A tongue twister for the word

Are you ready for a challenge? Try saying this out loud in one go, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Tongue twisters like the one above are not only entertaining to say but they’re also a great way to improve your English pronunciation. Many tongue twisters are nonsensical and unusual. Tongue twisters are a fun way to learn and master different English sounds and vocabulary exercises. In this blog, we will see how tongue twisters are a great way to improve your English speaking skills.

tongue twisters
Source: Reddit
This Blog Includes:
  1. Tongue Twisters in English
  2. Why Learning English is Important?
  3. Series of Tongue Twisters
    1. Simple Tongue Twisters
    2. Tongue Twisters for Kids
    3. Funny Tongue Twisters
    4. Hardest Tongue Twister: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
    5. Short Tongue Twisters
  4. Practice Some Halloween Tongue Twisters!
  5. Tongue Twisters with ‘T’ sound
  6. Tongue Twisters with ‘D’ sound
  7. Learn with Tongue Twisters
  8. What are Tongue Twisters?
  9. FAQs
Credits: FunDoor

Tongue Twisters in English

In English, a tongue twister is a statement or series of words that are difficult to pronounce correctly. Tongue twisters are a fun technique for English learners to perfect their pronunciation. Slowly say the tongue twisters at first, then try to speed it up. Once you’ve mastered a tongue twister, try saying it again or three times in succession for a more difficult task.

Also Read: Best Novels to Improve English

Why Learning English is Important?

English is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. Many people can speak and comprehend English around the globe. English may have a turbulent history, but it has a promising future. The language helps us connect in a global world since so many people speak it. It can be beneficial in both your personal and business lives. There are various benefits of English:

  1. English opens the door to new career possibilities- To begin with, English helps you in pursuing and obtaining additional professional prospects. Many firms want employees who can communicate with clients all around the world in today’s labour market
  2. English exams can help you get into college- If you are planning to study abroad, one of the mandatory entry requirements is to submit English proficiency scores. Test like TOEFL, IELTS, PTE are some of the exams
  3. The Internet’s most popular language is English- With approximately 1 billion users typing and conversing in English, it is the most widely used language online. You’ll be able to access and appreciate many more online resources if you can comprehend and read English. You’ll be able to communicate with more people online or use more products if you can understand English, whether it’s for leisure or work.
  4. Your life will be more interesting if you speak English- Most no. books and movies are in English. Learning English will provide you with access to a vast variety of leisure options. You won’t have to rely on translations because you’ll be able to enjoy the originals.

Improve Your English Language for IELTS with Leverage Live

Series of Tongue Twisters

If you want to improve or perfect your English pronunciation, check out this comprehensive list of tongue twisters. This list is a package of simple tongue twisters for kids to some funny tongue twisters and difficult tongue twisters for siblings, friends and family:

Simple Tongue Twisters

Let’s warm up your speech muscles with these short and relatively easy tongue twisters for beginners before trying the English tongue twisters for champions who talk fast.

  1. Pad kid poured curd pulled cod
  2. Which witch is which?
  3. Willy’s real rear wheel
  4. Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards
  5. Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle
  6. A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped
  7. Eleven benevolent elephants
  8. She sees cheese
  9. Six sticky skeletons
  10. Really leery, rarely Larry
  11. Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs
  12. A snake sneaks to seek a snack
  13. Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.
  14. A synonym for cinnamon is a cinnamon synonym.
  15. He threw three free throws.

Also Read: Daily Used English Words

Tongue Twisters for Kids

Until you increase the speed, tongue twisters for youngsters are all sweet, fun, and games. Even they can bind your tongue into a Gordian knot if you haven’t received enough training. Let’s see who wins the battle with a small sibling, sister.

  1. Specific Pacific
  2. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
  3. Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread
  4. Betty’s big bunny bobbled by the blueberry bush
  5. Six sticky skeletons
  6. Fresh fried fish
  7. Give papa a proper cup of coffee in a copper coffee cup
  8. Daddy Draws Doors
  9. Three free throws
  10. The big bug bit the little beetle
  11. Friendly fleas and fireflies
  12. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
  13. Rubber baby buggy bumpers
  14. Green glass globes glow greenly
  15. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?
  16. I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late
  17. You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York
  18. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
  19. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
  20. I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you
  21. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
  22. Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear
  23. We surely shall see the sun shine soon
  24. Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
  25. Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
  26. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit
  27. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk
  28. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better
  29. Of all the vids I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a vid as valued as Alex’s engVid vid
  30. A big black bear sat on a big black rug
  31. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks
  32. He threw three free throws
  33. Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
  34. So, this is the sushi chef
  35. Four fine fresh fish for you
  36. Wayne went to wales to watch walruses
  37. A pessimistic pest exists amidst us
tt4
Source: Pinterest

Also Read: How F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Helped People to Learn English!

Funny Tongue Twisters

Funny tongue twisters are all-time favorites. You’d assume that all tongue twisters are amusing, but nothing comes close to this collection. You’ve undoubtedly heard some of these before. Let’s see if you can keep up with Eminem.

  1. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
    if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
    He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
    and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
    if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
  2. I scream, you scream,
    We all scream for ice cream.
  3. She sells seashells on the seashore.
    The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.
    And if she sells seashells on the seashore,
    Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.
  4. Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
    Spread it thick, say it quick!
    Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
    Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
    Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
    Don’t eat with your mouth full!
  5. Birdie birdie in the sky laid a turdie in my eye.
    If cows could fly I’d have a cow pie in my eye.
  6. I slit the sheet, The sheet I slit
    and on the slitted sheet I sit.
    Sister Suzie’s sewing socks for soldiers
    Sock for soldiers sister Suzie sews,
    If sister Suzie’s sewing socks for soldiers,
    Where’re the socks for soldiers sister Suzie sews?
    Sarah, Sarah, sits in her Chevy; When she shifts she sips her Schlitz, and when she sips her Schlitz she shifts.
  7. If two witches watched watches then which witch would watch which watch?
  8. Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons—balancing them badly.
  9. She stood on the balcony, inexplicably mimicking him hiccuping, and amicably welcoming him in.
  10. Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines.
  11. If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
  12.  I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought. If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn’t have thought I thought.
  13. If practice makes perfect and perfect needs practice, I’m perfectly practiced and practically perfect.

Also Read: The Frog and the Nightingale Summary Class 10 English

YouTube – Fundoor

Hardest Tongue Twister: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

We can’t help but think of Eminem when it comes to twisters and speaking quickly. Did you know that in his song “Rap God,” he manages to rap at a blazing 11.4 syllables per second? We don’t know a lot about rap, but that sounds like something only the God of Rap can accomplish. Below we have given a list of some of the hardest tongue twisters for you:

  1. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
  2. Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks
  3. Can you can a canned can into an un-canned can like a canner can can a canned can into an un-canned can?
  4. Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie
  5. Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery
  6. Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents
  7. If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully
  8. Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons — balancing them badly
tongue twisters1
Source: Pinterest

Short Tongue Twisters

  1. Brave brigadiers
  2. Mad cow
  3. Clam in can
  4. Imaginary Menagerie
  5. Toast for saints
  6. Sick hicks
  7. Wish of wishes
  8. Throne thieves
  9. Sick sheep
  10. Thundering horses
  11. Snap crackle pop
  12. Eddie edited it
  13. Willie’s really weary
  14. Two tried and true tridents (x3)
  15. Rolling red wagons (x3)
  16. Black back bat (x3)
  17. She sees cheese (x3)
  18. Truly rural (x3)
  19. Good blood, bad blood (x3)
  20. Pre-shrunk silk shirts (x3)
  21. Six sticky skeletons (x3)
  22. Which witch is which? (x3)
  23. Snap crackle pop (x3)
  24. Flash message (x3)
  25. Red Buick, blue Buick (x3)
  26. Stupid superstition (x3)
  27. Zebras zig and zebras zag
  28. Red lorry, yellow lorry
  29. She sees cheese
  30. Babbling, blumbing, band of balloons
  31. Dracula digs dreary dark dungeons
  32. But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought.
  33. Biting babies ride battle toys while bumbling boys brave bald biting babies.
  34. From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
  35. Black background, brown background
  36. Chester cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese
  37. Pad kid poured curd pulled cod
  38. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
  39. He threw three free throws
  40. Thin sticks, thick bricks
  41. An awful aardvark and an aching ape ate an antelope
  42. Eddie edited Earl’s easy music
  43. Printed papers under pressure make pens prickle
  44. The poor boar pours batter over his putter
  45. Six sticky skeletons
  46. Excited executioner exercising his excising powers excessively
  47. Annie ate eight Arctic apples
  48. Thunder sunders thick sticks
  49. An orange oval spooks the odd operative
  50. A canner can can anything that he can, But a canner can’t can a can, can he?
  51. A certain young fellow named Beebee, Wished to marry a lady named Phoebe
    “But,” he said. “I must see
    What the minister’s fee be
    Before Phoebe be Phoebe Beebee”
  52. One smart fellow, he felt smart
    Two smart fellows, they felt smart
    Three smart fellows, they all felt smart
  53. The winkle ship sank and the shrimp ship swam.
  54. An old seabear sits on the pier and drinks a pint of beer.
  55. A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits, and a biscuit mixer
  56. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
tt6
Source: Pinterest

Also Read: A Sneak Peek into the Life of Mrs. Funnybones, Twinkle Khanna

Practice Some Halloween Tongue Twisters!

tongue twisters

  1. Which witch wished which wicked wish?
  2. Several spooky slimy spiders spun sulking by the sea
  3. If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
  4. Creepy crawler critters crawl through creepy crawly craters
  5. Dracula digs dreary, dark dungeons.
  6. Ghostly ghouls gather gleefully to golf on ghostly golf courses.
  7. Gobbling gorgoyles gobbled gobbling goblins
  8. Horribly hoarse hoot owls hoot howls of horror in halloween haunted houses.
  9. If big black bats could blow bubbles, how big of bubbles would big black bats blow?
  10. Professional Pumpkin Pickers are prone to pick the plumpest pumpkins.
  11. Transylvanian Tree Trimmers are trained to trim the tallest Transylvanian trees.
  12. Ken Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead.
  13. “Are you copper-bottoming ’em my man?” “No, I’m aluminuming ’em ma’am.”
  14. The black bloke’s back brake block broke.
  15. Rubber baby buggy bumpers
  16. Stupid Superstition
  17. A proper cup of coffee from a copper coffee pot
  18. Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.
  19. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.
  20. Three sweet switched Swiss witches watch three washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switches. Which sweet switched Swiss witch watches which washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switch?
  21. The Leith police dismisseth thee. The Leith police dismisseth us.

Also Read: The Best Binge-Watch Worthy Series for Learning English

Tongue Twisters with ‘T’ sound

  1. The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.
  2. Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs
  3. Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.
  4. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks
  5. Two tiny tigers take two taxis to town.
  6. Two toads totally tired.
  7. Mr. Tongue Twister tried to train his tongue to twist and turn, and twit and twat to learn the letter T.
  8. To begin to toboggan first buy a toboggan, but don’t buy too big a toboggan. Too big a toboggan is too big a toboggan to buy to begin to toboggan.
  9. Two witches, two watches
  10. Tricky tongue twisters, tricky tongue twisters
  11. The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

Tongue Twisters with ‘D’ sound

  1. Daddy Draws Doors
  2. Dracula digs dreary, dark dungeons.
  3. Drew Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead

Learn with Tongue Twisters

Let’s explore ticks on how to use these tongue twisters to enhance your English speaking skills:

  • Repeat several times: When it comes to tongue twisters, practice will make you perfect. If you only recite a tongue twister once, you can’t expect it to help you enhance your English speaking skills
  • Concentrate on articulation: Many individuals consider tongue twisters to be a race. To put it another way, people want to see how quickly they can repeat them. It is fine if you’re just having a good time, but if you’re attempting to acquire English sounds, you should put speed aside and concentrate on articulation
  • Examine how your mouth is positioned: It’s a good idea to examine how your mouth should be positioned before you try to utter English sounds. Your mouth has never had to create certain positions before, there’s a good chance you’ll struggle with certain English sounds
  • Determine your areas of weakness: Any tongue twister you practice will help you improve your pronunciation. You can make the most of your time by concentrating on which English sounds are the most challenging for you
  • Warm-up with tongue twisters: Actors, news presenters, and even politicians have traditionally used tongue twisters before giving a statement. This is due to the fact that tongue twisters train your mouth to speak fluently and accurately. Warm up your mouth muscles and voice cords by practising essential sounds
tonguetwisters
Source: Pinterest

What are Tongue Twisters?

Source: Slideshare

FAQs

Which one is the biggest tongue twister?

‘Pad Kid Poured Curd Pulled Cord’ is the biggest tongue twister.

What is a tongue twister?

A series of words or a sentence that is difficult to pronounce perfectly is known as a tongue twister.

Are tongue twisters good for the brain?

Tongue twisters can undoubtedly prove beneficial in developing brain cells as they will provide information on the speech-planning processes of the brain.

That was all about tongue twisters! We hope you had great fun reciting these tongue twisters. We hope the information provided was helpful. For more educational content, stay connected with us at Leverage Edu. Happy learning!

Источник

If you’ve ever been a child on a playground, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a «tongue twister.» In Spanish, they’re known as trabalenguas. In French, they’re called virelangue. Almost every language has their own tongue twisters but the concept is the same:

These phrases are filled with tricky consonants and funky vowels, designed to trip you up. They’re difficult even for native speakers to say. The goal is not only say them at all, but to say them fast.

While you’ll most often hear these at recess or a party, today they’re more than just a child’s game! Often, English requires sounds that many other languages don’t have. Take the digraph, «th,» for example—that can be really tough if the «th» sound doesn’t exist in your native tongue. That’s where tongue twisters come in for learning English.

Here are ten English tongue twisters (with examples from native speakers!) that will improve your English accent.

dictionary entry on pronunciation

3 Tips for Using English Tongue Twister to Improve Your Speaking

Before we start, don’t forget the steps to mastering pronuncation. Here’s my advice for tongue twisters:

  1. Start slow. There is no rush to speed through these immediately. Tongue twisters are meant to be challenging and tricky, meaning it’s easy to get frustrated! Even native speakers struggle with the tongue twisters you’re about to see. Instead, practice each word or sound one step at a time.
  2. Listen to native speakers. Each tongue twister will have a video underneath, providing an example for you to copy! Some are American, some are British, and some are Australian. Remember that accents vary wildly across the English speaking world, and there’s more than one way to pronounce something.
  3. Find what sounds you want to target. Do you struggle with pronouncing «Th»? Or R versus L? This is totally natural, and why we need to practice! Pick a tongue twister that focuses on the sounds you want to rehearse. This will help your tongue relax and get used to the mouse positions you need to pronounce them correctly.

picture of scrambled letters

Top 10 Tongue Twisters for English Learners

1. The Classic English Tongue Twister

There are some very famous children tongue twisters, heard all over playgrounds in the US or the UK. One of the most famous is:

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?

As you can tell, this tongue twister focuses on the «P» sound. This is a great one to practice if your native tongue doesn’t have a huge difference between «B» and «P» (for example, as in Korean). If that is the case for you, try to aspirate (add air) to the P as much as possible!

Here’s how the tongue twister from a native British English speaker.

2. Practice Makes Better

Now let’s try a B tongue twister. This tongue twister uses lots of the B sound, but the real tricky part is the vowels. Pay attention to each vowel—a e, i, o, and u.

Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter

But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.

Here is an American speaker to show you how to pronounce each sound. In the American accent, we pronounce double Ts with a softer, almost «d» like sound. This is called the «flap T» sound. So «butter» is pronounced closer to «budder.»

Remember, this is often not the case in British English! There are many differences in the accents between the US and the UK, as Kelsey told us.

*»t’was» is an old English contraction, meaning «it was.»

3. Very Vital Tongue Twisters

B and V sounds are often interchanged in languages, even if both letters exist in the alphabet. For example, in some dialects of Spanish, there’s not a huge difference in pronouncing B and V.

And in some languages, there is no V sound at all!

So, this can make things difficult. Let’s try a V tongue twister.

Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet’s very vivid vehicle.

Try make sure your lips are not touching. Practice by copying this American native speaker’s pronunciation.

4. Blending the Consonants

As we talked about in beginning, English loves the «th» sound. After all, the most common word in English is «the.»

The, there, that, those, then, thank you—the «th» is impossible to avoid!

The problem is, «th» is not a common sound in many other languages. This consonant blend can be very difficult for a not native speaker to pronounce. My advice is to pull your tongue into the back of your mouth.

So, let’s try out a «Th» tongue twister.

Thin sticks, thick bricks.

Short, but sweet—don’t forget to listen to this US speaker say it. Want more? Try this one!

He threw three free throws.

This is a great tongue twister for practicing both the «th» sound and the «f» sound. Check out this American speaker demonstrating it! Let’s try more of that «f» sound now.

friends talking excitedly

5. Faster, faster!

The «f» is another sound that doesn’t exist in some languages. Because the «f» sound is voiceless, it can be tricky to pronounce and trickier to not accidentally confuse with «P» or «V.» We’ll get to the similarly difficult «V» sound in one moment, but first, care to try out this funky tongue twister?

A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, «Let us fly!»
Said the fly, «Let us flee!»
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

This tongue twister focuses on the «fl» consonant blend. Remember, the «a» in «flea» is silent, making it sound the same as «flee.» Listen to this American speaker try it out.

6. Ready, Set, Listen!

When I taught students in South Korea, one of my most important phonics lessons was about differentiating R from L. In Korean and many other languages, those sounds don’t quite exist in the same way. It’s so important to make sure we say both very clearly, because rice means something very different from lice.

Let’s try a short tongue twister that tests R and L:

Red lorry, yellow lorry.

Lorry, in British English, is a big truck. Here’s an American speaker practicing it.

And, just for fun, let’s try one more! Here’s this:

A really leery Larry rolls readily to the road.

Take a listen to this Australian speaker showing us how to say it.

7. How Much Wood?

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Ever heard that? It’s a common phrase, slang for «would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.» Basically, it means disappointment, saying «I would have, could have, should have done something.»

The «-ould» sound is very common in English, but can be a little tough to pronounce correctly for some non native speakers. Let’s try out a very famous (maybe one of the most famous!) that tests not only the «-ould» sound but also the «ch.»

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

«Would» has the same sound as «wood.» Likewise, «could» rhymes with «would.» Here’s an American speaker breaking down more of these phonics.

8. «W» as in Winners

Sometimes it’s B or R that is tricky—but for many non native speakers, the W is a difficult sound.

We’ve already tried some tongue twisters with «W» but let’s try one that’s all W:

Wally Winkle wriggles
his white, wrinkled wig.

This one is a bit trickier than most because of the consonant doubling: w + r = very tricky, even for native English speakers. Here’s how a British speaker would say it.

If that one is a bit too much for you right now, try this one:

We won, we won, we won, we won.

This is a much more useful (and likely!) phrase to hear in English. Here’s how it sounds, from the same British speaker.

9. She Sells and Swan Swims

Let’s try another consonant blend—this time, we can try «Sh» and «Sw.» You might be familiar with this popular tongue twister:

She sells seashells by the seashore,
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.
So if she sells seashells on the seashore,
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

Here’s a speaker from London showing us how to practice the «sh» sound.

Okay, now let’s try another consonant blend using «s.»

Swan swam over the sea,
Swim, swan, swim!
Swan swam back again
Well swum, swan!

We have another British English speaker here to show us how to say the «sw» sound.

10. Truly Tricky

Let’s try one that’s very short, but no less difficult. This one, again, focuses on the R and L sounds.

Truly rural.

Yep, that’s it! Here’s how an Australian speaker pronounces truly rural together. Now try saying them together, fast.

As we said earlier, R and L sounds, especially together, can feel awkward on the tongue even for native speakers. Remember to isolate sounds you struggle with. If R or L (or both) are tough, this one is another great practice.

Bonus: Watch These Rs!

Now I’m going to give you one that I, as a native English speaker and avid tongue twister fan, can’t do.

Irish wristwatch.

Say it 5x fast.

Can you do it? Here, listen to a native speaker explain how to say it. This tongue twister tests the R and W sound put together. The first «w» in wristwatch is silent, so focus on that R sound, as if it is «ristwatch.»

This one is a challenge for many a native English speaker—so if you can do it, cheers!

girl happily jumping up

Keep Practicing Your English Pronunciation

Whew! Is your mouth feeling weird yet? If you’ve tried every one of these tongue twisters, you’re probably tired of English pronunciation. If not, keep going and try out some celebrity names! But whether you end here or keep on, remember that, just like exercising a muscle, practicing these sounds over and over will train your mouth and tongue to pronounce tricky words more clearly and confidently.

When I started to learn Italian, I couldn’t roll my Rs to save my life. Now? Well, I’m not perfect, but I can get it 9 out of 10 times! Practice makes perfect—not only with creating sentences, but pronouncing them as well. Trying these tongue twisters will open your mouth and train those muscles.

Now, go forth and impress (or challenge) your friends with these tongue twisters!

Источник
tongue twisters in english

By
Last updated:

March 16, 2023

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Tongue twisters like the one above are a lot of fun to say. They’re also one of the best ways to practice English pronunciation because they’re filled with English sounds for you to master.

Below, I’ll get you started with 24 of my favorite tongue twisters in English. I’ll also explain the important vocabulary for each tongue twister, and you can practice along with the audio! 

Contents

  • 1. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
  • 2. Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.
  • 3. Seventy-seven benevolent elephants.
  • 4. Betty loves the velvet vest best.
  • 5. Truly rural.
  • 6. Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet’s very vivid vehicle.
  • 7. To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock  
  • 8. She sells seashells by the seashore.
  • 9. Frivolously fanciful Franny fried fresh fish furiously.
  • 10. Betty bought some butter
  • 11. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
  • 12. As he gobbled the cakes on his plate
  • 13. The two Tibble twins tied tiny twine
  • 14. Red lorry, yellow lorry.
  • 15. A big black bug 
  • 16. Any noise annoys an oyster
  • 17. A flea and a fly flew up in a flue. 
  • 18. Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.
  • 19. He threw three free throws.
  • 20. Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread. 
  • 21. Sixth sick Sheikh’s sixth sheep sick.
  • 22. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk
  • 23. I slit a sheet, a sheet, I slit.
  • 24. Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.
  • How to Practice Pronunciation with English Tongue Twisters


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Warm up with these beginner level tongue twisters: 

1. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

Notice the similar sounds in “I scream” and “ice cream.” This well-known tongue twister will help you practice the s sound and the soft c sound.

Vocabulary:

  • Scream — to say something or make a sound in a very loud voice
  • Ice cream — a frozen food that’s sweet and usually made of milk or cream 

2. Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.

This short tongue twister will help you with the hard k sound, like in “cook,” and the kw sound in “quickly.”

Vocabulary:

  • Cooks — people who cook, usually as a job 
  • Quickly — fast

3. Seventy-seven benevolent elephants.

For all of those having trouble with the v sound, this is the tongue twister for you.

Vocabulary:

  • Benevolent — kind, not selfish
  • Elephants — large gray animals with tusks, a trunk and big ears

4. Betty loves the velvet vest best.

Here you’ll get some practice with the b and v sounds, which can be challenging for some English learners.

Vocabulary:

  • Velvet — a soft material used for some clothes
  • Vest — a shirt without sleeves

5. Truly rural.

This is short and sweet, but it can still be a bit tricky! Here, you’re practicing the difference between the r and l sounds.

Vocabulary:

    • Truly — really
  • Rural — countryside (as in, not a city)

6. Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet’s very vivid vehicle.

Great practice for the v sound! There are also some short i sounds, like in “vivacious” and “vivid.”

Vocabulary: 

  • Vivacious — lively and full of energy
  • Vacuum — a loud tool used for cleaning the floor
  • Vivid — a very deep or bright color

7. To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock  

in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock, 
awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock
from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.

This English tongue twister is filled with repeated sounds, including the consonant sounds d, l, s and b. It’s also common for English learners to mistakenly pronounce the sh in “short, sharp shock” and the ch in “cheap and chippy chopper” as the same. 

Vocabulary:

  • Dull — not bright or interesting
  • Pestilential — causing infections or diseases
  • Sensation — feeling

For more of a challenge, here are some intermediate tongue twisters: 

8. She sells seashells by the seashore.

This tongue twister is very popular. It will help you with the s and sh sounds.

Vocabulary:

  • Seashells — the hard things that some sea animals live in
  • Seashore — the beach

9. Frivolously fanciful Franny fried fresh fish furiously.

This one covers fr and l, two sounds that are commonly mispronounced by English learners.

Vocabulary:

  • Frivolously — not seriously
  • Fanciful — unrealistic
  • Furiously — done in a very angry way

10. Betty bought some butter

but the butter was bitter,
so Betty bought some better butter
to make the bitter butter better.

It’s clear that this one is great for practicing the b sound. It’s also perfect for those having trouble with the t and r sounds.

Vocabulary:

  • Butter — a soft, pale yellow food that’s made from milk, usually put on bread or used when cooking
  • Bitter — a sharp taste that’s not sweet at all

11. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck

if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, 
and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would 
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Here, you get to practice the w sound, as well as that tricky ch sound, as in “woodchuck could chuck.” You also get to practice the vowel sound in “could,” “wood” and “would,” which can be made by different spelling combinations.

Vocabulary:

  • Woodchuck — a groundhog (a type of rodent)
  • Chuck — to throw

12. As he gobbled the cakes on his plate

the greedy ape said as he ate,
the greener green grapes are,
the keener keen apes are 
to gobble green grape cakes. 
They’re great!

This one is good for saying the g, gr and n sounds, as well as the ee vowel sound, as in “greener green.”

Vocabulary:

  • Gobbled — ate quickly and noisily
  • Greedy — selfish (wanting everything for yourself)
  • Keen — eager (wanting something strongly)

13. The two Tibble twins tied tiny twine

to twelve teachers’ tipping trek tents. 

This tongue twister almost exclusively (only) uses the t and tw sounds, so it’s great for learners struggling with those. There are also several instances where the long i sound comes up, like in “tied tiny twine.”

Vocabulary:

  • Twins — two siblings born at the same time
  • Twine — a type of strong thread
  • Trek tents — a specific brand of tents (portable shelter used for camping)

14. Red lorry, yellow lorry.

Short but tricky. This is another English tongue twister for practicing the r and l sounds.

Vocabulary:

  • Red — the same color as blood 
  • Lorry — a big truck
  • Yellow — the same color as lemons 

15. A big black bug 

bit the big black bear,
but the big black bear
bit the bug back!

As you can see, there are lots of b sounds here. Go slow at first so you don’t get confused with the short i and short u sounds, as in “big” and “bug.”

Vocabulary:

  • Bite — to use one’s teeth or mouth to cut or chew something 
  • Back — to do the same thing (That is: The bug bites. The bear bites back.

16. Any noise annoys an oyster

But a noisy noise annoys an oyster most

This sentence is perfect for students who need to practice the strange English oy sound, like in “noise annoys an oyster.”

Vocabulary:

  • Annoy — to bother or irritate someone
  • Oyster — a type of shellfish that can often be eaten 

17. A flea and a fly flew up in a flue. 

Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!” 
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

One of the trickier consonant clusters is fl, making this tongue twister a great one for English learners.

Vocabulary:

  • Flee — to run away
  • Flea — a tiny insect that drinks the blood of mammals
  • Flaw — an imperfection or weakness
  • Flue — the pipe or opening in a chimney

18. Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.

Here you can practice the p and k sounds, which are aspirated (followed by a puff of air) when they are at the beginning of words.

Try placing your hand in front of your mouth while you say the tongue twister—you should be able to feel the breath on your hand when you’re making the p and k sounds. 

Vocabulary:

  • Curd — a dairy product that’s made from milk
  • Cod — a type of fish

19. He threw three free throws.

The consonant clusters thr and fr come from the same place in the mouth, so they can be difficult for English learners to master.

Vocabulary:

  • Threw — past tense of “throw,” meaning to push an object out of your hand/s with force so it moves through the air
  • Free throw — to shoot the ball without the other team in the way during a basketball game

These advanced tongue twisters can be tough even for native English speakers: 

20. Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread. 

This one can easily trip up native English speakers! You’ll work on the f and t sounds, as well as the consonant clusters fr and br.

Vocabulary:

  • Fed — past tense of “feed,” meaning to give someone food 
  • Bread — a common type of food that’s made from flour and water 

21. Sixth sick Sheikh’s sixth sheep sick.

This one is very good for practicing the s sound. You also get the ks sound like in “sixth,” the sh sound like in “sheep” and the th sound like in “sixth.”

Vocabulary: 

  • Sheikh — an elderly scholar or leader (originally an Arabic word)
  • Sick — not feeling well or not healthy 

22. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk

but the stump thunk the skunk stunk. 

This tongue twister is great for getting used to saying the consonant clusters st and sk.

Vocabulary:

  • Stump — the part of a tree that’s left in the ground after you cut it down
  • Thunk — to hit with a dull, flat sound

23. I slit a sheet, a sheet, I slit.

Upon a slitted sheet, I sit. 

This tongue twister teaches you the sl consonant cluster and the difficult sh sound, like in “sheet.”

You also get to practice the vowel sound ee, like in “sheet” and the i sound as in “sit” and “slit.”

Vocabulary: 

  • Slit — to make a thin, straight cut in something
  • Slitted — describes something that has been slit

24. Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.

While these fleas flew, freezy breeze blew. 
Freezy breeze made these three trees freeze.
Freezy trees made these trees’ cheese freeze.
That’s what made these three free fleas sneeze.

This English tongue twister is particularly hard, even for native speakers.

You get to practice the consonant clusters fl and fr, plus the difficult th sound in “these,” “three,” “that’s” and “through.”

Vocabulary:

  • Breeze — a light wind
  • Freeze — when liquid is so cold that it turns into ice

How to Practice Pronunciation with English Tongue Twisters

If you want to focus on a specific sound in English, you can check out this table to find the right tongue twister:

The Tongue Twister Sounds to Practice
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream s, soft c
Seventy-Seven Benevolent Elephants v
Cooks Cook Cupcakes Quickly kw, hard k
Betty Loves the Velvet Vest Best b, v
Truly Rural r, l
Vivacious Val Vacuumed Violet’s Very Vivid Vehicle v, short i
To Sit in Solemn Silence in a Dull, Dark Dock d, l, s, b, sh, ch
She Sells Seashells by the Seashore s, sh
As He Gobbled the Cakes on His Plate g, gr, n, ee
The Two Tibble Twins Tied Tiny Twine t, tw, long i
Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry r, l
A Big Black Bug b, short i, short u
How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck w, ch, ou
Any Noise Annoys an Oyster oy
A Flea and a Fly Flew Up in a Flue fl
Frivolously Fanciful Franny Fried Fresh Fish Furiously fr, l
Pad Kid Poured Curd Pulled Cod p, k
Betty Bought Some Butter b, t, r
He Threw Three Free Throws thr, fr
A Skunk Sat on a Stump and Thunk the Stump Stunk st, sk
I Slit a Sheet, A Sheet, I Slit sl, sh, ee, short i
Fred Fed Ted Bread f, t, fr, br
Through Three Cheese Trees Three Free Fleas Flew fl, fr, z, th, ee
Sixth Sick Sheikh’s Sixth Sheep Sick s, ks, sh, th

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of these tongue twisters: 

  • Repeat, repeat, repeat. You probably won’t pronounce everything correctly the first time. When it comes to tongue twisters, repetition is key (very important).
  • Focus on articulation. Saying tongue twisters quickly is fun. But if you’re trying to learn the English sounds, forget speed and focus on saying everything clearly and correctly.
  • Study mouth positioning. There might be certain English sounds you’ll struggle with because your mouth has never made those shapes before. If you need guidance, check out icSpeech or Pronuncian.com.
  • Use tongue twisters as a warm-up. Tongue twisters prepare your mouth to speak clearly and correctly. Say a few before you give an English presentation or participate in a practice conversation to get prepared.
  • Identify your weaknesses. Any tongue twister will be great pronunciation practice, but you’ll get the most out of your time by focusing on the English sounds that are most difficult for you.

I hope you’ve had a lot of fun trying to master these tongue twisters in English. Keep practicing!


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Источник

Here we have covered all the important and varieties of Tongue-Twisters words and sentences for you to read, study, and practice. By this, you will surely improve your pronunciations and speak even better.

Tongue twisters make a better way of exercise for pronunciation and fluency. They can also help improve utterance by using alliteration, which is the repetition of a sound. This is for every one used by actors, politicians who want to sound clear when conversing. Below, you’ll find some of the most popular English tongue twisters. If you can learn them, you will be a more confident speaker.

tongue twister in english for kids

Tongue-Twisters for Kids

  1. A big black bear sat on a big black rug
  2. A lump of red lead.
  3. A snake sneaks to seek a snack.
  4. Ape cakes, grapes cakes.
  5. Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.
  6. Crisp crust crackles.
  7. Elegant elephants!
  8. Eleven benevolent elephants.
  9. Eleven elves.
  10. Blake the baker bakes black bread.
  11. I scream you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
  12. I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you.
  13. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch.
  14. Lump of red leather. A red leather lump.
  15. Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.
  16. The big bug bit the little beetle.
  17. We surely shall see the sunshine soon.
  18. Robert ran rings around the Roman ruins.
  19. Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
  20. Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear.
  21. Never notice the nine canines near noon.
  22. New cheese, blue cheese, chew cheese, please.
  23. Picky pickpockets pick-picked pockets.
  24. Top chopstick shops stock top chopsticks.
  25. John Johnson joined jealous Jenny Jerry making apple-jelly.

funny tongue twister in english

Funny Tongue-Twisters

  1. The sad soldier should shoot soon.
  2. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.
  3. Vera vocalizes, venting, verbal vanity.
  4. Kinky kite kits. Kinky kite kits. Kinky kite kits.
  5. Susie’s shirt shop sells preshrunk shirts.
  6. Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.
  7. Paul, please pause for proper applause.
  8. Linda-Lou Lambert loves lemon lollipop lipgloss.
  9. Gale’s great glass globe glows green.
  10. Horrible Heidi hears hairy Horace holler.
  11. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
  12. How hollow Helen Hull hobbles on hills!
  13. Gilbert grabbed a golden globe, giving it to Gilda.
  14. Flat flying fish fly faster than flat flying fleas.
  15. Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.
  16. Four furious friends fought for the phone.
  17. Eight eager eagles ogled old Edgar.
  18. Elizabeth has eleven elves in her elm tree.
  19. Ere her ear hears her err, her ears err here.
  20. Each Easter Eddie eats eighty Easter eggs.
  21. Crying came the crone creeping from the cold cafe.
  22. Bob bought a bleached blue-beaded blazer.
  23. Betty’s big bunny bobbled by the blueberry bush.
  24. Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins.
  25. The mind mixed a medicine mixture.
  26. The glum groom grew glummer.
  27. The wild wind whipped White from the wharf.
  28. I looked right at Larry’s rally and left in a hurry.
  29. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
  30. James jostled Jean while Jean jostled Joan.
  31. Yolanda’s yellow yogurt yields a yummy yearning yen.
  32. The coat from the coast cost more than the most.
  33. The fickle finger of fate flips fat frogs flat.
  34. Jean, Joan, George, and Gerald judged generally.
  35. Justin jumping joyously joined in Johnna’s jubilee.
  36. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
  37. Harry the hungry, hungry hippo is happily eating ham in his house.
  38. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
  39. If I assist a sister’s assistant, will the sister’s sister’s assistant assist me?
  40. Might Mike makes marvelous munchies for Mary, Mitch, and me.
  41. Mummies munch much mush; Monsters munch much mush; Many mummies and monsters 
  42. Victor’s friend Vincent rinsed his vests in vinegar.
  43. Myrtle made moist, Mango muffins mostly meant for Mina.
  44. Naughty nighthawks noisily, narrowly neared Nina.
  45. Ninety-nine knitted knick-nacks were nicked by ninety-nine knitted knick-nack nickers.
  46. No need to light a night-light On a light night like tonight.
  47. Please prepare the paired pared pears near the unprepared pears near the pool.
  48. Reading Bells ring rapidly and reeds rustle around rivers.
  49. Rita reads reciting Robert’s rules to raw rookies.
  50. Frieda flamboyantly fluttered to the famous Flower Fair.
  51. Can an active actor always actually act accurately?
  52. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
  53. Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
  54. Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards.
  55. Which witch switched the Swiss wristwatches?
  56. William wonders what went wrong with Witchy’s wicked ways.
  57. The 33 thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
  58. The chic Sikh’s sixty-sixth sheep is sick.
  59. The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.
  60. The octopus and Oliver went to the opera in October.
  61. You’re yacking and yawning and unusually annoying.
  62. Young Yolanda Yates loves yellow yoyos, yogurt, and yummy yams.
  63. ‘I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.’
  64. If practice makes perfect and perfect needs practice, I’m perfectly practiced and practically perfect.
  65. Peter poorly penniless prepares a peekish pout.
  66. Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut-Butter, ’tis the peanut-butter picky people pick.
  67. Wally Winkle wriggles his white, wrinkled wig.
  68. Warm, whispering winds fill woodland waves.
  69. Wayne went to wales to watch walruses.
  70. If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
  71. I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought. If the thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn’t have thought I thought.
  72. You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York.
  73. Underneath uncle Umby’s umbrella is uncle Umby’s ugly unicorn hat!
  74. Undertook was the hardest undertaking the undertaker ever undertook to undertake.
  75. An Anteater ate Andy Alligator’s apples, so angry Andy Alligator ate an Anteater’s ants.

short tongue twister in english

Short Tongue-Twisters

  1. A chapped chap chopped chips.
  2. A dozen dim ding-dongs.
  3. A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
  4. A gentle judge judges justly.
  5. A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped.
  6. A pessimistic pest exists amidst us.
  7. A proper copper coffee pot.
  8. A really leery Larry rolls readily to the road.
  9. A shapeless sash sags slowly.
  10. An agile, angry ape addled up the avenue.
  11. Awful old Ollie oils oily autos.
  12. Bake big batches of bitter brown bread.
  13. Billy’s big black-and-blue blister bled.
  14. Black back bat.
  15. Blair’s blue boots are beautiful.
  16. Blue bluebird.
  17. Clean clams crammed in clean cans.
  18. Clones on the phone own drones.
  19. Daddy does not dig different dances!
  20. Daddy Draws Doors.
  21. Do drop in at the Dewdrop Inn.
  22. Double bubble gum, bubbles double.
  23. Black background, brown background.
  24. Ex-egg examiner.
  25. Fix Mike’s kite, feed Meg’s hen.
  26. Flash message.
  27. Four fine fresh fish for you.
  28. Fran feeds fish fresh fish food.
  29. Francis fries fresh fish fillets.
  30. Freckle-faced Freddie fidgets.
  31. Fresh French fried fly fritters.
  32. Fresh fried fish.
  33. Friendly fleas and fireflies.
  34. Good blood, bad blood
  35. Granny’s gray goose goes last.
  36. Great gray geese graze gaily daily.
  37. Green glass globes glow greenly.
  38. He threw three free throws.
  39. Heed the head henpecker!
  40. Hiccup teacup!
  41. Kick Kip, keep Kip’s kin.
  42. Kick six sticks quick.
  43. Kiss her quick!
  44. Kitten in the kitchen.
  45. Larry sent the latter a letter later.
  46. Lead lid, lead led the deal.
  47. Lemon-lime liniment.
  48. Let lame lambs live.
  49. Literally literary.
  50. Zithers slither slowly south.
  51. Zizzi’s zippy zipper zips.
  52. X-ray checks clear chests.
  53. Really leery, rarely Larry.
  54. Red Buick, blue Buick.
  55. Red lorry, yellow lorry.
  56. Rex wrecks wet rocks.
  57. Missing mixture measure.
  58. Much mashed mushrooms.
  59. Nick knits Nixon’s knickers.
  60. Pre-shrunk silk shirts.
  61. Quickest kiss.
  62. Raise Ruth’s red roof.
  63. Mick’s men met Mike’s team.
  64. Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.
  65. Pick six beaks, seek big peeks.
  66. Six sticky skeletons.
  67. Sixty-six sick six-shooters.
  68. Snap crackle pop.
  69. Specific Pacific.
  70. Spread it thick, say it quick!
  71. Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
  72. Stupid superstition.
  73. Tacky tractor-trailer trucks.
  74. Must munch much mush.
  75. Seventy-seven benevolent elephants.
  76. She sees cheese.
  77. She sells seashells by the seashore.
  78. Sheena leads, Sheila needs.
  79. Six Czech cricket critics.
  80. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
  81. Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle.
  82. Selfish shellfish.
  83. Rolling red wagons.
  84. Thrash the thickset thug!
  85. Three free throws.
  86. Tie twine to three tree twigs.
  87. They threw three thick things.
  88. Thin sticks, thick bricks.
  89. Which witch is which?
  90. Violet is very vivacious.
  91. Unique New York!
  92. Urgent detergent!
  93. Valuable valley villas.
  94. Truly rural.
  95. Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.
  96. Two tried and true tridents.
  97. The U. S. twin-screw cruiser.
  98. The view over Dover is overly vivid.
  99. Willy’s real rear wheel.
  100. A knapsack strap.

Tongue-Twisters for All

  1. Andrea and Andrew ate eight acid apples accidentally.
  2. The bottom of the butter bucket is the buttered bucket bottom.
  3. “Beware,” the bee buzzed boisterously, “Beware the bitter brew.”
  4. A cheeky chimp chucked cheap chocolate chips in the cheap chocolate chip shop.
  5. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk
  6. Any noise annoys an oyster but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.
  7. Harry’s hurting heart healed whole, he hands his heart to Hilda.
  8. How many yaks could a yak pack, pack if a yak pack could pack yaks?
  9. How much dew could a dewdrop drop if a dewdrop did drop dew?
  10. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
  11. I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late.
  12. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet, I sit.
  13. If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.
  14. Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
  15. Inside Inez’s instincts indicated infamy.
  16. Keenly keeping Kate off-keel, Kurt kicked Katie’s kite.
  17. Little Lillian lets lazy lizards lie along with the lily pads.
  18. Lou Lou licked on lollipops while Larry lit a light.
  19. Of all the vids I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a vid as valued as Alex’s engVid vid
  20. Omit the stone oval at home in the zone.
  21. Ostentatious over ovens, Oswald ordered out.
  22. Peter poked a poker at the piper, so the piper poked pepper at Peter.
  23. Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.
  24. Rory’s lawn rake rarely rakes really right.
  25. Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.
  26. Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents.
  27. Seven slick, slimy snakes sliding slowly southward.
  28. Doubting Dan decided daring do’s don’t save the day.
  29. Silly Sammy seagull searching slowly swoops sideways.
  30. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
  31. The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
  32. Quails quoted a quandary quickly quarrel qualities.
  33. Thirty-three thousand feathers on a thrushes throat.
  34. Two-toned Thomas talks to Tiny Tony toting trays.
  35. Uma utters undiscovered, “Uphold unity.”
  36. Wee Willy Winkie went walking in the wet wood.
  37. Wilson whittles well-whittled wood whittle by whittle.
  38. Xander examines xylophones while xeroxing x-rays.
  39. Zachary’s zenith zones on the zodiac and zen.
  40. 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?
  41. An undertaker undertook to undertake an undertaking. The undertaking that the undertaker undertook was the hardest undertaking the undertaker ever undertook to undertake.
  42. One-one was a racehorse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too. 
  43. “Surely Sylvia swims!” shrieked Sammy surprised. “Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.”
  44. If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
  45. How much ground would a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground? A groundhog would hog all the ground he could hog if a groundhog could hog ground.
Источник

Tongue twisters are a sequence of words that are difficult to pronounce correctly when spoken quickly.

It can be fun to watch people mispronounce words in weird ways while speaking tongue twisters fast, but more importantly they can be used to improve pronunciation, especially to remedy vowel and consonant problems in speech. They’re also used by speakers, voiceover artists, actors, and many more to warmup their vocal cords before an important speaking engagement.

Few things to note about how to speak tongue twisters:

  1. Say them fast. The faster, the better. If you say slowly, you can say the most difficult tongue twister in the world without fumbling. Right?
  2. If you struggle with a particular tongue twister, go for articulation over speed. Once you can say it correctly, increase the speed gradually. Saying tongue twisters fast without accuracy is waste of time.
  3. If the tongue twister is short – a short sentence comprising of few words – repeat it at least thrice in quick succession.

Change of sound can make a tongue twister hard to articulate

A tongue twister usually has at least few words starting with the same letter, but not necessarily the same sound. For example, the tongue twister Mrs. Smith’s fish sauce shop contains three words starting with ‘s’ but only one (shop) has ‘sh’ sound. Such tongue twisters, where one has to change the sound while speaking, can be challenging to articulate. Compare this with Shameless shepherds shampoo shy sheep. It has the same sound (‘sh’) throughout, which makes it easier to articulate.

That’s not the only factor though that makes a tongue twister hard to say.

How is tongue twister different from alliteration?

Some confuse tongue twisters with alliterations – and rightly so because they overlap to some extent. But alliteration is quite different from tongue twister.

An alliteration is a figurative language in which two or more consecutive words, usually but not always, start with the same consonant sound. Tongue twisters sometimes alliterate, implying they contain words with the same consonant sound. But sometimes they don’t.

Moreover, the two are functionally different. Whereas tongue twisters improve pronunciation and are a fun activity, alliterations are a tool to make writing expressive and memorable.

Without further ado, here is a list of more than 250 tongue twisters, arranged alphabetically under two categories – short and long. They’ve also been categorized as easy and hard, with the hard ones highlighted with the superscript [H] at the end of the tongue twister.

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Pronunciation in audio and written form. Common patterns of errors.

1. A batter, a banana, and a bandana

2. A big black bear sat on a big black rug.

3. A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits, and a biscuit mixer [H]

4. A dozen dim ding-dongs

5. A gentle judge judges justly.

6. A herd of happy hippos had hiccups

7. A knapsack strap

8. Alice asks for axes.

9. A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.

10. Aluminum, linoleum [H]

11. An elephant was asphyxiated in the asphalt.

12. Angels hang ancient anchors at angles that anger ogres.

13. Ann and Andy’s anniversary is in April.

14. A noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.

15. Ape cakes, grape cakes [H]

16. A pessimistic pest exists amidst us.

17. A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot [H]

18. A real rare whale

19. Are our oars okay?

20. A slimy snake slithered down the sandy Sahara.

21. Ava ate eighty eggs.

22. Avery’s army’s armory [H]

23. Bake big batches of bitter brown bread.

24. Beautiful butterflies flutter by.

25. Big B-52 bombers

26. Bill built a big brick building. [H]

27. Black back bat

28. Black background, brown background [H]

29. Blue glue gun, green glue gun [H]

30. Bob bought a bleached blue-beaded blazer. [H]

31. Carl called Claude. [H]

32. Carol quarreled.

33. Cheap sheep soup

34. Chip’s ship sank.

35. Cheap ship trip

36. Clowns grow glowing crowns. [H]

37. Crazy clown’s crown [H]

38. Crisp crust crackles [H]

39. Crush grapes, grapes crush, crush grapes [H]

40. Curt carved curves.

41. Dave’s dogs dig deep ditches.

42. Deer’s ears hear clear cheers. [H]

43. Disgruntled dishwashers don’t wash dishes.

44. Does this shop stock short silk shorts? [H]

45. Do thick tinkers think? [H]

46. Drooling dogs drink daily. [H]

47. Each Easter Eddie eats eighty Easter eggs.

48. Eddie edited it.

49. Edgar at eight ate eight eggs a day. [H]

50. Eight apes ate Nate’s tape.

51. Eighteen apes ate eighteen apricots.

52. Eleven benevolent elephants

53. Eleven little leather loafers

54. Ex-disk jockey

55. Exercise instructors instruct struggling exercisers to exercise strongly.

56. Extinct insect’s instincts, extant insect’s instincts. [H]

57. Father’s feathers fell from the fourth shelf.

58. Fifteen filthy flying foxes

59. Fine fresh fodder

60. Five fat frogs fled from fifty fierce fish.

61. Flash message

62. Flawless porcelain flasks

63. For fine fresh fish, phone Phil.

64. Four fine fresh fish for you

65. Four fliers flip-flop

66. Frank flunked French.

67. Friendly fleas and fireflies

68. Funny feline feeling fine

69. Garfield dunks doughnuts daily.

70. Gig whip

71. Goats and ghosts

72. Good blood, bad blood

73. Great grape growers grow great grapes. [H]

74. Greek grapes

75. Has Hal’s heel healed?

76. He threw three free throws.

77. Hiccup teacup

78. High roller, low roller, lower a roller

79. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can? [H]

80. How high would a horsefly fly if a horsefly would fly high?

81. Hurry, Harry!

82. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose? [H]

83. If he slipped, should she slip?

84. Insects, six insects, six sick insects

85. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.

86. It is so chilly. The silly child should soon shut the shutters. [H]

87. I wish for a dish of delicious fish.

88. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch.

89. Jim jogs in the gym. Jane jogs in the jungle. [H]

90. Katy caught the kitten in the kitchen.

91. Keenly cleaning copper kettles

92. King Kong plays Ping-Pong.

93. Kirk’s starched shirts

94. Knee deep, deep knee [H]

95. Lily little lit a little lamp. [H]

96. Literally literary [H]

97. Liz left the lazy lizard in the loft.

98. Luminous aluminum

99. Mr. Melton made a metal motor.

100. Mr. Spink thinks the sphinx stinks. [H]

101. Mrs. Smith’s fish sauce shop [H]

102. Much mashed mushrooms

103. My mommy makes me muffins on Mondays.

104. New cheese, blue cheese, chew cheese please

105. Nine nimble noblemen nibbled nuts.

106. Nineteen nice knights

107. No shark shares swordfish steak.

108. Old Howell owned a house on which old owls howled.

109. Once really wet red whale

110. Pale pink plumage

111. Peggy Babcock’s mummy

112. Penny penned a pretty poem.

113. Pick a purple pocket.

114. Plain bun, plum bun [H]

115. Please pay promptly.

116. Please prune plum trees promptly. [H]

117. Poor pure Pierre

118. Prate’s private property

119. Pre-shrunk silk skirts

120. Pretty poor peace prospects

121. Quakes cause cracks.

122. Ray’s runway runs one way. [H]

123. Real rear wheels

124. Real wristwatch straps

125. Red blood, green blood

126. Red bug’s blood, bed bug’s blood [H]

127. Red lorry, yellow lorry

128. Rival river runners rode the wild river.

129. Rough rural roads

130. Sad skunk

131. Santa’s sleigh slides on slick snow.

132. Sarah slurped soda through straight, striped soda straws.

133. Scams, stings, and skullduggery

134. Shallow sailing ships should shun shallow shoals. [H]

135. Shameless shepherds shampoo shy sheep.

136. Sharon sewed six shiny suits. [H]

137. Sharp shark-skin shoes

138. Sharpshooters should shoot slowly.

139. She had shoulder surgery.

140. She sees cheese. [H]

141. She sells seashells by the seashore. [H]

142. She sells Swiss sweets.

143. She shrieks as she stiches sheets.

144. Shoes and socks shock Susan. [H]

145. Short swords

146. Shredded Swiss cheese

147. Six crisp snacks

148. Six quick sneezes

149. Six sick shorn sheep [H]

150. Six small slick seals

151. Six smart sharp sharks

152. Six sticks stacked in six stacks

153. Sixteen slim, silky slippers

154. Sixty-six sticky skeletons

155. Slick silk [H]

156. Slithering snakes slither silently.

157. Sloppy skiers slide on slick ski slopes.

158. Soft, smooth snake skin

159. Some shun summer sunshine. [H]

160. Stacks of salty snacks make Sam slurp and smack.

161. Stan stopped stealing Sam’s stamps.

162. Steven Stanley sees seven stars.

163. Strange strategic statistics

164. Stupid superstition

165. Such a shapeless sash

166. Surely the sun shall shine soon. [H]

167. Suzie’s sister saw some scissors Suzie set on her sofa.

168. Swatch watch

169. Sweater weather, leather weather

170. Swift shift

171. Switch watch, wrist watch

172. Ted sent Stan ten tents. [H]

173. Ted threw Fred thirty-three free throws.

174. Ten tiny turtles sitting on a tiny tin tub turned tan.

175. The boy blinked at the blank bank blackboard. [H]

176. The cat catchers can’t catch caught cats.

177. The fickle finger of fate flips fat frogs flat. [H]

178. The flood flooded Frank’s floor.

179. The flurry fly flitted from flower to flower.

180. The fuzzy bee buzzed the buzzy busy beehive. [H]

181. The glum groom grew glummer. [H]

182. The king would sing about a ring that would go ding.

183. Thelma sings the theme song.

184. The minx mixed a medicine mixture.

185. The plum pickers plucked the plump plums. [H]

186. There goes one tough top cop.

187. There was a minimum of cinnamon in the aluminum pan.

188. The sad soldier should shoot soon. [H]

189. The short soldier shoots straight. [H]

190. The sinking steamer sank.

191. The slithering snake slid sneakily through the silky grass.

192. The sun shines on the shop signs. [H]

193. The tailor’s tactics took twice the time.

194. The throne was frozen. It was a frozen throne.

195. The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

196. The vicious visitors visited the virtual village.

197. Thin sticks, thick bricks

198. Thirteen drummers thumping drums

199. Thirty-three sly shy thrushes

200. This disk sticks.

201. Three thick things

202. Toni throws three free throws.

203. Tricky crickets

204. Truly rural

205. Tuesday is stew day. Stew day is Tuesday.

206. Twelve tiny thread tweezers

207. Twenty tender tree stumps

208. Two ticket takers took a taxi.

209. Two witches were watching two watches.

210. Under the mother otter, uttered the other otter.

211. Valuable valley villas

212. Velvet Revolver

213. War-weary warriors

214. Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses.

215. When the computer crashed, the class gasped.

216. Which is the witch that wished the wicked wish? [H]

217. White wings, round rings

218. Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

219. Will you, William?

220. World Wide Web

221. Yellow leather, red feather

Long tongue twisters

222. A big black bat flew past. A big brown bat flew past. Did the big black bat fly past faster than the big brown bat flew past? [H]

223. An oyster met an oyster, and they were oysters two. Two oysters met two oysters, and they were oysters, too. Four oysters met a pint of milk and they were oyster stew.

224. An undertaker undertook to undertake an undertaking. The undertaking that the undertaker undertook was the hardest undertaking the undertaker ever undertook to undertake.

225. Betty bought a bit of butter. But the butter Betty bought was bitter. So, Betty bought a better butter, and it was better than the butter Betty bought before. [H]

226. Bill had a billboard. Bill also had a board bill. The billboard bored Bill so Bill sold the billboard to pay for the board bill.

227. Billy Wood said he would carry the wood through the woods. And if Wood said he would, Wood would.

228. Bridget builds bigger bridges than Barbara, but the bridges Barbara builds are better than the bridges Bridget builds.

229. Debbie didn’t destroy Darrell’s dishes. Darrell destroyed Debbie’s dishes.

230. Denise sees the fleece. Denise sees the fleas. At least Denise could sneeze and feed and freeze the fleas.

231. Does someone know a synonym for cinnamon? Someone once said that cinnamon has no synonym.

232. Fancy Nancy didn’t fancy doing fancy work. But Fancy Nancy’s fancy auntie did fancy Nancy doing fancy work. So, Fancy Nancy did fancy work for Fancy Nancy’s fancy auntie.

233. How many cookies could a good cook cook if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies. [H]

234. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

235. If I assist a sister-assistant, will the sister’s sister-assistant assist me?

236. If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch? [H]

237. If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.

238. I have a black-backed bath brush. Do you have a black-backed bath brush?

239. Knit this net with neat knots. Knots that are not neat are not the knots this net needs.

240. Milly made many mini-muffins to munch with her morning mug of milk. [H]

241. Nancy naps at noon and Nick knows it’s not nice to knock when Nancy’s napping.

242. 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? [H]

243. Pick a partner and practice passing, for if you pass proficiently, perhaps you’ll play professionally.

244. Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore. But if Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore, then where are the sea shells Sally sells? [H]

245. Sally sells soil samples at the soil store. Sometimes there are seashells in the soil samples Sally sells.

246. She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So, if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells. [H]

247. She saw sheriff’s shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw sheriff’s shoes on the sofa? [H]

248. Should she shut summer shutters slowly or should she shut summer shutters swiftly? [H]

249. Six snakes sniffed six sticks. The snakes sniffed so softly that their sniffing seemed silent. Soon their soft sniffing stopped. Then the six snakes that sniffed the six sticks simply slithered away.

250. Something stinks and I think what stinks are the things in the sink.

251. Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum swan! [H]

252. The captain’s cook was a crook because he took the clock locked in the captain’s kitchen cupboard.

253. The shepherd swiftly sheared the sleepy sheep with the sharp scissors. [H]

254. Tie a knot, tie a knot. Tie a tight, tight knot. Tie a knot in the shape of a nought.

255. Which witch snitched the snitch witch? Or did the snitch witch snitch the witch? If the snitch witch snitched the witch, then which witch did the snitch witch snitch? [H]

256. Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thick, say it quick!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Don’t eat with your mouth full!

257. You know New York. You need New York. You know you need unique New York. [H]

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