Tongue twisters

Classic tongue twisters

Traditional English twisters that have been passed around for generations.

1. 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 Peter Piper picked?Medium · p, k
2. She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.Medium · s, sh
3. 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.Medium · w, ch, k
4. Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.Hard · b, t
5. Red lorry, yellow lorry.Medium · r, l
6. Unique New York, you know you need unique New York.Medium · n, y, k
7. Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat.Medium · t, b
8. Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.Hard · r, sh, s, ch
9. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.Medium · b, g, r
10. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.Easy · s, k, r
11. Which witch is which?Easy · w, ch
12. A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.Medium · p, k, f
13. Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. If Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.Hard · th, s, thr
14. Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.Medium · r, g
15. Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.Medium · s, sl, sn
16. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?Medium · k, n
17. Truly rural.Hard · r, l, tr
18. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.Medium · l, th, w
19. Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.Medium · f, fr, t, br, d
20. Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.Hard · m, n
21. Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.Hard · m, n, j
22. Red leather, yellow leather.Medium · r, l, th
23. A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.Medium · b, bl, g
24. Three free throws.Medium · th, f, r
25. The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.Hard · th, thr
26. I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.Hard · s, sh
27. Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep. The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed shilly-shallied south.Medium · s, sh, l
28. Black background, brown background.Hard · bl, br, k, g
29. Fresh fried fish, fish fresh fried, fried fish fresh, fish fried fresh.Hard · f, fr, sh
30. Mix a box of mixed biscuits with a boxed biscuit mixer.Hard · ks, b, sk
31. Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum, swan!Easy · s, sw, w
32. Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons, balancing them badly.Hard · b, br, bl
33. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.Hard · s, sk, st, th
34. If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?Hard · w, ch, tw
35. Gig whip, gig whip, gig whip.Medium · g, w, p
36. Good blood, bad blood.Medium · g, b, bl, d
37. Tie twine to three tree twigs.Medium · t, tw, th, tr
38. Thin sticks, thick bricks.Medium · th, st, k, br
39. Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen.Easy · k, t
40. Sheep should sleep in a shed.Easy · sh, s, sl
41. She sees cheese.Easy · sh, s, ch, z
42. Selfish shellfish.Medium · s, sh, l, f
43. The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.Hard · g, gr
44. Green glass globes glow greenly.Medium · g, gr, gl
45. Cheap ship trip.Hard · ch, sh, tr, p
46. Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.Hard · r, w
47. Larry sent the latter a letter later.Medium · l, t, r
48. Willy's real rear wheel.Hard · w, r, l
49. Peggy Babcock, Peggy Babcock, Peggy Babcock.Hard · p, b, g, k
50. A bloke's back brake block broke.Hard · bl, br, k
51. Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.Hard · th
52. Mrs. Smith's Fish Sauce Shop.Hard · s, sh, th
53. Ripe white wheat reapers reap ripe white wheat right.Hard · r, w, t
54. The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue.Easy · l, p, th, t
55. Whether the weather be fine or whether the weather be not, whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.Medium · w, th
56. Three grey geese in the green grass grazing. Grey were the geese and green was the grazing.Medium · g, gr, th
57. A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place where a plaice is pleased to be placed.Hard · pl, p, s, z
58. Six Czech cricket critics.Hard · s, ks, ch, kr
59. Lovely lemon liniment.Medium · l, m, n
60. Plain bun, plum bun, bun without plum.Medium · pl, b, m
61. Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.Hard · kr, sp, sts
62. Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins.Medium · g, b, l
63. Literally literary.Hard · l, r, t
64. How now, brown cow?Easy · ow, n, br, k
65. A noisy noise annoys an oyster.Medium · n, oy, z
66. A flea and a fly in a flue were imprisoned, so what could they do? Said the fly, 'Let us flee!' 'Let us fly!' said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue.Medium · fl, f, l
67. Aluminum, linoleum, aluminum, linoleum.Medium · l, m, n

These are the twisters that trip up practised speakers. Most alternate sounds made in nearly the same spot in the mouth, so the tongue has to switch position faster than it wants to.

• Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
• Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.
• Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. If Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.
• Truly rural.

Silly images make twisters easier to remember and much funnier to fumble. Use these for party games, icebreakers, or a light warm-up before recording.

• 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.
• I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.
• Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
• A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.

Short, friendly twisters with simple vocabulary. They're good for building clear speech, reading fluency, and confidence, and they make children laugh while they practise.

• 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 Peter Piper picked?
• She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
• 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.
• I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

Short doesn't mean easy. Most of these one-liners become nearly impossible on the third or fourth repetition, which makes them ideal speed drills.

• Red lorry, yellow lorry.
• Unique New York, you know you need unique New York.
• Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat.
• Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.

Actors and voice actors use articulation drills to wake up the lips, tongue, and jaw before a performance or session. This set covers the classic warm-ups plus targeted drills for crisp consonants.

• 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 Peter Piper picked?
• She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
• Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
• Red lorry, yellow lorry.

R and L are both made with the tongue, but in different ways. L touches the ridge behind your top teeth; R doesn't touch anything. Switching between them quickly is a classic articulation challenge.

• Red lorry, yellow lorry.
• Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.
• Truly rural.
• Red leather, yellow leather.

S and SH use nearly the same tongue position, which is exactly why they are so easy to mix up. These twisters train the small switch between the two.

• She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
• Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.
• Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
• I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.

English has two TH sounds: the breathy one in "think" and the buzzing one in "this". Both need the tongue lightly between the teeth, which many speakers replace with F, T, or D under pressure.

• Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. If Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.
• Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
• Three free throws.
• The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

P and B are plosives: both stop the air with your lips and release it in a burst. P is voiceless and B is voiced. Voice actors also practise them to control microphone pops.

• 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 Peter Piper picked?
• Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
• Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
• A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.

K and G are made by lifting the back of the tongue against the soft palate. They're easy to blur at speed, especially next to T and D, which are made at the front.

• A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.
• Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
• Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.
• Gig whip, gig whip, gig whip.

Frequently asked questions

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