K and G tongue twisters
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.
Practise these 24 twisters
Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen.
Easy · sounds: k, t · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue for each 'k' and tap the tip for each 't', so kitty, kitten, and kitchen all stay crisp.
Say it 3 times fast
Time three clean repetitions.
Clean repetitions
Aim for 5 in a row without a slip.
Record and listen back
How to practise
- Feel the back of your tongue lift and release on each K and G.
- Keep K crisp and breathy and G voiced. Don't let them merge.
- Alternate front and back sounds slowly (ta-ka-ta-ka) as a warm-up.
All k and g tongue twisters, easiest first
- 1.
Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen.
Easy · sounds: k, t · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue for each 'k' and tap the tip for each 't', so kitty, kitten, and kitchen all stay crisp.
- 2.
Greg's cat gave Kate's goat a grape.
Easy · sounds: g, k, gr · SceneDub original
Both 'k' and 'g' are made with the back of your tongue; let 'k' out with a puff of air and turn your voice on for 'g'.
- 3.
Grandpa's garden grows crisp green cabbages.
Easy · sounds: g, gr, k · SceneDub original
Lift the back of your tongue for every 'g' and 'k', using your voice for the 'g' sounds and a small puff of air for the 'k' in crisp and cabbages.
- 4.
Gus the goose cooks cookies in a cozy kitchen.
Easy · sounds: g, k · SceneDub original
Use your voice for the 'g' in Gus and goose, and a quiet puff of air for the 'k' in cooks, cookies, cozy, and kitchen.
- 5.
A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.
Medium · sounds: p, k, f · traditional
Alternate the lip-closed 'p' and the back-of-tongue 'k' cleanly, especially in copper coffee, where the two sit side by side.
- 6.
Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
Medium · sounds: k, n · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue for each 'k' and keep a steady beat so the repeated cans don't collapse into one long hum.
- 7.
Gig whip, gig whip, gig whip.
Medium · sounds: g, w, p · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue twice for gig, then round your lips for whip and close them firmly on the final 'p'.
- 8.
Green glass globes glow greenly.
Medium · sounds: g, gr, gl · traditional
After each 'g', either pull the tongue back for 'r' or touch the gum ridge for 'l'; that quick switch is the whole challenge.
- 9.
Three grey geese in the green grass grazing. Grey were the geese and green was the grazing.
Medium · sounds: g, gr, th · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue for every 'g' and slide quickly into the 'r' in grey, green, grass, and grazing.
- 10.
Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins.
Medium · sounds: g, b, l · traditional
Lift the back of your tongue for each 'g' and close your lips for each 'b', so gobbling and goblins keep their different middles.
- 11.
Glen's green glove grabbed Gran's glasses.
Medium · sounds: gl, gr, g · SceneDub original
After each 'g', touch the gum ridge for 'gl' and pull the tongue back for 'gr', keeping the 'g' itself short and voiced.
- 12.
Clara's crisp cloth crackles, crumples, and clings.
Medium · sounds: kl, kr, k · SceneDub original
Use the same back-of-tongue 'k' for every word and switch only what follows: tip up for 'cl', tip back for 'cr'.
- 13.
Peg baked Pip a big pepper bagel.
Medium · sounds: p, b, g, k · SceneDub original
Every word pairs a lip sound with a back-of-tongue sound, so keep 'p' and 'k' breathy and 'b' and 'g' voiced as you alternate.
- 14.
Gary's grumpy goat gargled cold cocoa.
Medium · sounds: g, k · SceneDub original
Keep your tongue in the same place and switch only your voice: on for the 'g' in Gary's, grumpy, goat, and gargled, off for the 'k' in cold and cocoa.
- 15.
Kirk's quirky gherkins.
Medium · sounds: k, kw, g · SceneDub original
Release a puff of air for the 'k' in Kirk's and quirky, then voice the 'g' in gherkins without moving your tongue from the same spot.
- 16.
Tilly ticked the tiny tickets; Tommy tucked the tidy tags.
Medium · sounds: t, k, g · SceneDub original
Alternate the tongue tip for 't' with the back of the tongue for 'k' and 'g', keeping each contact quick and light.
- 17.
Patty took a cake to Kate's patio.
Medium · sounds: p, t, k · SceneDub original
This cycles through lips, tongue tip, and back of the tongue ('p', 't', 'k'), so keep each release light and your jaw loose.
- 18.
Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.
Hard · sounds: p, k, d · Created by MIT speech researchers for a 2013 study
The words alternate between a lip 'p' and a back-of-tongue 'k', each ending in 'd', so hold that p-k-p-k pattern steady before you speed up.
- 19.
The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.
Hard · sounds: g, gr · traditional
Go straight from the back-of-tongue 'g' into the 'r' each time, and give great, Greek, and grape their own final 't', 'k', and 'p'.
- 20.
Six Czech cricket critics.
Hard · sounds: s, ks, ch, kr · traditional
Czech starts with a 'ch' sound, so move from the 'ks' of six to that 'ch' and then to two firm 'kr' starts in cricket and critics.
- 21.
Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.
Hard · sounds: kr, sp, sts · traditional
Hit the 'kr' at the start of every word, and don't drop the 'sp' at the end of crisp or the 'sts' at the end of crusts.
- 22.
Cold glue, gold clue, cold clue, gold glue.
Hard · sounds: k, g, kl, gl · SceneDub original
Your tongue does the same thing for 'k' and 'g', so focus on your voice: off for cold and clue, on for gold and glue.
- 23.
Craig's cracked clay crock grew greasy green crusts.
Hard · sounds: kr, kl, gr, g · SceneDub original
Keep the back of your tongue busy for every 'k' and 'g', and make sure clay gets its 'l' while every other word gets an 'r'.
- 24.
Giggling jugglers juggle jiggling jellies.
Hard · sounds: g, j · SceneDub original
Start each 'j' with the front of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and each 'g' with the back of your tongue, so giggling and jiggling stay different.
More tongue twister sets
Warmed up? Put it to work with a free voice acting script or dub a scene online.
Frequently asked questions
What's an easy k and g tongue twister to start with?
Try "Kitty caught the kitten in the kitchen." Say it slowly three times before speeding up.
What's the hardest k and g tongue twister here?
"Pad kid poured curd pulled cod." The words alternate between a lip 'p' and a back-of-tongue 'k', each ending in 'd', so hold that p-k-p-k pattern steady before you speed up.
How many times should I repeat a tongue twister?
Aim for five clean repetitions in a row at a comfortable speed, then three times fast. A few minutes a day is enough for a warm-up; stop if your jaw or voice feels strained.