Tongue Twisters

These thousand tricky tongue twisters

Trip thrillingly off the tongue.

A tongue-twister is a sequence of words that is difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly. Even native English speakers find the tongue-twisters on this page difficult to say quickly. Try them yourself. Try to say them as fast as possible, but correctly.

The Bear and the Boar

Once upon a barren moor
There dwelt a bear, also a boar.
The bear could not bear the boar.
The boar thought the bear a bore.
At last the bear could bear no more
Of that boar that bored him on the moor,
And so one morn he bored the boar--
That boar will bore the bear no more.

Bear and Hare

I cannot bear to see a bear
Bear down upon a hare.
When bare of hair he strips the hare,
Right there I cry, "Forbear!"

Betty Botter

Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
It would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
That would make my batter better."
So she bought a bit of butter,
Better than her bitter butter,
And she baked it in her batter,
And the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

Big Black Bug

A big black bug

Bit a big black bear,
And made the big black bear bleed blood.

The Bittern

A bitter biting bittern
Bit a better brother bittern,
And the bitter better bittern
Bit the bitter biter back.
And the bitter bittern, bitten,
By the better bitten bittern,
Said: "I'm a bitter biter bit, alack!"

Bloody Blade (From “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” - Shakespeare)

Whereat with blade,
With bloody, blameful blade,
He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.

Canny Cannibal

How much caramel

Can a canny cannibal cram into a camel,
If a canny cannibal

Can cram caramel into a camel?

Cuckoos

How many cuckoos could a good cook cook
If a cook could cook cuckoos?

Doctor

When a doctor doctors a doctor,
Does the doctor doing the doctoring
Doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or
Does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor?

Felt

Of all the felt I ever felt,
I never felt a piece of felt
Which felt as fine as that felt felt,
When first I felt that felt hat's felt.

Fisher

There was a young fisher named Fischer
Who fished for a fish in a fissure.
The fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in;
Now they're fishing the fissure for Fischer.

The Flea and The Fly

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.

Fresh Fish

(from Dr. Seuss' - "Oh say can you say")

Do you like fresh fish?
It's just fine at Finney's Diner.
Finney also has some fresher fish
that's fresher and much finer.
But his best fish is his freshest fish
and Finney says with pride,
"The finest fish at Finney's is
my freshest fish, French-fried!"
SO...
don't order the fresh or the fresher fish.
At Finney's, if you're wise, you'll say,
"Fetch me the finest, French-fried freshest
fish that Finney fries!"

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he?!

Ghosts

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
With stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,
He thrusts his fist against the posts
And still insists he sees the ghosts.

Gray Geese

Three gray geese

In the green grass grazing.
Gray were the geese

And green was the grass.

Grip top Sock

Give me the gift

Of a grip top sock:
A drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock.

Inexplicably Mimicking

She stood on the balcony

Inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping,

And amicably welcoming him home.

I Saw Esau

I saw Esau kissing Kate.

I saw Esau, he saw me,

And she saw I saw Esau.

Joe

Our Joe wants to know if your Joe will lend our Joe your Joe's banjo.
If your Joe won't lend our Joe your Joe's banjo,
Our Joe won't lend your Joe our Joe's banjo when our Joe has a banjo!

Kitty Creighton

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat.
The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat.
The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye,
And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly.

Larry O'Reilly

Larry O’Reilly loved Nellie O’Malley

And so, one fine day, they decided to marry.

Larry really loved Nellie.

Nellie really loved Larry.

Now they’re Larry and Nellie O’Reilly-O’Malley.

Light Night

You've no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a slight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.
When a night's light, like tonight's light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.

Menagerie

Can you imagine

An imaginary menagerie manager
Imagining managing

An imaginary menagerie?

Mules

On mules we find two legs behind
And two we find before.
We stand behind before we find
What those behind be for.

Needles

I need not your needles, they're needless to me;
For kneading of noodles, 'twere needless, you see;
But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed,
I then should have need of your needles indeed.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Picky people

Pick Peter Pan Peanut Butter.
Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Is the peanut butter picky people pick.

Peter Piper

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ?

Pheasant Plucker

I am not a pheasant plucker,
But a pheasant plucker's son.
I am only plucking pheasants
'Til the pheasant plucker comes.

I am not the pheasant plucker,
I'm the pheasant plucker's mate.
I am only plucking pheasants
'Cause the pheasant plucker's late.

Placing a Plaice

A pleasant place

To place a plaice

Is a place where a plaice

Is pleased to be placed.

The Racehorse

Wun-Wun was a racehorse.
Tu-Tu was one, too.
When Wun-Wun won one race,
Tu-Tu won one, too.

Sally Snake

Ms. Sylvia Snake, tired of small Sally Snake's hissin' in the pit all day,
told Sally Snake to go to Ms. Pott's pit and hiss a while.
Ms. Pott told Sally Snake to "go back to her own pit and hiss."
"But Mom sent me over here to hiss in your pit!" replied Sally Snake.
Sally Snake went back to her own pit to hiss in.
"I told you to go to Ms. Pott's pit and hiss!" shouted Mom.
"Ms. Pott told me to come hiss in my own pit," replied Sally Snake."

"Well!" scowled Sylvia Snake. "I remember when Ms. Pott didn't even have a pit to hiss in."

Sammy & Suzie

Sammy sitting singing
Sought Suzie Shaw
Since Suzie started sobbing
Sammy's stopped seeking

Say This

Say this sharply, say this sweetly,
Say this shortly, say this softly.
Say this sixteen times in succession.

Mr. See's Saw

Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed
Soar's seesaw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw!

The Saw

The sawingest saw

I ever saw saw
Was the saw I saw saw

In Arkansas.

Seven Small Swans

Suddenly swerving, seven small swans
Swam silently southward,
Seeing six swift sailboats
Sailing sedately seaward.

The Shot-silk Sash Shop

Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop

Full of shot-silk sashes,
As the sunshine shone

On the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

Silly Sally

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack;
Sheep should sleep in a shed.

Sit in Solemn Silence (From "The Mikado" - Gilbert and Sullivan)

To sit in solemn silence on a dull dark dock
In a pestilential prison with a lifelong lock
Awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block.

The Skunk

A skunk sat on a stump.
The skunk thunk the stump stunk.
The stump thunk the skunk stunk.

Slippery Sally

Slippery Sally slipped on a slippery sea shell

While selling sea shells on the sea shore.
Surely you don't think Sally slipped on a slippery sea shell

Just because she said she did.

Smart Fellow

One fellow, he felt smart.
Two smart fellows, they felt smart.
Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

Surely Sylvia Swims

'Surely Sylvia swims!'

Shrieked Sammy, surprised.
'Somebody should show Sylvia some strokes

So she shall not sink!'

Susan the Shoe-shiner

Susan shineth shoes and socks;
Socks and shoes shines Susan.
She ceased shining shoes and socks,
For shoes and socks shock Susan.

The Swan

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

Theatre tickets

They have left the thriftshop,

And lost both their theatre tickets

And the volume of valuable licences

And coupons for free theatrical frills and thrills.

Thadius Thistle

Thadius Thistle, the successful thistle sifter,
While sifting a sieve of unsifted thistles
Thrust three thousand thistles
Through the thick of his thumb.

Thin Things

I can think of thin things,

Six thin things, can you?
Yes, I can think of six thin things,

And of six thick things too.

The Thought

I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn't the thought
I thought I thought.

To Do at a Minute or Two to Two

Oh what to do to die today at a minute or two 'til two
A thing distinctly hard to say yet harder still to do
For they'll beat a tattoo at twenty to two
With a rattatta tattatta tattatta too
And the dragon will come when he hears the drum
At a minute or two 'til two today
At a minute or two 'til two.

Tooter tutor

A Tutor who tooted a flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to their tutor,
"Is it harder to toot
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

Tree Toad

A tree toad loved a she-toad
Who lived up in a tree.
He was a two-toed tree toad
But a three-toed toad was she.
The two-toed tree toad tried to win
The three-toed she-toad's heart,
For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground
That the three-toed tree toad trod.
But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.
He couldn't please her whim.
From her tree toad bower
With her three-toed power
The she-toad vetoed him.

Twister

A twister of twists once twisted a twist.
And the twist that he twisted was a three twisted twist.
Now in twisting this twist, if a twist should untwist,
Would the twist that untwisted untwist the twists?

Unique New York

Unique New York,
You need New York,
You know you need unique New York.

Washington’s Underwear

Who washed Washington's

White woolen underwear
When Washington's washer woman went west?

Which is the Witch?

Which is the witch

That wished the wicked wish?
I don't know which witch is which.

Window Washers

While we were walking,

We were watching window washers
Wash Washington's windows

With warm washing water.

Wood Chuck

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.

One – Liners (Can you say them quickly a few times?)

Any noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.

A proper copper coffee pot.

Are our oars oak?

At present you can't marry a peasant however pleasant the peasant may be.

Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

The big bad baby brought the bought black blanket back

Big Billy, who had a big belly was also a big bully.

Big, bulging Bulgarian belle

Black Bugs Bleed Black Blood

A bloke’s back bike brake block broke.

The blue bluebird blinks.

The boot black bought the black boot back.

A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits.

Brad's big black bath brush broke.

Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved.

Cheap ship trip.

Cheerful Charles chose cherry chocolates for Cheri.

Chop shops stock chops.

After church I went to the beach to teach at the car wash for cash.

Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.

The crow flew over the river with a lump of raw liver.

Don't pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.

Ed had edited it.

The epitome of femininity.

Fanny Finch fried five floundering fish for Francis`s father

Fat frogs flying past fast.

Father's polite position paid for popcorn and the flag.

Flash message!

Flee from fog to fight flu fast!

Freshly-fried flying fish.

Freshly fried fresh flesh.

Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

Gertie's great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie's grammar.

Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle.

Give Mr. Snipa's wife's knife a swipe.

Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

Good blood, bad blood.

Greek grapes.

Hi-Tech Traveling Tractor Trailor Truck Tracker

I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor's reckoning.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?

Inchworms itching.

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir?

The lazy jazz musician jogged to the zoo just to view the zebra physician.

Just think, that sphinx has a sphincter that stinks!

Knapsack straps.

Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

Lily ladles little Letty's lentil soup.

Listen to the local yokel yodel.

Long legged ladies last longer.

Lovely lemon liniment.

Lucky radio listeners rarely lose long letters written by rival relatives.

Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.

Mix, Miss, Mix!

Moose noshing much mush.

Mrs Hunt had a country cut front in the front of her country cut petticoat.

Mrs. Smith's Fish Sauce Shop

My dame hath a lame tame crane; my dame hath a crane that is lame.

The myth of Miss Muffet.

Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.

Pacific Lithograph.

Pink lorry, yellow lorry.

Plague-bearing prairie dogs.

Please pay promptly.

Pope Sixtus VI's six texts.

Preshrunk silk shirts

Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

Red leather, yellow leather.

Truly rural.

Red lorry, yellow lorry.

Ruby Rugby's brother bought and brought her back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.

The sea ceaseth, but it sufficeth us.

Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers.

She sells sea-shells by the sea-shore.

She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter.

Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

Six quick sneezes, six quick sneezes, six quick sneezes

Six sharp smart sharks.

Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins.

Six short slow shepherds.

Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.

Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

Six sticky sucker sticks.

Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

The sixth sick Sheik's sixth sheep is sick.

[The hardest tongue-twister in the English language!]

Six twin-screwed steel steam cruisers.

The slow snow snowed slowly on the snowy slopes.

Sly Sam slurps Sally's soup.

Strange strategic statistics.

Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch slickly snared six sickly silky snakes.

Strong Sharks Sink Ships

Sure the ship's shipshape, sir.

Sushi and sashimi

Thank the other three brothers of their father’s mother’s brother’s side.

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

Thieves seize skis.

Three free throws.

Three grey geese in green fields grazing.

Three twigs twined tightly.

Tim, the thin twin tinsmith

Tomorrow is the third Thursday of this month.

Truly rural.

Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

Two toads, totally tired.

Typing ten-times-tables takes more time than typing ten-times-two.

Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.

We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

What a shame such a shapely sash should such shabby stitches show.

What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

Which witch wished which wicked wish?

Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

Will you, William?