發現那份舊報告充滿謊言，是為了隱瞞真相而寫的。
The company's sales system was riddled with corruption, and several managers were arrested after the investigation.
那家公司的銷售體系貪腐橫行，調查後有數名經理被捕。
- be full of
neutral in tone; can be used with positive or negative things. 'Riddled with' is always negative.
- be filled with
neutral register; does not carry the same sense of damage or contamination.
- be teeming with
more vivid; often used for living things or movement, e.g. 'teeming with insects'.
- be free of
suggests the absence of flaws or problems
文法句型
be riddled with + [flaws/errors/corruption/problems]
用法筆記
Always passive: 'be riddled with' is a fixed construction. The subject is typically abstract (report, system, plan) or a piece of work (essay, proposal). The objects are always negative: flaws, errors, corruption, disease, contradictions.