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The Zebra Puzzle (Einstein's Riddle)
Five houses, five people, fourteen clues. Who drinks water, and who owns the zebra? Solve the most famous logic puzzle on the grid below, open the hints one step at a time if you get stuck, or print it for pencil and paper.
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How the puzzle works
Five houses stand in a row, numbered 1 to 5 from left to right. Each house has a different colour, and the person living in it has a different nationality, favourite drink, hobby and pet. "Immediately to the right" means the next house number up, and "next door" means one house to either side. The clues don't mention water or the zebra at all; you find them by elimination.
Step-by-step hints
Open one step at a time. Each step uses only what earlier steps established, so you can stop as soon as you're moving again.
Step 1: Fill in the givens
Clue 9 puts the Norwegian in House 1 and clue 8 puts milk in House 3. Clue 14 says the Norwegian lives next to the blue house, and House 1 has only one neighbour, so House 2 is blue.
Step 2: The colour of House 1
House 1 can't be red, because the English person lives there (clue 1). It can't be green, because green has to have the ivory house on its left (clue 5). It can't be ivory either, because green would then be House 2, which is blue. So House 1 is yellow, and by clue 7 the Norwegian plays chess.
Step 3: The horse and the Norwegian's drink
The chess player lives next to the horse (clue 11), and House 1's only neighbour is House 2, so the horse is in House 2. The Norwegian can't drink tea (that's the Ukrainian), milk (House 3), coffee (green) or orange juice (that's the cyclist, but he plays chess). So the Norwegian drinks water. That's the first answer.
Step 4: Two ways to place red, ivory and green
Houses 3, 4 and 5 hold red, ivory and green, with ivory directly left of green. That leaves two layouts: ivory–green–red, or red–ivory–green. Try the first one: green would be House 4 with coffee, red House 5 would be English, and House 5 would then need orange juice and cycling. Placing the Spaniard (dog) and the Japanese (photography) in Houses 3 and 4 then leaves the snails with nowhere to go. So the layout must be red (3), ivory (4), green (5).
Step 5: Drinks and nationalities
House 3 is red, so the English person lives there and drinks milk. Green House 5 drinks coffee. Houses 2 and 4 share tea and orange juice. If House 2 had orange juice, House 2 would be the cyclist, and its owner couldn't be the Ukrainian (tea), the Spaniard (dog, not horse) or the Japanese (photography). So House 2 drinks tea and is Ukrainian, and House 4 drinks orange juice and cycles.
Step 6: The last pieces
The Japanese person does photography, so they can't be the House 4 cyclist: Japanese in House 5, which leaves the Spaniard and the dog in House 4. Painting and gardening remain for Houses 2 and 3. The gardener keeps snails and House 2 has the horse, so gardening and snails go to House 3, and House 2 paints. The painter lives next to the fox, and House 3 has snails, so the fox is in House 1. The only pet left is the zebra, in House 5.
The answer
Show the full solution
The Norwegian drinks water. The Japanese person owns the zebra.
| House | Colour | Nationality | Drink | Hobby | Pet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House 1 | yellow | Norwegian | water | chess | fox |
| House 2 | blue | Ukrainian | tea | painting | horse |
| House 3 | red | English | milk | gardening | snails |
| House 4 | ivory | Spanish | orange juice | cycling | dog |
| House 5 | green | Japanese | coffee | photography | zebra |
Where the puzzle comes from
The Zebra Puzzle was first printed in Life International magazine on 17 December 1962, without an author's name. It is often called Einstein's Riddle, and you'll see claims that Einstein wrote it as a boy or that only 2% of people can solve it. Neither is supported by any evidence. The original used cigarette brands as its fifth category; we use hobbies instead, which keeps the logic exactly the same.
Logic puzzles like this are called logic grid puzzles, and the grid above is the standard way to solve them. If this was your first, our guide on how to solve logic puzzles explains the marking method, and the puzzle generator makes fresh puzzles at easy, medium and hard levels. For pencil and paper, try our printable logic puzzles with answers.
Zebra Puzzle FAQ
Who owns the zebra?
The Japanese person in House 5, the green house. The answer is worked out step by step on this page.
Who drinks water in the Zebra Puzzle?
The Norwegian in House 1, the yellow house.
Did Einstein write the Zebra Puzzle?
There is no evidence he did. The puzzle first appeared in Life International magazine on 17 December 1962, with no author named. The claims that Einstein wrote it, or that only 2% of people can solve it, are myths.
Is the Zebra Puzzle the same as Einstein's Riddle?
Yes. Einstein's Riddle is a later retelling of the same puzzle, usually with a German, a Swede, a Dane, a Brit and a Norwegian, and a fish instead of a zebra. The logic is identical.
How long does the Zebra Puzzle take?
Most people need 20 to 60 minutes with a logic grid. It has a unique solution, so you never need to guess.