List of
tongue-twisters.
- 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?
- Toy boat [repeated]
- Unique New York [repeated]
- I slit a sheet, a sheet I slit, upon a slitted sheet I sit. (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 buggy bumpers [repeated]
- 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.
- 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.)
(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.
(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 was a short story written exclusively with various tones of several similar sounding syllables: xi, shi, si etc.
- 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。
- De koetsier poetst de postkoets met postkoetspoets.
Translation: The coachman cleans the stagecoach with stagecoach cleaner.
- 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.
- 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 Ms. Weber emptied ruined her liver values. (not sure about the translation: what a doctor would record to check for liver diseases.)
- 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: wichsenis a vulgar German term for "to masturbate".)
- Im dichten Fichtendickicht nicken dicke Fichten tüchtig.
Translation: In a dense thicket of spruces, thick spruces take a big nap. (Most probable mistake: German ficken means "to fuck").
- A Mamaladaamala 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.
- Kacha papad, pakka papad [repeated]
translation: Cooked lentil wafer, raw lentil wafer.
- chataila tachni tochli
- LuLi mule baaLe
- Sex laxar i en laxask.
Translation: Six salmons in a salmon-box.
- Packa pappas kappsäck.
Translation: Pack daddy's suitcase.
- Na vrh brda vrba mrda. (На врх брда врба мрда)
Translation: On top of a hill a willow swings.
- Belo jare prolajalo
Translation: White goat 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[?] 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 accent, and that is tongue-twister. Further, as Serbian language has flexible word order, there are 24 combinations of the accents, each having diferent 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).