List of tongue-twisters

Table of contents

1 List of tongue-twisters in English
2 Tongue twisters in languages other than English

2.1 Albanian
2.2 Chinese (Cantonese)
2.3 Chinese (Mandarin)
2.4 Czech
2.5 Dutch
2.6 Estonian
2.7 Finnish
2.8 French
2.9 German
2.10 Hungarian
2.11 Marathi (Indian)
2.12 Polish
2.13 Spanish
2.14 Swedish
2.15 Serbian

3 External links

List of tongue-twisters in English

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

Or, 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 Piper Piper picked?

A black bug's blood [repeated]

Toy boat [repeated]

Unique New York [repeated]

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

I slit a sheet, a sheet I slit, upon a slitted sheet I sit. (used in Steve Martin's The Jerk)
She sells sea shells by the sea shore; the sea-shells that she sells are sea-shells I'm sure. or the hackers' version, She sells cshells by the cshore
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
- A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts
I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's mate, and I'm only plucking pheasants 'cause the pheasant plucker's late. I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's son, and I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant pluckers come.
Rubber baby buggy bumpers [repeated] (used in the song "Fire Water Burn" by the Bloodhound Gang, and an episode of The Simpsons)
The black bloke's back brake block broke.
Red lorry, yellow lorry [repeated] Variant: Red leather, yellow leather
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter. / "But," she said, "this butter's bitter! / If I put it in my batter, / It will make my batter bitter!" / So she bought a bit of butter / Better than her bitter butter, / And she put it in her batter, / And her batter was not bitter. / So 'twas better Betty Botter / Bought a bit of better butter.

or: Betty bought a bit of butter, but the bit of butter Betty bought was bitter, so Betty bought a better bit of butter than the bit of butter Betty bought before.

The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick
Road-roller [repeated]
Liril [repeated fast]
A cricket critic [repeated]
Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.
The Leith police dismisseth us.
We reweave rips. (A sign in the window of a taylor's shop.)
One smart fellow, he felt smart / Two smart fellows, they felt smart / Three smart fellows, they all felt smart [fast]

Tongue twisters in languages other than English

Albanian

Karikaturisti karikaturon karikatura karakteristike
translation: The caricaturist caricaturates caracteristic caricatures
Kupa me kapak kupa pa kapak
translation: The cup with a lid the cup without a lid
Polli pula e Lleshit ne ka�ile t'leshit
translation: The hen of Lleshi laid an egg in a wool basket

Chinese (Cantonese)

(known as 急口令)

ming5 ding2 bing1 ding1 ting4 ding6 ting3 (酩酊兵丁停定聽)
translation: The drunken soldier stopped and listened.
fu6 fu5 fu4 fu1 fu6 fu3 fu2 (傅婦扶夫赴富府)
translation: Fu's wife carried her husband to the rich man's mansion.

Chinese (Mandarin)

(known as 繞口令)

xi1 shi1 si3 shi2 si4 shi2 si4 (西施死時四十四)
translation: Xi Shi (a famous woman) died at age 44.

The following is a famous tongue twister found in ancient Chinese literature. It is a short story written exclusively with various tones of two similar sounding syllables (shi and si).

施氏食獅史

石室詩士施氏，嗜獅，誓食十獅。氏時時適市視獅。十時，適十獅適市。是時，適施氏適是市。氏視十獅，恃矢勢，使是十獅逝世。氏拾是十獅屍，適石室。食時，始識十獅實十石獅屍。試釋是事。

Shi1shi4shi2shi3

Shi2shi4 shi4 shi1 shi4, shi4, shi4 si4 shi2. Shi4 shi4. Shi2, shi2 shi4. Shi4, shi1 shi4 shi4 shi4. Shi4 shi2, shi4 shi3, shi3 shi4 shi2 shi4shi4. Shi4 shi2 shi4 shi2, shi2shi4. Si4, shi3 shi2 shi2 shi2. Shi4 shi4.

Czech

Strč prst skrz krk.
Translation: Stick a finger through your throat.
Note that this sentence has no vowels!

Dutch

De koetsier poetst de postkoets met postkoetspoets.
Translation: The coachman cleans the stagecoach with stagecoach cleaner.
De kat krapt de krullen van de trap met drie droge doeken.
Translation: The cat scratches the woodcurls of the stairs with three dry cloths
de knappe kapper kapt knap maar de knappe knecht van de knappe kapper kapt knapper dan de knappe kapper kappen kan.
Translation: the clever barber cut s hair well, but the clever helper of the clever barber cuts hair more clever that the clever barber cuts it.

Estonian

Pagari piparkook (repeated).
Translation: Baker's ginger biscuit.
Musta lehma saba valge lehma taga, valge lehma saba musta lehma taga (repeated).
Translation: Black cow's tale behind a white cow, white cow's tale behind a black cow.

Finnish

Vesihiisi sihisi hississ�.
Pappilan apupapin papupata pangolla kiehuu.
Appilan pappilan apupapin paksuposkipiski pisti poskeensa paksun papupurkin.
Kokoo kokoon koko kokko! Koko kokkoko? Koko kokko.
Alavilla mailla hallan vaaraa.

French

La roue sur la rue roule; la rue sous la roue reste.
Translation: The wheel on the road rolls; the road under the wheel stays.
Un chasseur sachant chasser sans son chien est un bon chasseur.
Translation: A hunter who knows how to hunt without his dog is a good hunter.
Le pipe au papa de Pape Pie pue.
Translation: Pope Pius's dad's pipe stinks.
Si ces saucissons sont bons, ces saucissons-ci sont aussi bons.
Translation: If these sausages are good, these sausages here are also good.
Kiki �tait cocotte et Coco concasseur de cacao. Kiki la cocotte aimait beaucoup Coco le concasseur de cacao. Or un marquis caracolant, caduc et cacochyme, conquis par les coquins quinquets de Kiki la cocotte, offrit � Kiki la cocotte un coquet caraco kaki � col de caracul. Quand Coco le concasseur de cacao comprit qu'un marquis caracolant, caduc et cacochyme conquis par les coquins quinquets de Kiki la cocotte, avait offert � Kiki la cocotte un coquet caraco kaki � col de caracul, il conclut � Je clos mon caquet, je suis cocu ! �

German

Es klapperten die Klapperschlangen bis ihre Klappern schlapper klangen.
Translation: The rattlesnakes rattled until their rattles began to sound exhausted.

Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische.
Translation: The Fishers' boy Fritz is fishing for fresh fish.

Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid, und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut.
Translation: bride's dress remains bride's dress, and blue herb remains blue herb.

Der Potsdamer Postkutscher putzt den Potsdamer Postkutschkasten.
Translation: The driver of the Potsdam stage coach cleans the case of the Potsdam stage coach.
Im Potsdamer Boxclub boxt der Potsdamer Postbusboss.
Translation: At the Potsdam boxing club, the boss of the Potsdam post bus is boxing. (Almost works in English too.)
Das Weinfass, das Frau Weber leerte, verheerte ihre Leberwerte.
Translation: The barrel of wine that Mrs. Weber emptied ruined her liver count.
Der Whiskeymixer mixt den Whiskey mit dem Whiskeymixer.
Translation: The whiskey mixer (barman) mixes whiskey with the whiskey mixer (device). (The fun here lies in the most probable mistake: wichsen is a vulgar German term for "to masturbate".)
Im dichten Fichtendickicht nicken dicke Fichten t�chtig.
Translation: In a dense thicket of spruces, thick spruces take a big nap. (Most probable mistake: German ficken means "to fuck").
A Mamaladaaama hamma daham aa. (Dialect of Franconia region)
Translation (High German): Ein Marmeladeneimerchen haben wir daheim auch.
Translation (English): A marmelade can, we have at home, too.

Hungarian

�t t�r�k �t g�r�g�t d�g�ny�z �r�k�s �r�m�k k�z�tt.
Translation: Five Turks are massaging five Greeks amid everlasting delights.

Marathi (Indian)

Kacha papad, pakka papad [repeated]
Translation: Cooked lentil wafer, raw lentil wafer.
chataila tachni tochli
LuLi mule baaLe

Polish

P�jdźże, kin tę chmurność w głąb flaszy.
Translation: Come on, drop your sadness into the depth of a bottle.

Spanish

El arzobispo de Constantinopla se quiere desarzobispoconstantinopolitanizar y el arzobispo que lo desarzobispoconstantinopolitanice buen desarzobispoconstantinopolitanizador ser�.
Translation: The archbishop of Constantinople does not want to be the archbishop of Constantinople, and the archbishop who un-archbishop-of-Constantinople-izes him will be a good un-archbishop-of-Constantinople-ifier.
Tres tristes tigres comen trigo en un trigal.
Translation: Three sad tigers eat wheat in a wheat field.

Swedish

Sex laxar i en laxask.
Translation: Six salmons in a salmon-box.
Packa pappas kapps�ck.
Translation: Pack daddy's suitcase.

Serbian

Na vrh brda vrba mrda. (На врх брда врба мрда)
Translation: On top of a hill a willow swings.

Belo jare prolajalo (Бело јаре пролајало)
Translation: White goat kid started to bark.

Raskiseliše li ti li ti se ti opanci? (Раскиселише ли ти ли ти се ти опанци)
Translation: Have they yet this opanci (kind of shoes) of yours unacidified to you?

Ture bure valja, bula bure gura. Brže ture bure valja no što bula bure gura. (Туре буре ваља, була буре гура. Брже туре буре ваља но што була буре гура.)
Translation: A turk brat rolls a barrel, a turk damsel pushes a barrel. Turk brat faster rolls a barrel then turk damsel pushes a barrel.

Gore gore gore gore. (Горе горе горе горе)
Translation: Up there woods burn worse. (Each word is said with different tone, and that is tongue-twister. Further, as Serbian language has flexible word order, there are 24 combinations of the tones, each having different emphasis. It is not easy to say all 24 combinations one after the other.)
Opskrbljen (Опскрбљен)
Translation: Supplied (This is actually not a tongue-twister for speakers of Serbian and similar languages, but is for speakers of languages which don't have words with as much as six consonants together).