Questions · Icebreakers for teens
Icebreakers for teens that won’t get you an eye roll
For the youth leader, coach, club advisor or camp counselor facing a room of thirteen- to eighteen-year-olds who would rather be on their phones. Questions with a little humor, a little choice and no pressure to be impressive in front of everyone.
- 18 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
Pick one joke style that makes you laugh right away.
Pumili ng joke style na mabilis kang mapatawa.
Humor has shortcuts. The joke that gets you fastest usually knows your exact kind of silly.
May shortcut ang humor. Yung joke na mabilis kang tamaan, alam niya yung exact kind of silly mo.
The questions
18 icebreakers for teens
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
Funny confessions
6 questions
Low-risk, self-deprecating, very shareable.
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Pick a mascot for your current mood: sleepy, dramatic, cheerful, chaotic, or something else.
Pumili ng mascot para sa current mood mo: sleepy, dramatic, cheerful, chaotic, o iba pa.
Back of the card
Current mood is sometimes easier to explain through a mascot. It can be tired, dramatic, cheerful, or strangely accurate.
Minsan mas madaling i-explain ang current mood gamit mascot. Puwedeng pagod, dramatic, cheerful, o weirdly accurate.
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Pick one joke style that makes you laugh right away.
Pumili ng joke style na mabilis kang mapatawa.
Back of the card
Humor has shortcuts. The joke that gets you fastest usually knows your exact kind of silly.
May shortcut ang humor. Yung joke na mabilis kang tamaan, alam niya yung exact kind of silly mo.
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Name a word or line you misheard that made the conversation funny.
Magbanggit ng word o line na mali mong narinig at naging funny yung usapan.
Back of the card
Mishearing one word can send a conversation somewhere else completely. Sometimes the mistake is funnier than the original point.
Isang maling dinig lang, ibang direction na yung usapan. Minsan mas funny pa yung mali kaysa original point.
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Choose your default reaction when something embarrassing happens.
Piliin yung default reaction mo kapag may nakakahiya na nangyari.
Back of the card
Embarrassing moments reveal our automatic settings. Laugh, freeze, explain, escape: every reaction has its own logic.
Lumalabas yung automatic settings natin kapag nakakahiya. Tawa, freeze, explain, takas: may logic lahat yan.
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Name one harmless opinion you take seriously, like food, movies, habits, or small preferences.
Magbanggit ng isang harmless opinion na seryoso ka, like food, movies, habits, o small preferences.
Back of the card
Harmless opinions are a safe place to be dramatic. The stakes are low, but the conviction can still be strong.
Safe maging dramatic sa harmless opinions. Low stakes lang, pero pwedeng strong pa rin ang conviction.
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Confess one harmless habit you know is very you.
I-confess yung harmless habit na very you talaga.
Back of the card
Harmless habits become part of your signature. They may be small, but people who know you probably notice.
Yung harmless habits, nagiging signature mo rin. Maliit lang, pero napapansin yan ng mga nakakakilala sa'yo.
Friend-group stuff
6 questions
Teens are experts on their own friends. Let them talk about it.
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Share a funny public moment when something embarrassing happened, but you tried to stay normal.
Mag-share ng funny public moment na may embarrassing na nangyari, pero sinubukan mong umaktong normal.
Back of the card
The public poker face deserves credit. Sometimes looking calm is just excellent acting with a normal facial expression.
May credit dapat ang public poker face. Minsan mukhang calm ka lang, pero acting na pala yun.
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What line do your friends often hear you say?
Anong linya ang madalas marinig ng friends mo sa'yo?
Back of the card
Imagine your usual line printed on a shirt.
Isipin na naka-print sa shirt ang madalas mong sabihin.
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Describe a funny photo of yourself that you would happily show your friends.
Ikuwento ang isang funny photo mo na okay lang sa'yong ipakita sa friends.
Back of the card
No need to show it. What caption would fit the photo?
Hindi kailangang ipakita. Anong caption ang babagay sa photo?
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Which song takes you back to a particular time with friends?
Anong kanta ang nagpapaalala sa'yo ng isang panahon ninyo ng friends mo?
Back of the card
Picture where everyone was when the song came on.
Isipin kung nasaan ang lahat noong tumugtog ang kanta.
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What fun activity would you like to introduce your friends to?
Anong masayang activity ang gusto mong ipakilala sa friends?
Back of the card
Imagine their first try going wrong in a harmless, funny way.
Isipin na may simpleng sablay sa unang pagsubok nila na puwede ninyong pagtawanan.
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Name the song that should play when you enter a room.
Sabihin yung song na dapat tumugtog pagpasok mo sa room.
Back of the card
An entrance song is mostly about energy. It says what kind of moment you want everyone to feel.
Yung entrance song, energy talaga ang usapan. Sinasabi niya kung anong moment ang gusto mong dala.
Pick one and defend it
6 questions
Choices that start friendly arguments across the room.
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Which language would you learn instantly if you woke up fluent tomorrow?
Kung paggising mo bukas ay marunong ka na ng isang bagong language, ano ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Choose the first person you would like to talk to in that language.
Piliin ang unang taong gusto mong makausap gamit ang wikang iyon.
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Choose a memory power: remember every name or remember every route you have taken.
Pumili ng memory power: tandaan lahat ng pangalan o lahat ng daang nadaanan mo.
Back of the card
Give your memory power a name. It can sound heroic or completely ordinary.
Bigyan ng pangalan ang memory power mo. Puwedeng pang-hero o ordinaryo lang.
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Which button would you rather have: pause a busy hour or replay a favorite hour?
Kung may time button, alin ang pipiliin mo: i-pause ang isang abalang oras o ulitin ang paborito mong oras?
Back of the card
Your button needs a label. What would you write on it?
Kailangan ng label ang button mo. Ano ang isusulat mo rito?
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If your old phone could save only one, would you keep the photos or the messages?
Kung isa lang ang mase-save sa lumang phone mo, photos o messages ang ititira mo?
Back of the card
Imagine giving the saved memories a title. No need to show any photos or messages.
Isipin na bibigyan mo ng pamagat ang natirang mga alaala. Hindi kailangang magpakita ng photos o messages.
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Choose a fake job title that fits your personality.
Pumili ng fake job title na bagay sa personality mo.
Back of the card
A fake title can be more accurate than a real one. It gives a playful name to the thing people already notice.
Minsan mas accurate pa ang fake title kaysa real one. Binibigyan lang niya ng playful name yung napapansin na ng tao.
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What harmless habit of a friend have you come to enjoy?
Anong habit ng friend ang mas nagugustuhan mo habang tumatagal?
Back of the card
Was it something you liked immediately or grew to like?
Nagustuhan mo ba agad o nasanay ka muna bago mo nagustuhan?
How to use them
Before you ask
Icebreakers for teens work when they let teenagers be funny instead of earnest. A teen in a new group is mostly trying not to look uncool. A question about their mood mascot or the line their friends always hear them say lets them be a little self-deprecating and get a laugh, which is exactly the kind of risk they’re willing to take.
What gets the eye roll: anything that sounds like a worksheet, games that require physical contact, and any question that might reveal who has a crush on whom. Teens also hate being singled out. Let the group answer in small clusters first, then ask for a few volunteers to share the funniest answer they heard.
Use the pick-one choices when the energy is flat. Split the room by answer and give each side thirty seconds to make their case. If you want something more personal later in the year, see the deep questions for teens.
Good for
Tips
- Don’t make them stand up or say their name and a fact. Fold names into the answer instead.
- Answer honestly yourself, including something mildly embarrassing. Teens trust adults who can laugh at themselves.
- Clusters of three or four beat one big circle. Nobody performs for the whole room.
- Let a student read the question out loud. It lands better than when the adult does it.
- Skip anything about dating, weight, money or grades.
Decks for this
Icebreakers for teens
Frequently asked questions
What are good icebreakers for teens?
Questions that let teens be funny about themselves without risking much: their mood mascot, the joke style that always gets them, their default reaction to something embarrassing, a choice worth arguing about. Humor and choice beat earnest sharing with this age group.
How do you get teenagers to participate in icebreakers?
Keep the stakes low and the groups small. Let them answer in clusters, have a student read the questions, and never force anyone to share in front of the whole room.
What icebreakers should you avoid with teens?
Anything with touching, anything that ranks people (most popular, best looking), and questions about crushes, bodies, money or grades. They create exactly the awkwardness you’re trying to break.
Bring a better question to the table.
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