4655 Tongue Twisters:
the Largest International Collection
- Acholi, Acoli or Lwo 5
- Afrikaans 19
- Akan or Asante 6
- Albanian 23
- Alur 6
- Amharic, Ethiopian, or Amarigna 12
- Arabic 56
- Aragonese 11
- Armenian 22
- Assamese 5
- Avar or Avaric 6
- Azerbaijani or Azeri 7
- Basque, Euskara or Euskera 26
- Bengali or Bangla 13
- Breton 11
- Bulgarian 29
- Catalan 55
- Chinese, Mandarin 46
- Chinese, Yue or Cantonese 19
- Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian 42
- Czech 7 🎧 157
- Danish 50
- Dutch 183
- Emilian and Romagnol 16
- English 595 🎧 595
- Esperanto 35
- Estonian 47
- Finnish 97
- French 202 🎧 215
- French Creole 10
- Frisian 9
- Fulah, Fulani or Peulh 6
- Ga 7
- Galician 14
- Ganda or Luganda 16
- Georgian or Kartveli 29
- German 362 🎧 382
- Greek, Ancient 9
- Greek, Modern 51
- Guarani 8
- Gujarati 11
- Hausa 19
- Hawaiian 16
- Hebrew 42
- Hebrew, Ancient 24
- Hindi 34
- Hungarian 80
- Ibanag or Ybanag 4
- Icelandic 20
- Igbo or Ibo 8
- Indonesian 49
- Irish 27
- Italian 99 🎧 118
- Japanese 40 🎧 55
- Javanese 14
- Jersey 22
- Kannada or Kanarese 9
- Kazakh 9
- Kikuyu 17
- Korean 15
- Kurdish 9
- Latin 45
- Latvian or Lettish 16
- Letzeburgesch or Luxembourgish 14
- Lithuanian 14
- Loglan or Lojban 13
- Lombard 11
- Luo or Dholuo 15
- Madurese or Madura 7
- Malay 22
- Malayalam 38
- Maltese 27
- Maori 10
- Marathi 10
- Mizo, Lushai or Lusei 8
- Mongolian 13
- Norwegian 73
- Occitan or Gascon 9
- Panjabi or Punjabi 13
- Pashto or Pushto 11
- Persian or Farsi 31
- Polish 1 🎧 90
- Portuguese 98 🎧 122
- Rhaeto-Romance or Romansh 3
- Romanian 50
- Russian 92 🎧 102
- Rwanda or Kinyarwanda 12
- Sardinian 13
- Scots or Scottisch 14
- Scottish Gaelic 12
- Shona 12
- Sicilian 10
- Slovak 6 🎧 49
- Slovenian or Slovene 31
- Soga, Lusoga, Olusoga 3
- Somali 17
- Sorbian, Upper 3
- Spanish 170 🎧 190
- Sukuma 11
- Swahili 25
- Swedish 65
- Tagalog or Filipino 48
- Tamil 22
- Telugu 19
- Thai 23
- Tibetan, Central or Bhotia 9
- Turkish 44
- Ukrainian 9 🎧 12
- Urdu 26
- Uzbek 112
- Vietnamese 41
- Visayan or Cebuano 21
- Welsh 25
- Wolof 13
- Xhosa or IsiXhosa 16
- Yiddish 7
- Yoruba 18
- Zulu 10
There are numerous reasons to practice tongue twisters. It’s a fantastic method to learn a second language and train your pronunciation or an accent. And be sure that such a practice is fruitful even for your native language!
But have you wondered what the role of tongue twisters in the society is? As a part of national heritage, they should represent the language and the public using them. Can an unusual sequence of vowels and consonants reflect something about people who came up with it?
There is a way to find out!
With our list of examples from 118 regions, you can compare and contrast tongue twisters. It’s useful to study the differences or satisfy your curiosity. What’s more, the list can assist you in finding a tongue-twister on any language of interest.
😋 What Is a Tongue-Twister?
Let’s begin an exploration of this international collection, it’s useful to study the basics first. Primary definitions and brief history may aid you in understanding the value of a tongue-twister.
🤷 Definitions
To study a tongue-twister, we start with 3 key definitions that you are to differentiate:
- Tongue-twister: “A sequence of words, often alliterative, difficult to articulate quickly.” (Oxford English Dictionary)
You can see a variety of examples below, as this collection is dedicated to them. However, there are 2 categories of tongue twisters that are worth mentioning:
-
Shibboleth: “A word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Example: Plaid as a synonym for “tartan” — a long, rectangular piece of cloth, usually with such a pattern and worn across the left shoulder by Scottish Highlanders.
-
Battologism: A phrase or sentence built by a (tiresome) repetition of the same words or sounds.
Example: Wright did not write “rite” right. Wright, write “rite” right, right away!
📚 History
Like many great things, tongue twisters were originally invented for fun. Later, their significance became more apparent when people started to use them as a tool for speech therapy.
For the first time, the “tongue twister” was documented in 1875 and referred to words or phrases that were hard to repeat. Almost immediately, the meaning started to change. People used the term concerning the sequences that were intentionally mouthful. Even then, it was seen as a way to improve diction and pronunciation.
The definition of "tongue twisters" in its current lexical meaning appeared in 1904. At the turn of the century, such awkward sequences were published in newspapers and magazines for fun and practice. Soon various nations considered their utilization for educational purposes.
You can find more detailed information about their history in this article . Meanwhile, let’s move on to the next discussion.
👅 Benefits of Tongue Twisters
How can tongue twisters help you to learn a language or improve your pronunciation? Can they assist you in your everyday life? Read the following sections to find out!
🤝 Correct Your Daily Speech
You communicate with strangers or your loved ones every day. So don’t you think that an improvement of your speech would be useful? Repeating mouthful phrases is perfect for non-exhaustive self-reformation that won’t distract you for long.
There are several ways this practice can help you:
- With the assistance of tongue twisters, you will be able to enunciate. Quit mumbling or “swallowing” parts of words! Repeat an awkward sequence of vowels and consonants to ensure a flawless diction. Ask your friends to say whenever you fail or lack clarity, if you’re not certain that you can do it yourself.
- Tongue twisters also aid in curing speech impediments. Doctors recommend them for treating hiccups, lisps, and other similar issues. A repetition of awkward sequences is common for kids as tongue twisters can easily engage and entertain children in speech therapy.
- This tool will make you a confident speaker. Tongue twisters are used by actors, politicians, and public speakers for training. After practicing you won’t be afraid of any expression in your speech — you’ve said worse! You’ll leave a better impression on an audience when you’re focusing on your message rather than the way you talk.
🎓 Learn a Second Language
Today there are plenty of methods to facilitate learning. Tongue twisters are one of them, and here you’ll see several reasons why:
- You can improve fluency by practicing with weird sequences. Frequent repetition leads to memorizing new words and phrases. Subjecting a student to new exercises enhances their learning ability.
- This tool can also make you remember more grammar constructions. Tongue twisters are filled with common expressions and connections between them. You'll use some without noticing and learn them without any effort.
- Repeating utterances that are hard to pronounce helps with concentration. With time, studying a language can become boring and tiresome. In that case, tongue twisters serve as a fun distraction that also improves your language skills.
🗣 Improve Your Pronunciation
There are numerous ways to polish your pronunciation. Repeating tongue twisters is one of them. Why?
- It aids in training your facial muscles. You may be learning a new language, or fighting a speech impediment doesn't matter. Either way, you need them to adjust. It can be compared to training at the gym. You have to repeat the same string of sounds to perfect them. When your tongue and cheeks ache, you understand that it's working.
- You are always aware of your tongue and lips' position. The way they move or stay still is crucial in reproducing sounds of a language correctly.
- You can improve an accent by using alliteration (the repetition of the same letter or sound). As you listen to how native speakers pronounce tongue twisters and try to repeat, you learn not only their articulation. The sounds they produce will leave a mark in your memory. You may not even notice the way your accent improved!
Here you can hear the wildest tongue twister, according to BBC.
🙋 6 Tips on Tongue Twisters
If you’re questioning how to start your training, here are some simple yet useful tips for you:
- Begin with the first part of a complicated phrase or sentence. When it's perfected, add another, then another, until it's the whole expression.
- Start slower than your usual speed of speech. It may sound obvious, but this step is crucial for most of people. When the pronunciation feels easy, pick up the pace.
- Take breaks between repetitions. Tired tongue and lips won't assist your task!
- Practice in front of the mirror. See the movements of your face and detect a mistake. For this purpose, you can watch a video with a native speaker pronouncing the given words.
- Record yourself. Listening to the way you pronounce a sequence may reveal weaknesses. Otherwise, you can ask your friend of a family member to spot all your flaws.
- Repeat one or a few tongue twister every once in a while. This way, you won't let your facial muscles forget useful movements. At the beginning try exercising every day, then — at least once every couple of days.
🤗 A List of 4655 Tongue Twisters from 118 Languages
Afrikaans
Wie weet waar Willie Wouter woon? Willie Wouter woon waar die weste winde waai!
Akan or Asante
Kwaa Paa ko pam kohunu mampam. Gyae pam ko pam mampam. Mampam foro pam na ampa?
Aragonese
Baxa t’abaxo lo faxo xuto de buxo y traye lo trallo tallau y trestallau.
Avar or Avaric
ункъазаралда ункънуcиялда ункъоялда ункъо къверкъ къвакъвалебуго кьода гъоркь
Basque, Euskara or Euskera
Alkipean kapa, kapa alkipean; alkipean kapa, kapa alkipean. …
Breton
C’hwec’h merc’h gwerc’h war c’hwec’h marc’h kalloc’h o tougen c’hwec’h sac’h kerc’h.
Chinese, Mandarin
盆 和 瓶 , 桌 上 有 个 盆 , 盆 里 有 个 瓶 , 砰 砰 砰 , 是 瓶 碰 盆 , 还 是 盆 碰 瓶 。
Danish
Da de hvide kom til de vilde, ville de vilde vide hvad de hvide ville de vilde.
Dutch
Langs de koele kali liep een kale koeli met een kilo kali op zijn kale koeli-kop.
English
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
Esperanto
Petro, vi la permeson de la patro nepre prenu por partopreni entreprenon.
French
Je suis ce que je suis et si je suis ce que je suis, qu'est-ce que je suis?
Georgian or Kartveli
შენ თუ ჩემი ჯამ-ჭურჭელ-პილპილ-კოვზები სულ არ გეჯამ-ჭურჭელ-პილპილ-კოვზება მაშინ მე შენი ჯამ-ჭურჭელ-პილპილ-კოვზები სულ არ მეჯამ-ჭურჭელ-პილპილ-კოვზება
German
Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische; Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze.
Gujarati
Kaka ae kaki ne kaach na kabat mathi kachi keri katdhi ne kachumber karava kahnyu.
Hawaiian
Hele wawai o ka malamalama, ka malamalama, o ka malamalama, hele wawai o ka malamalama, ka malamalama o ke Akua.
Igbo or Ibo
Ukochukwu Okechukwu kwulu okwu chukwu n'ulo chukwu di na Arochukwu.
Indonesian
Buaya, biawak, buaian, Buaya, biawak, buaian, Buaya, biawak, buaian, …
Irish
Bhí bean ag Joe Is bhí banjo ag Joe Is bhí banjo ag bhean Joe B'fhearr go deo Joe ar an mbanjo Ná bean Joe ar an mbanjo go deo.
Italian
Trentatré Trentini entrarono a Trento, tutti e trentatré, trotterellando
Latin
SI PROCUL A PROCULO PROCULI CAMPANA FUISSET, NUNC PROCUL A PROCULO PROCULUS IPSE FORET.
Latvian or Lettish
Vienā vēsā vasaras vakarā viens vecs vācu vīrs veda veselu vezumu vārītu vēžu. Visiem vēžiem vēderi vaļā.
Letzeburgesch or Luxembourgish
Wann aeren Decken eisen Decken nach eng Keier Decke vernennt, vernennt eisen Decken aeren decken esou laang Decke bis aeren Decken eisen Decken net mei decke vernennt.
Lombard
Ti che te tachet i tac, tacum i tac! Mi che tac i tac, tacà i tac a ti che te tachet i tac? Tàchete ti i to tac!
Malayalam
Manasilakathathu manasilayennu paranjal, manasilayathukoodi manasilakathe pookum. Manasilayoo?
Maori
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Norwegian
Du ska ikkje kalle Kalle for Kalle, selv om moren til Kalle kallar Kalle for Kalle, ska'kje du kalle Kalle for Kalle, for Kalle hetar egentlig Karl.
Portuguese
Pardal Pardo porque palras? Palro e palrarei, porque sou o pardal pardo, palrador d'el Rei!
Russian
Сев в такси спросила такса: "За проезд какая такса?" А таксист ответил так: "Возим такс мы просто так-с."
Sardinian
Ti dongu unu corp''e conca e ti fatzu sa conca comenti unu calieconca.
Soga, Lusoga, Olusoga
Abaidu Ba Isabaidu baidye bwide nga badalimira mu biidi biidhi by'embiidhi ebiri emiyandu bwa Isabaidu.
Swedish
Sju skönsjungande sjuksköterskor skötte sjuttiosju sjösjuka sjömän på skeppet "Shanghai"
Turkish
Cüce çinici Celali Hoca Cabi gizlice Marpuççular içindeki züccaciyecilere gidip içi Çince yazılı cicli bicili cam çubukları cepceğizine indirmiş.
Ukrainian
Хмариноньки-хмаринки, Химерні, волохаті, Вмостились на хвилинку У хлопчика на хаті.
Vietnamese
Tâm tưởng tôi tỏ tình tới Tú từ tháng tư, thú thật, tôi thương Tâm thì tôi thì thầm thử Tâm thế thôị