4655 Tongue Twisters:
the Largest International Collection

Welcome to the world's largest collection of tongue twisters with 4655 entries in 118 languages!

Please click on a language to view the tongue twisters!

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.

Table of contents

😋 What Is a Tongue-Twister?
1. 🤷 Definitions
2. 📚 History
👅 Benefits of Tongue Twisters
🙋 ‍6 Tips on Tongue Twisters
🤗 A List of 4655 Tongue Twisters

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😋 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 first tongue twister called by name was 'Miss Smith's fish-sauce shop'

Source: etymonline.com

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.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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!

Simon Short from “The Saga of Shrewd Simon Short” is the world's longest tongue twister. It contains 466 tongue-tripping words!

Source: atkinsbookshelf.wordpress.com

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.

4655 Tongue Twisters: the Largest International Collection