You probably already know English tongue twisters like “She sells seashells by the seashore” and “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” But they aren’t just for laughs. When you learn tongue twisters in other languages, you can practice pronunciation and letter sounds that may be tricky in everyday speech.
Give these hard tongue twisters (with translations) in Spanish, German, French, and several other languages that sound different from English a try. Whether you’re a beginner language learner or a practiced polyglot, these twisty expressions are an entertaining challenge sure to test your skills.
Table of Contents
Spanish tongue twisters
Known as trabalenguas, Spanish tongue twisters make use of the language’s quick pace and beautiful Spanish words to create mesmerizing word puzzles. Try out these trabalenguas to practice your pronunciation as well as your speed!
1. Papá pone pan para Pepín, para Pepín pone pan Papá
Meaning: Dad serves bread for Pepin, for Pepin Dad serves bread.
An excellent example of Spanish alliteration, this tongue twister channels the famous English “Peter Piper” phrase. Beginners can start out with this tongue-tying expression before moving on to more complex sentences.
2. Hoy ya es ayer y ayer ya es hoy, ya llegó el día, y hoy es hoy
Meaning: Today is already yesterday and yesterday is already today, the day has arrived and today is today.
Add a dash of philosophy to your Spanish tongue twister when you try this one out. With lots of “y” sounds to practice, it’s a helpful way to master both common vocabulary and sounds of the alphabet.
3. Un zapatero zambo, zapateaba zapateados de zapata, de zapata zapateaba zapateados un zapatero zambo
Meaning: A bowlegged shoemaker tap-danced tap-dancing moves from Zapata, tap-dancing moves from Zapata danced a bowlegged shoemaker.
If you’re a Spanish learner who struggles with the “z” sound, take heart! This toe-tapping tongue twister combines a consistent consonant starting sound with changing vowels for the ultimate Spanish alphabet pronunciation challenge.
French tongue twisters
French tongue twisters are a lot of fun because many French words sound quite similar. It takes skill to make words like pains and peints sound different, after all! No matter your speaking level, practice these near-homophones with these tongue twisters.
4. Des blancs pains, des bancs peints, des bains pleins
Meaning: White breads, painted benches, full baths.
Put together, these three items don’t have much in common. But when you say them out loud, you’ll hear the subtle pronunciation differences that separate beginning French learners from intermediate and advanced speakers.
5. Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès
Meaning: If six saws saw six cypresses, six hundred saws saw six hundred cypresses.
Does this look like a funny tongue twister? If not, say it out loud and see if you change your mind! It’s a great way to test your French pronunciation skills (or confuse people who don’t speak any French at all).
6. Tu t’entêtes à tout tenter, tu t’uses et tu te tues à tant t’entêter
Meaning: You persist in trying everything, you wear yourself out, and you kill yourself by being stubborn.
Some tongue twisters are just good advice. When you recite this French tongue twister with common “t” sounds and vowel variances, take it to heart and try not to be too hard on yourself.
German tongue twisters
If you’ve learned enough long German words, you’re probably thinking that every sentence in German has the potential to be a tongue twister. Try out these phrases with other funny German words and commonly confused sounds to test out your deutsch (German) understanding and pronunciation.
7. Lang schwang der Klang am Hang entlang
Meaning: The sound resonated along the slope for a long time.
This German tongue twister may not look tricky, but its quick consonant changes and common vowel sounds make it a great practice sentence for anyone working on German alphabet pronunciation.
8. Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische, frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz
Meaning: Fisherman Fritz fishes for fresh fish, fresh fish is what Fisherman Fritz fishes.
If you can pronounce fischt, frische, and Fische differently, you’re well on your way to language fluency. Practice it before engaging in a tricky German conversation (or when talking to a friend named Fritz).
9. Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut
Meaning: A wedding dress is always a wedding dress, and red cabbage is always red cabbage.
Both profound and complex, this German tongue twister uses consonant blends and vowel teams to lead speakers through a message on being yourself. (Or possibly being a cabbage.)
Italian tongue twisters
Anyone learning Italian knows that fluent speakers usually talk quickly. Hard tongue twisters in Italian are a great way to prepare yourself for the speed of a conversation, especially when they involve very similar-sounding words.
10. In un piatto poco cupo, poco pepe cape
Meaning: In a shallow dish, not much pepper fits.
It’s twisty and it’s telling, especially when you consider how Italians feel about their food! Try saying this Italian tongue twister out loud to practice accented syllables and alternating vowel sounds.
11. Chi ama chiama chi ama, chiamami tu che chi ami chiami. Chi amo chiamerò se tu non chiami
Meaning: Whoever loves, calls who they love, and you call me, since you call who you love. I’ll call who I love if you don’t call.
Combine romance and rhythm when you say this tongue twister three times fast. It’s good practice for Italian conjugation as well as saying very similar words and consonant sounds.
12. Al pozzo dei pazzi una pazza lavava le pezze. Andò un pazzo e buttò la pazza con tutte le pezze nel pozzo dei pazzi
Meaning: At the well of fools a madwoman was washing rags. A madman came and threw the madwoman with all the rags into the well of fools.
While it does indeed seem foolish to wash rags at the well of fools, this Italian tongue twister is a surefire way to master the “zz” sound you’ve been working on in Italian alphabet pronunciation. Note accents and where emphasis lies before you speed this one up too quickly.
Japanese tongue twisters
The vocabulary, writing system, and pronunciation of Japanese make it one of the hardest languages to learn for English speakers. But these tongue twisters are a creative way to practice your language skills and quicken your speech for fast-moving Japanese conversations.
13. 赤巻紙, 青巻紙, 黄巻紙
Meaning: Red scroll, blue scroll, yellow scroll.
Pronounced Akamakigami, aomakigami, kimakigami in English, these three phrases are harder to say together than they look. Practice putting the correct emphasis on the words, even before you start saying them three times fast. You’ll definitely improve your Japanese pronunciation once you get this one right.
14. 丹羽の庭には二羽鶏俄にワニを食べた
Meaning: In Niwa’s garden, two chickens suddenly ate a crocodile.
Crazy things can happen in a tongue twister—and in Niwa’s garden! Pronounced Niwa no niwanihaniwa niwatori niwaka ni wani o tabeta in English, practice these similar-sounding Japanese phrases with a tongue twister you won’t quickly forget.
15. 魔術師手術中､手術中集中術著述
Meaning: Magicians in surgery, writing about concentration techniques during surgery.
This Japanese tongue twister, pronounced Majutsushi shujutsuchū､shujutsuchū shūchū jutsu chojutsu in English, is nonsensical, but it’s a great way to practice kana (Japanese syllables) that sound very similar but mean quite different things. If you can master this one, language fluency is within your grasp!
Greek tongue twisters
When you’re learning tongue twisters in other languages like Greek, it’s tempting to skip the more complicated words and opt for easy-to-pronounce expressions. Challenge yourself with hard tongue twisters that might not help with Greek comprehension, but are great tools for non-English sounds.
16. Καλημέρα καμηλιέρη Καμηλιέρη καλημέρα
Meaning: Good morning camel herder, camel herder good morning.
Pronounced Kalimera kamilieri, kamilieri kalimera in English, this Greek tongue twister is a good way to practice common sounds you’ll need when learning additional vocabulary. And if you run into a camel herder, it makes a great greeting!
17. Φίλος έδωσε σε φίλο τριαντάφυλλο με φύλλο. Φίλε, φύλαγε το φύλλο, μην το δώσεις σε άλλο φίλο
Meaning: A friend gave a friend a rose with a leaf. Friend, keep the leaf, don’t give it to another friend.
In English, this expression is spelled Filos ethose se filo triandafilo me filo. File filage to filo, min thosees se allo filo. It uses Greek imperatives and conjugation to test your pronunciation and grammar knowledge, and arms you with advice should someone hand you a leaf.
18. Τρεις τίγρεις και τρία τιγράκια τρέχουν, τρία τιγράκια και τρεις τίγρεις τρώνε
Meaning: Three tigers and three cubs are running, three cubs and three tigers are eating.
When learning Greek, use this tongue twister, spelled Treis tígreis kai tría tigrákia tréchoun, tría tigrákia kai treis tígreis tróne in English, to practice some of the trickier Greek language sounds. If you struggle with some of the Greek letters, try saying it slowly first, then speed it up.
Practice pronunciation with tongue twisters in other languages
Tongue twisters aren’t just for showing off (although they’re great for that, too). These winding word puzzles are an excellent way to practice the trickiest patterns in your new language, and all you need to do is recite them out loud!
Once you’ve mastered tongue twisters in other languages, see if you can pronounce the longest word in the world. Warning: It might take you more than one try, and more than one hour!
Want to know exactly how your pronunciation compares to native speakers? Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent will give you the opportunity to hear and practice words and phrases you would use in a real-life setting, helping you build fluency and confidence.
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