Donut (Puzzlega.me)

About Donut (Puzzlega.me)

Donut (ドーナツ) is one of the Japanese daily games on Puzzlega.me. The board is a ring: one kanji above, one to the left, one to the right and one below, with arrows pointing into or out of the hole in the middle. You type a kanji for the hole so that, read in the direction of the arrows, all four pairs form real jukugo (two-kanji compounds). For example, with 上, 空, 中 and 下 the answer is 手, giving 上手, 空手, 手中 and 手下.

There is no limit on how many kanji you try, and the puzzle is solved when all four words are complete. The result screen shows the four words with their readings.

The puzzle changes once a day at midnight Japan time, and the answer is the same for every player. Puzzles are numbered; the day we checked was number 1,075. Puzzlega.me also runs a Japanese mini crossword, a photo crossword, emoji shiritori and more. Donut suits Japanese speakers and advanced learners who enjoy kanji vocabulary.

How to play Donut (Puzzlega.me)

1. Look at the four kanji around the empty centre and the direction of each arrow.
2. Think of a kanji that forms a two-kanji word with each of them, read along the arrows.
3. Type your candidate kanji into the hole.
4. Keep trying; there is no limit on guesses.
5. When all four words are complete, read their readings and share your result.

Screenshots

Tips

• Start with the kanji that has the fewest common compounds; it narrows the answer fastest.
• Mind the arrows: the hole can be the first or second character of each word.
• Try very common kanji first (手, 人, 生, 気 and so on); they make many compounds.
• Say the words out loud with each candidate to check they are real.

Questions