A tongue-twister is a phrase or sequence of words that are difficult to pronounce quickly and properly. Words are arranged generally in an alliterative manner. Tongue-twisters are exercises to improve fluency and pronunciation and can also be considered as a fun word game.
For English learners or even beginners, tongue-twisters are a way to work on more than one sound of words at a time to get the correct pronunciation. In school, children are also made to practice these tongue-twisters to develop their English-speaking skills by stretching their facial muscles.
Gather Information Regarding Basic English Skills and become proficient in the language and speak fluently with confidence. Try the Tips over here and Improve your English Writing and Speaking Skills.
260 Tongue Twisters to Improve Your English Pronunciation
Some Tongue-twisters are made for fun and amusement, whereas professional speakers such as actors, politicians, and television or radio hosts use them as articulation examples.
Tongue-twisters comprise an orderly sequence of similar-sounding words that are to be pronounced rapidly and repetitively. These words, though they sound similar, have different syllables. Difficult tongue-twisters have unusual word composition and require great concentration.
Tongue-twisters help to strengthen and stretch the muscles used for speaking and have been proven to clarify pronunciations. These particularly emphasize the words that one finds difficult to pronounce and also improve their fluency.
For the first time, tongue-twisters are said slowly, and then these are said at a rapid speed but gradually. After pronouncing a tongue-twister once, one must always practice it two or more times in a row to get fluency.
Common Rules To Speak Tongue-Twisters
- Saying the tongue-twisters slowly makes even the most difficult tongue-twister smooth without even fumbling on the words. One must try to say these faster. The faster you speak or try to, the better you will get.
- You can repeat short tongue-twisters two or more times whereas, if the tongue-twister is a long one, saying it once is just enough.
Examples Of Tongue-Twisters
3 Here is a list of easy and difficult tongue-twisters that can be practiced regularly to improve pronunciation and fluency.
- 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. - The fickle finger of fate flips fat frogs flat.
- Six small slick seals.
- Ape cakes, grape cakes.
- Kookie cookies.
- Real rear wheels.
- Kinky kite kits.
- Poor pure Pierre.
- Twenty tender tree stumps.
- Avery’s army’s armoury.
- There goes one tough top cop.
- Peggy Babcock’s mummy.
- Bill built a big brick building.
- Three free through trains.
- Ava ate eighty eggs.
- Keenly cleaning copper kettles.
- Goats and ghosts.
- Nineteen nice knights.
- A knapsack strap.
- Sixty-six sticky skeletons.
- Hiccup teacup.
- Big B-52 bombers.
- Red blood, green blood.
- Cheap sheep soup.
- Literally literary.
- Chip’s ship sank.
- Red bug’s blood, bed bug’s blood
- Black bug’s blood.
- Alice asks for axes.
- Swatch watch.
- Bland Bea blinks back.
- Thelma sings the theme song.
- Carl called Claude.
- A batter, a banana, and a bandana.
- Elegant elephants.
- Curt carved curves.
- Eleven little leather loafers.
- Flawless porcelain flasks.
- Ex-disk jockey.
- A fine field of wheat.
- Free kiwis.
- Fifteen filthy flying foxes.
- Five fat French fleas freeze.
- Sad skunk.
- Friendly fleas and fireflies.
- Four fliers’ flip-flop.
- Fresh figs.
- The flurry fly flitted from flower to flower.
- Hurry, Harry!
- Free flag.
- Good blood, bad blood.
- Fine fresh fodder
- Pre-shrunk silk skirts.
- Four frightening flashes.
- Greek grapes.
- Knee deep, deep knee.
- Has Hal’s heel healed?
- This disk sticks.
- A gentle judge judges justly.
- Much mashed mushrooms.
- Luminous aluminium.
- Melton made a metal motor.
- Lily little lit a little lamp.
- Soft, smooth snake skin.
- The tailor’s tactics took twice the time.
- Which witch is which?
- The plum pickers plucked the plump plums.
- Pick a purple pocket.
- Plain bun, plum bun.
- Ted sent Stan ten tents.
- Rough rural roads.
- Thin sticks, thick bricks.
- Pale pink plumage.
- Sixteen slim, silky slippers.
- Slick silk.
- Six crisp snacks.
- Short swords.
- Scams, stings, and skulduggery.
- Strange strategic statistics.
- Thirteen drummers thumping drums.
- Sharp sharkskin shoes.
- Three thick things.
- Two ticket takers took a taxi.
- Truly rural.
- She sees cheese.
- Twelve tiny thread tweezers.
- Unsung songs.
- The short soldier shoots straight.
- Flash message.
- Real wristwatch straps.
- Valuable valley villas.
- White wings, round rings.
- Four frightening flashes.
- War-weary warriors.
- The glum groom grew glummer.
- Yellow leather, red feather.
- Eighteen apes ate eighteen apricots.
- Disgruntled dishwashers don’t wash dishes.
- Deer’s ears hear clear cheers.
- Stupid superstition.
- Wire rimmed wheels.
- Steven Stanley sees seven stars.
- Weary railroad workers.
- Red lorry, yellow lorry.
- King Kong plays Ping-Pong.
- Frank flunked French.
- Once really wet red whale.
- No one knows Wayne.
- Four furious friends fought for the phone.
- Prates private property.
- Eight apes ate Nate’s tape.
- Dave’s dogs dig deep ditches.
- Do thick tinkers think?
- Black background, brown background.
- Five fat French fleas freeze.
- The flood flooded Frank’s floor.
- Kirk’s starched shirts.
- Bob bought a bleached blue-beaded blazer.
- When the computer crashed, the class gasped.
- Sharpshooters should shoot slowly.
- Jim jogs in gym. Jane jogs in jungle.
- Nine nimble noblemen nibbled nuts.
- Bridget builds bigger bridges than Barbara, but bridges Barbara builds are better than bridges Bridger builds.
- She shrieks as she stitches sheets.
- No shark shares swordfish steak.
- Sloppy skiers slide on slick ski slopes
- Surely the sun shall shine soon.
- I like New York, unique New York, I like unique New York
- Exercise instructors instruct struggling exercisers to exercise strongly.
- She saw Sheriff’s shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw Sheriff’s shoes on the sofa?
- Sharon sewed six shiny suits.
- A slimy snake slithered down the sandy Sahara.
- If he slipped, should she slip?
- The throne was frozen. It was a frozen throne.
- The soldier’s shoulder surely hurts.
- It is so chilly; the silly child should soon shut the shutters.
- Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum swan!
- Shoes and socks shock Susan.
- 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?
- If I assist a sister-assistant, will the sister’s sister-assistant assist me?
- The sun shines on the shop signs.
- Some shun summer sunshine.
- Six insects. Six sick insects.
- Shallow sailing ships should shun shallow shoals.
- If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.
- Does someone know a synonym for cinnamon? Someone once said that cinnamon has no synonym
- The king would sing, about a ring that would go ding.
- If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.
- Rival river runners rode the wild river.
- High roller. Low roller. Lower a roller.
- Debbie didn’t destroy Darrell’s dishes. Darrell destroyed Debbie’s dishes.
- Ted threw Fred thirty-three free throws.
- Something stinks and I think what stinks are the things in the sink.
- 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.
- Six sick shorn sheep.
- The fuzzy bee buzzed the buzzy busy beehive.
- Can you can a can as a canner can a can?
- Suzie’s sister saw some scissors Suzie set on her sofa.
- The rhino wore a white ribbon.
- A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.
- Ray’s runway runs one way.
- Nancy naps at noon and Nick knows it’s not nice to knock when Nancy’s napping.
- Quakes cause cracks.
- Sally sells soil samples at the soil store. Sometimes there are seashells in the soil samples Sally sells.
- Stacks of salty snacks make Sam slurp and smack.
- 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.
- Under the mother otter, uttered the other otter.
- Knit this net with neat knots. Knots that are not neat are not the knots this net needs.
- The vicious visitors visited the virtual village.
- Please prune plum trees promptly.
- Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
- Edgar at eight ate eight eggs a day.
- A big black bear sat on a big black rug.
- Should she shut summer shutters slowly or should she shut summer shutters swiftly?
- Spinks thinks the sphinx stinks.
- Shameless shepherds shampoo shy sheep.
- Flat flying fish fly faster than flat, flying fleas.
- She sells Swiss sweets.
- Penny penned a pretty poem.
- The shepherd swiftly sheared the sleepy sheep with the sharp scissors.
- He threw three free throws
- Four fine fresh fish for you.
- Stan stopped stealing Sam’s stamps.
- The captain’s cook was a crook because he took the clock locked in the captain’s kitchen cupboard.
- Charles chose the chief cheap sheep section.
- Billy Wood said he would carry the wood through the woods. And if Wood said he would, Wood would.
- Pretty poor peace prospects.
- Angels hang ancient anchors at angles that anger ogres.
- New cheese, blue cheese, chew cheese please.
- I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
- The boy blinked at the blank bank blackboard.
- Tie a knot, tie a knot. Tie a tight, tight knot. Tie a knot in the shape of a nought.
- 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.
- Does this shop stock shot silk shorts?
- An undertaker undertook to undertake an undertaking. The undertaking that the undertaker undertook was the hardest undertaking the undertaker ever undertook to undertake.
- Sarah slurped soda through straight, striped soda straws.
- Old Howell owned a house on which old owls howled.
- The sad soldier should shoot soon.
- The minx mixed a medicine mixture.
- If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
- Remove the raw rice. Once the raw rice is removed, roast the white rice.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
- Drew Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead.
- Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
- 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.
- Seventy-seven benevolent elephants.
- A pessimistic pest exists amidst us.
- The chic Sikh’s sixty-sixth sheep is sick
- A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.
- Frivolously fanciful Fannie fried fresh fish furiously
- Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
- Of all the videos I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a video as valued as Alex’s video.
- Ed has edited it.
- Two tried and true tridents.
- She sees cheese.
- I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
- Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.
- A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
- Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
- Snap crackle pop.
- Wayne went to wales to watch walruses.
- So, this is the sushi chef.
- I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
- Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines, she sits, and where she sits, she shines
- I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late.
- If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
- I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch.
- Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear.
- Willie’s really weary
- Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks.
- Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
- Rolling red wagons.
- Black back bat.
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.
- A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped.
- Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards.
- Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.
- Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle.
- Really leery, rarely Larry.
- Six Czech cricket critics.
- Betty’s big bunny bobbled by the blueberry bush.
- The big bug bit the little beetle.
- Birdie birdie in the sky laid a turdie in my eye.
If cows could fly, I’d have a cow pie in my eye. - 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! - 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.
- “Surely Sylvia swims!” shrieked Sammy surprised. “Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.”
- Rory’s lawn rake rarely rakes really right.
- 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. - Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents.
- Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
- Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons — balancing them badly.
- If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
- Something in a thirty-acre thermal thicket of thorns and thistles thumped and thundered threatening the three-D thoughts of Matthew the thug – although, theatrically, it was only the thirteen-thousand thistles and thorns through the underneath of his thigh that the thirty-year-old thug thought of that morning.
- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
- Selfish shellfish.
- Green glass globes glow greenly.
- Specific Pacific.
- Mary Mac’s mother’s making Mary Mac marry me. My mother’s making me marry Mary Mac. Will I always be so Merry when Mary’s taking care of me? Will I always be so merry when I marry Mary Mac?
- Luke Luck likes lakes. Luke’s duck likes lakes. Luke Luck licks lakes. Luck’s duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes. Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes.
Conclusion
Tongue-twisters are fun even though they are apparently difficult. These are challenging. These are greatly beneficial substantially that is obtained through extensive and regular practice. This also includes improving speech clarity and diction. The alliterative manner of the orderly sequence of words along with the strange assonance are fun and enjoyable.