A collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration.
Among tongue twisters that test articulation and smooth delivery, we’ll highlight and introduce longer ones.
The connections between words and the rhythm of the sentences add a level of difficulty unique to longer passages.
By repeatedly challenging yourself with hard-to-read text, your articulation will gradually improve, leading to clearer speech and smoother everyday conversation.
The key is to aim for clear, easy-to-understand pronunciation—like a news announcer reading the news.
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A collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration. (1–10)
On the cherry-blossom mountain where sakura bloom, there are blossoms that open and blossoms that fall.
This is a long tongue twister themed around cherry blossoms that makes it easy to picture the scene.
The key point is to read the first phrase, “桜花,” not as “ouka,” but as “sakurabana,” which makes “sakura” appear three times in a row and creates a rhythm! Once you’ve read up to this point in one go, take a breath and connect it to the next phrase.
As long as you clear the first phrase, the rest isn’t difficult, so it’s also recommended for beginners at tongue twisters! If you’re concerned about articulation or want to aim for smooth delivery, please use this as a reference.
A singer comes and tells me to sing, but if I were as good at singing as a singer, I would sing; since I’m not as good at singing as a singer, I won’t sing.
It’s a long tongue twister with unique content that will make you chuckle.
Since this tongue twister is divided by punctuation, it should be easy to memorize even for beginners or those who aren’t good at tongue twisters.
It’s best to start by practicing one phrase at a time.
If it’s hard, feel free to break it down even further.
It’s also easier to remember if you think about the meaning as you go.
You can use it for articulation practice, or try it together with friends and family and have fun with it!
Got beans from Mama Mame-Mame and Mama; covered in beans; struggling with Mama-mama
It’s a unique tongue twister crammed full of words starting with the “ma” sound.
It’s great not only for practicing announcements and narration, but also as a fun bit to enjoy with friends and family.
First, try breaking it into a few phrases to better grasp the meaning.
Also, since the kanji for “mame” (beans) feels stiff, writing it in hiragana can make it easier to take in visually.
Words in the “ma” row can be hard to pronounce, so with repeated practice you’ll be able to say them smoothly!
Collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration. (11–20)
A customer eats persimmons and a courier eats persimmons; when the courier eats persimmons, the customer also eats persimmons. Both the customer and the courier are good at eating persimmons, customer-courier.
A tongue twister that depicts a customer and an express messenger taking turns trying to eat persimmons—the similarity in the pronunciation of “kyaku” (customer) and “hikyaku” (express messenger) is a tricky point, too.
It’s a tongue twister that trains proper K-row pronunciation, and clearly articulating tongue movement and plosive release leads to smooth, easy-to-understand speech.
You place the back of the tongue up and then release the air in a burst from that position; in sequences of repeated sounds, fine tongue movements and controlled airflow are crucial.
Also, since the K-row syllable “ki”—whose airflow release is particularly difficult—appears frequently, repeated practice can help strengthen the tongue and throat muscles involved in articulation.
Since I couldn’t tell whether it was a mule or a donkey, I compared the mule and the donkey, but I still couldn’t tell whether it was a donkey or a mule.
Some people might give up reading it at first glance because it looks so long, but this tongue twister isn’t that hard once you understand what it means! It’s about not being able to tell whether it’s a mule or a donkey just by looking, so you compare them—but still can’t figure it out.
Once you grasp that meaning and try saying it out loud, you may find it surprisingly easy to read! Just note there are tricks where the order of “mule” and “donkey” is swapped, so get past that and read it rhythmically!
On the red wall over there, a red frog scrapes its way up—three scrapes up.
Among long tongue twisters, this one is for beginners.
First, break it down by phrases and memorize them, then try reading it all at once! “Aka-kabe” (red wall) and “aka-gaeru” (red frog) might be tricky to pronounce, but they’re great for practicing articulation, so give it a try.
It also helps to picture a red frog climbing up a wall—good visualization! Instead of just once, try repeating it 3, 5, 7, or 10 times, leveling up as you go, and practice until you can say it smoothly without stumbling.
House’s andon, maru-andon; next door’s andon, maru-andon; over there’s andon, maru-andon—put the three together and it’s three maru maru-andon.
Because it contains the unfamiliar word andon, this tongue twister may seem difficult at first, but its steady, pleasing rhythm makes it catchy and easy to memorize, almost like a rap.
An andon is a type of lighting fixture dating back to the Edo period; it sometimes appears in period dramas, so some of you may already know it.
Since this tongue twister mentions andon repeatedly, it may become easier to read if you speak it aloud while picturing the scene in your mind.
It’s a bit long, but give it a try!