puzzle

See also: Puzzle

English

A set of different puzzles

Etymology

Origin uncertain; originally pusle. Possibly from pose (“to perplex, puzzle, interrogate”) +‎ -le (frequentative suffix). The verb (1590s) “to perplex” seems to predate the noun “state of being perplexed” (circa 1600), “perplexing question” (1650s), “toy” (1814).

Pronunciation

• enPR: pŭzʹəl, IPA^(key): /ˈpʌzəl/

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌzəl

Noun

puzzle (plural puzzles)

1. Anything that is difficult to understand or make sense of.

   Where he went after he left the house is a puzzle.

2. A game for one or more people that is more or less difficult to work out or complete.
3. A crossword puzzle.
4. A jigsaw puzzle.
5. A riddle.
6. (archaic) Something made with marvellous skill; something of ingenious construction.
7. The state of being puzzled; perplexity.

   to be in a puzzle

Synonyms

• (anything difficult to understand or make sense of): anybody's guess, anyone's guess, conundrum, enigma, mystery
• (game for one person): brain-teaser, poser
• (crossword puzzle): crossword, crossword puzzle
• (jigsaw puzzle):: jigsaw, jigsaw puzzle
• (riddle): guessing game, riddle

Derived terms

• 15 puzzle
• burr puzzle
• Chinese finger puzzle
• Chinese puzzle
• crossword puzzle
• floor puzzle
• food puzzle
• jigsaw puzzle
• lawyer's puzzle
• monkey puzzle
• Parsons puzzle
• puzzle box
• puzzle canon
• puzzle cube
• puzzled
• puzzlement
• puzzle-monkey
• puzzle out
• puzzle over
• puzzle-peg
• puzzler
• puzzle ring
• puzzling
• twisty puzzle
• xword puzzle
• zigsaw puzzle

 

Descendants

• → Korean: 퍼즐 (peojeul)

Translations

anything difficult to understand or make sense of

• Albanian: enigmë (sq) f
• Arabic: لُغْز (ar) m (luḡz), أُحْجِيَّة f (ʔuḥjiyya), مُعْضِلَة (ar) f (muʕḍila)
• Armenian: գլուխկոտրուկ (hy) (gluxkotruk), հանելուկ (hy) (haneluk), առեղծված (hy) (aṙeġcvac)
• Azerbaijani: müəmma (az)
• Bashkir: башватҡыс (başvatqıs)
• Belarusian: зага́дка f (zahádka)
• Bengali: ধাঁধা (bn) (dhãdha), সমস্যা (bn) (śomosśa)
• Bulgarian: зага́дка (bg) f (zagádka)
• Burmese: ပဟေဠိ (my) (pa.heli.), အမေးပုစ္ဆာ (my) (a.me:puchca), စကားထာ (my) (ca.ka:hta)
• Catalan: trencaclosques (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 謎／谜 (zh) (mí), 難題／难题 (zh) (nántí)

• Czech: záhada (cs) f
• Danish: gåde c
• Dutch: mysterie (nl) n, raadsel (nl) n
• Estonian: mõistatus
• Finnish: arvoitus (fi)
• French: mystère (fr) m, énigme (fr) f
• Georgian: თავსატეხი (tavsaṭexi)
• German: Rätsel (de) n
• Greek: γρίφος (el) m (grífos)
• Hebrew: חִידָה (he) f (ḥidá)
• Hindi: पहेली (hi) f (pahelī), रहस्य (hi) f (rahasya), राज़ m (rāz), भेद (hi) m (bhed), मुअम्मा (hi) m (muammā), समस्या (hi) f (samasyā)
• Hungarian: rejtély (hu), talány (hu)
• Italian: mistero (it) m, rompicapo (it) m
• Japanese: 謎 (ja) (なぞ, nazo), 難題 (ja) (なんだい, nandai), 難問 (ja) (なんもん, nanmon)
• Kazakh: жұмбақ (jūmbaq)
• Khmer: បណ្ដៅ (km) (bɑndaw), ប្រស្នា (km) (prɑsnaa)
• Korean: 수수께끼 (ko) (susukkekki), 난제(難題) (ko) (nanje), 난문(難問) (nanmun)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: muema (ku), çiştan (ku)

• Kyrgyz: табышмак (ky) (tabışmak)
• Latvian: noslēpums m, mīkla f
• Lithuanian: mįslė f
• Macedonian: за́гатка f (zágatka)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: оньсого (mn) (onʹsogo)

  Mongolian: ᠣᠨᠢᠰᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (onisug-a)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gåte (no) m or f

• Pashto: معما f (ma'mã)
• Persian: معما (fa) (mo'ammâ), چیستان (fa) (čistân)
• Polish: zagadka (pl) f
• Portuguese: enigma (pt) m
• Romanian: enigmă (ro) f
• Russian: зага́дка (ru) f (zagádka), затрудне́ние (ru) n (zatrudnénije)
• Sanskrit: प्रहेलिका (sa) f (prahelikā)
• Scottish Gaelic: dubh-fhacal m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за̏гоне̄тка f

  Roman: zȁgonētka (sh) f

• Slovak: záhada f
• Slovene: uganka (sl) f
• Spanish: rompecabezas (es) m, enigma (es) m
• Swedish: gåta (sv) c, mysterium (sv) n
• Tajik: муаммо (tg) (muammo), чистон (tg) (čiston)
• Tatar: башваткыч (tt) (başwatkıç), табышмак (tt) (tabışmaq)
• Thai: ปริศนา (th) (bprìt-sà-nǎa)
• Turkish: bulmaca (tr), muamma (tr)
• Ukrainian: зага́дка (uk) f (zahádka)
• Urdu: پہیلی f (pahelī), راز m (rāz), معما m (mu'ammā)
• Uyghur: تېپىشماق (tëpishmaq)
• Uzbek: jumboq (uz), topishmoq (uz), muammo (uz), chiston (uz)
• Vietnamese: sự bối rối (vi), sự khó xử (vi), ^{(please verify)} vấn đề khó xử, ^{(please verify)} vấn đề khó giải quyết (vi), ^{(please verify)} vấn đề nan giải (vi)
• Welsh: pos m

game for one person

• Arabic: أُحْجِيَّة f (ʔuḥjiyya), لُغْز (ar) m (luḡz), بَازْل m (bāzl)
• Armenian: գլուխկոտրուկ (hy) (gluxkotruk)
• Bashkir: башватҡыс (başvatqıs)
• Belarusian: галавало́мка f (halavalómka)
• Bulgarian: главоблъ́сканица f (glavoblǎ́skanica), пъ́зел (bg) m (pǎ́zel)
• Catalan: trencaclosques (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 猜謎游戲／猜谜游戏 (cāimí yóuxì), 智力游戲／智力游戏 (zhìlì yóuxì)

• Czech: hlavolam (cs) m
• Dutch: puzzel (nl), raadsel (nl) n, hersenbreker (nl) m
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pulma (fi), pähkinä (fi), tehtävä (fi)
• French: puzzle (fr) m, casse-tête (fr) m, jeu de patience (fr) m
• Georgian: თავსატეხი თამაში (tavsaṭexi tamaši)
• German: Puzzle (de) n, Geduldspiel n, Geduldsspiel (de) n
• Hungarian: türelemjáték (hu), fejtörő (hu), rejtvény (hu)
• Icelandic: púsl n
• Italian: rompicapo (it) m
• Japanese: パズル (ja) (pazuru)
• Khmer: ល្បែងផ្គុំរូប (lbaengphkumruup)
• Korean: 퍼즐 (peojeul), 짝맞추기 (jjangmatchugi)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: за́гатка f (zágatka)
• Maori: panga
• Polish: łamigłówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: desafio (pt) m
• Russian: головоло́мка (ru) f (golovolómka), пазл (ru) m (pazl)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за̏гоне̄тка f

  Roman: zȁgonētka (sh) f

• Slovak: hlavolam (sk) m
• Slovene: uganka (sl) f
• Spanish: rompecabezas (es) m, puzle (es) m
• Swedish: pussel (sv) n
• Thai: ปริศนา (th) (bprìt-sà-nǎa)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: головоло́мка f (holovolómka), пазл (uk) m (pazl)
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} trò chơi đố , ^{(please verify)} câu đố (vi)

crossword puzzle — see crossword

jigsaw puzzle — see jigsaw puzzle

riddle

• Arabic: لُغْز (ar) m (luḡz), أُحْجِيَّة f (ʔuḥjiyya), مُعْضِلَة (ar) f (muʕḍila)
• Armenian: հանելուկ (hy) (haneluk)
• Bashkir: йомаҡ (yomaq)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 謎語／谜语 (zh) (míyǔ)

• Czech: hádanka (cs) f
• Dutch: raadsel (nl) n
• Faroese: gáta f
• Finnish: arvoitus (fi)
• French: devinette (fr) f
• German: Rätsel (de) n
• Hebrew: חִידָה (he) f (ḥidá)
• Hungarian: rejtvény (hu), fejtörő (hu), feladvány (hu)
• Indonesian: teka-teki (id)
• Italian: indovinello (it) m
• Japanese: 謎々 (なぞなぞ, nazonazo), 判じ物 (はんじもの, hanjimono), 謎 (ja) (なぞ, nazo), パズル (ja) (pazuru)
• Macedonian: га́танка f (gátanka)
• Malay: teka-teki
• Maori: panga
• Persian: معما (fa) (mo'ammâ)
• Polish: zagadka (pl) f, rebus (pl) m
• Portuguese: charada (pt) f, enigma (pt) m
• Russian: зага́дка (ru) f (zagádka), ре́бус (ru) m (rébus)
• Scottish Gaelic: dubh-fhacal m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за̏гоне̄тка f

  Roman: zȁgonētka (sh) f

• Slovak: hádanka (sk) f
• Spanish: acertijo (es) m
• Swedish: gåta (sv) c
• Thai: ปริศนา (th) (bprìt-sà-nǎa)
• Ukrainian: зага́дка (uk) f (zahádka)
• Vietnamese: câu đố (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} თავსატეხი (tavsaṭexi)
• Slovak: (1) ^{(please verify)} hádanka (sk) f, (1, 5) ^{(please verify)} hlavolam (sk) m, (1) ^{(please verify)} div (sk) m, (3) ^{(please verify)} krížovka f

Verb

puzzle (third-person singular simple present puzzles, present participle puzzling, simple past and past participle puzzled)

1. (transitive) To perplex, confuse, or mystify; to cause (someone) to be faced with a mystery, without answers or an explanation.
   • 1634 September 1 (Gregorian calendar), Robert Sanderson, “[Ad Clerum.] The Fourth Sermon. At a Metropolitical Visitation at Grantham, Lincoln, 22 August 1634.”, in XXXIV Sermons. […], 5th edition, London: […] [A. Clark] for A. Seil, and are to be sold by G. Sawbridge, […], published 1671, →OCLC, paragraph 15, page 65:

     Mens daily occaſions for themſelves or friends, and the neceſities of common life, require the doing of a thouſand things vvithin the compaſs of a fevv dayes, for vvhich it vvould puzzle the beſt Textman that liveth; readily to bethink himself of a ſentence in the Bible, clear enough to ſatisfie a ſcrupulous conſcience of the lavvfulneſs and expediency of vvhat he is about to do; […]

   • 1668, Franciscus Euistor the Palæopolite [pseudonym; Henry More], “(please specify the page)”, in Divine Dialogues, Containing Sundry Disquisitions & Instructions Concerning the Attributes of God and His Providence in the World. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Joseph Downing […], published 1713, →OCLC:

     A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous in puzzling others, if they be not thoroughpaced speculators in those great theories.

   • 1712 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, February 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 291; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his own blunders.

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:

     The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.

   • 2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?‎^[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 261:

     When it comes to God's existence, I'm not an atheist and I'm not an agnostic. I'm an acrostic. The whole thing puzzles me.

2. (intransitive) To think long and carefully, in bewilderment.

   We puzzled over the curious-shaped lock, but were unable to discover how the key should be inserted.

3. (transitive) To make intricate; to entangle.
   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:

     The ways of Heav'n are dark and intricate, / Puzzled in mazes, and perplex'd with error.

   • 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC:

     They disentangle from the puzzled skein.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:confuse

Derived terms

• puzzled
• puzzle out
• puzzle over
• puzzler
• puzzle through
• puzzling (adjective, noun)

 

Translations

to perplex

• Bulgarian: обърквам (bg) (obǎrkvam), озадачавам (bg) (ozadačavam)
• Dutch: verbijsteren (nl), verwarren (nl), in de war brengen
• Finnish: askarruttaa (fi)
• French: ^{(please verify)} rendre perplexe
• German: durcheinander bringen, verwirren (de)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} rendere perplesso
• Maori: whakapōkaikaha, whakapōkīkī
• Portuguese: confundir (pt), desconcertar (pt), intrigar (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian: zbúniti (sh), smȅsti (sh)
• Spanish: intrigar (es), dejar perplejo, desconcertar (es)

Related terms

• puzzlement

Anagrams

• puzzel

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpazl̩]
• (nonstandard, hyperforeign) IPA^(key): [ˈput͡slɛ]

Noun

puzzle m inan or n or f

1. jigsaw puzzle

Usage notes

Also used as an indeclinable noun of various genders, most often neuter.

Although the standard pronunciation of this word, which has been borrowed from English, is /ˈpazl̩/, another common informal pronunciation is /ˈput͡sle/, which is a hyperforeignism, trying to apply either Italian (as in pizza) or more probably German pronunciation rules. However, both Italian and German pronunciation of the word puzzle is different.

Declension

when masculine:

Declension of puzzle (hard masculine inanimate foreign)

	singular	plural
nominative	puzzle	puzzly
genitive	puzzlu	puzzlů
dative	puzzlu	puzzlům
accusative	puzzle	puzzly
vocative	puzzle	puzzly
locative	puzzlu	puzzlech
instrumental	puzzlem	puzzly

Indeclinable when neuter or feminine.

French

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pœ.zœl/, /pœzl/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)

1. jigsaw puzzle

Further reading

• “puzzle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpaːzl̩], [ˈpaːzəl] (also with a short [a])
• Hyphenation: puzzle (cannot be hyphenated)
• Rhymes: -əl

Noun

puzzle (plural puzzle-ök or puzzle-ok or puzzle-k)

1. jigsaw puzzle

   Synonyms: (képes) kirakó/kirakójáték, kirakós (játék), képkirakó/képkirakós (játék), (rare) pázli

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	puzzle	puzzle-ok
accusative	puzzle-t	puzzle-okat
dative	puzzle-nak	puzzle-oknak
instrumental	puzzle-lal	puzzle-okkal
causal-final	puzzle-ért	puzzle-okért
translative	puzzle-lá	puzzle-okká
terminative	puzzle-ig	puzzle-okig
essive-formal	puzzle-ként	puzzle-okként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	puzzle-ban	puzzle-okban
superessive	puzzle-on	puzzle-okon
adessive	puzzle-nál	puzzle-oknál
illative	puzzle-ba	puzzle-okba
sublative	puzzle-ra	puzzle-okra
allative	puzzle-hoz	puzzle-okhoz
elative	puzzle-ból	puzzle-okból
delative	puzzle-ról	puzzle-okról
ablative	puzzle-tól	puzzle-októl
non-attributive possessive - singular	puzzle-é	puzzle-oké
non-attributive possessive - plural	puzzle-éi	puzzle-okéi

Possessive forms of puzzle
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	puzzle-om	puzzle-jaim
2nd person sing.	puzzle-od	puzzle-jaid
3rd person sing.	puzzle-ja	puzzle-jai
1st person plural	puzzle-unk	puzzle-jaink
2nd person plural	puzzle-otok	puzzle-jaitok
3rd person plural	puzzle-juk	puzzle-jaik

or

Inflection (stem in -ö-, front rounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	puzzle	puzzle-ök
accusative	puzzle-t	puzzle-öket
dative	puzzle-nek	puzzle-öknek
instrumental	puzzle-lel	puzzle-ökkel
causal-final	puzzle-ért	puzzle-ökért
translative	puzzle-lé	puzzle-ökké
terminative	puzzle-ig	puzzle-ökig
essive-formal	puzzle-ként	puzzle-ökként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	puzzle-ben	puzzle-ökben
superessive	puzzle-ön	puzzle-ökön
adessive	puzzle-nél	puzzle-öknél
illative	puzzle-be	puzzle-ökbe
sublative	puzzle-re	puzzle-ökre
allative	puzzle-höz	puzzle-ökhöz
elative	puzzle-ből	puzzle-ökből
delative	puzzle-ről	puzzle-ökről
ablative	puzzle-től	puzzle-öktől
non-attributive possessive - singular	puzzle-é	puzzle-öké
non-attributive possessive - plural	puzzle-éi	puzzle-ökéi

Possessive forms of puzzle
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	puzzle-öm	puzzle-jeim
2nd person sing.	puzzle-öd	puzzle-jeid
3rd person sing.	puzzle-je	puzzle-jei
1st person plural	puzzle-ünk	puzzle-jeink
2nd person plural	puzzle-ötök	puzzle-jeitek
3rd person plural	puzzle-jük	puzzle-jeik

or

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	puzzle	puzzle-k
accusative	puzzle-t	puzzle-kat
dative	puzzle-nak	puzzle-knak
instrumental	puzzle-val	puzzle-kkal
causal-final	puzzle-ért	puzzle-kért
translative	puzzle-vá	puzzle-kká
terminative	puzzle-ig	puzzle-kig
essive-formal	puzzle-ként	puzzle-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	puzzle-ban	puzzle-kban
superessive	puzzle-n	puzzle-kon
adessive	puzzle-nál	puzzle-knál
illative	puzzle-ba	puzzle-kba
sublative	puzzle-ra	puzzle-kra
allative	puzzle-hoz	puzzle-khoz
elative	puzzle-ból	puzzle-kból
delative	puzzle-ról	puzzle-król
ablative	puzzle-tól	puzzle-któl
non-attributive possessive - singular	puzzle-é	puzzle-ké
non-attributive possessive - plural	puzzle-éi	puzzle-kéi

Possessive forms of puzzle
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	puzzle-m	puzzle-jaim
2nd person sing.	puzzle-d	puzzle-jaid
3rd person sing.	puzzle-ja	puzzle-jai
1st person plural	puzzle-nk	puzzle-jaink
2nd person plural	puzzle-tok	puzzle-jaitok
3rd person plural	puzzle-juk	puzzle-jaik

Derived terms

• puzzle-darab
• puzzle-ozik or puzzle-özik

 

See also

• kirak (“to do [a jigsaw puzzle]”)

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpad.d͡zol/
  • Rhymes: -addzol
• IPA^(key): (careful style) /ˈpa.zol/, (careful style) /ˈpa.zel/
  • Rhymes: (careful style) -azol, (careful style) -azel

Noun

puzzle m (invariable)

1. jigsaw puzzle
2. (by extension) a difficult problem

Polish

puzzle

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from English puzzle, with a hyperforeign alternative pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpuz.lɛ/, (nonstandard) /ˈput͡s.lɛ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uzlɛ
• Syllabification: puzz‧le

Noun

puzzle nvir pl

1. jigsaw puzzle (type of puzzle in which the aim is to reconstruct a picture that has been cut (originally, with a jigsaw) into many small interlocking pieces)

Declension

Declension of puzzle

	plural
nominative	puzzle
genitive	puzzli
dative	puzzlom
accusative	puzzle
instrumental	puzzlami
locative	puzzlach
vocative	puzzle

Derived terms

nouns

• puzzel

 

Noun

puzzle m animal

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of puzzel

Further reading

• puzzle in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• puzzle in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• puzzle in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɐ.zow/ [ˈpɐ.zoʊ̯]

Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)

1. jigsaw puzzle

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

Noun

puzzle n (plural puzzle-uri)

1. puzzle

Declension

Declension of puzzle

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) puzzle	puzzleul	(niște) puzzle-uri	puzzle-urile
genitive/dative	(unui) puzzle	puzzleului	(unor) puzzle-uri	puzzle-urilor
vocative	puzzleule		puzzle-urilor

Spanish

Alternative forms

• puzle

Etymology

Borrowed from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈpuθle/ [ˈpuθ.le]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /ˈpusle/ [ˈpus.le]
• (Spain) Rhymes: -uθle
• (Latin America) Rhymes: -usle
• Syllabification: puzz‧le

Noun

puzzle m (plural puzzles)

1. jigsaw puzzle

Usage notes

The recommended spelling is puzle.

Turkish

Alternative forms

• pazıl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English puzzle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.zɯɫ/

Noun

puzzle (definite accusative puzzle'ı, plural puzzle'lar)

1. jigsaw puzzle

   Synonyms: pazıl, yapboz

Further reading

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “puzzle”, in Nişanyan Sözlük