Chinese tongue twisters: A collection of rao kou ling helpful for learning Chinese
Chinese sounds like tongue twisters, and my studies just don’t progress easily…
Some of you learning Chinese might be struggling with that, too.
However, to actually move your Chinese studies forward, tongue twisters—called rào kǒu lìng—are very effective.
By practicing tongue twisters, you’ll learn to clearly distinguish and pronounce similar sounds.
So in this article, we’ll introduce a whole range of tongue twisters, from classics to complex ones that are challenging even for native Chinese speakers.
In addition to including pinyin, you can also check the pronunciation by following the Google Translate URLs listed alongside.
Please make good use of them in your Chinese studies.
- [Recreation] Challenge! A roundup of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students
- Challenging tongue twisters: Introducing high-difficulty phrases and sentences!
- [Diction Training] A Collection of Tongue Twisters to Improve Articulation
- “Chau chau, anta” — a Kansai-dialect tongue twister. A phrase only Kansai folks can say.
- Can you say them? A collection of Hakata-dialect tongue twisters
- Nagoya dialect tongue twisters are exquisite! A fun collection where your tongue gets tied in knots with regional dialects
- The world’s toughest! A collection of insanely hard-to-read kanji
- [Interesting] Summary of Kanji Reading Quiz Questions
- Challenge together! A roundup of word games for adults
- A collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration.
- Tongue twisters that will make you laugh out loud! Super funny
- [Lyrics Prank] Confused by LINE that's not the usual!? A roundup of recommended songs
- For exam-takers! A collection of quotes that become profound and interesting once you understand their meaning
Chinese tongue twisters: A collection of useful rao-kou-ling for learning Chinese (11–20)
Tiles beat the horse, the horse tramples the tiles, tiles break the horse, the horse tramples the tiles to pieces.
This is a tongue twister focusing on the third tone, a pronunciation that learners often stumble over at the beginning of studying Chinese.
When translated, it becomes a rather puzzling sentence describing a horse and tiles clashing, but make sure to pay close attention to each character’s pronunciation as you read it aloud.
Most of the characters in the sentence are pronounced in the third tone with the vowel “a,” making it especially recommended for those who struggle with this sound.
Gradually get used to the pronunciation, and aim to maintain accurate tones even as you increase your speed.
Beibei covers herself with a white quilt, and (her) little sister pats Beibei to sleep.
It’s a tongue twister built around repeating the same syllables in Chinese and focusing on the fourth tone in particular.
For example, “贝贝” (bèibei) and “妹妹” (mèimei) share the vowel ‘ei’ and the fourth tone, and the structure highlights differences such as their consonants.
Even when consonants sound similar, subtle factors like how you use your breath differ; mastering these leads to smoother pronunciation.
These small consonant differences become harder as you increase speed, so practice repeatedly.
There are pears on the tree and mud on the ground. The wind blows the pears, the pears fall to the ground, the pears roll in the mud, and the mud sticks to the pears.
This is a tongue twister that strings together similar-sounding words to depict the relationship between pears bearing fruit in the tree and mud spreading across the ground.
The key point is the pronunciation difference between “li” in nashi (pear) and “ni” in doro (mud), and it’s important to focus on which sound you’re producing.
Mouth shape and tongue movement are crucial for distinguishing the words.
Exaggerating your mouth movements and articulating clearly will likely make it easier.
As the sentence progresses, the structure makes the two sounds draw closer together, which conveys the intention of making you more aware of their differences.
Eat grapes without spitting out the skins. Don’t eat grapes yet end up spitting out grape skins.
This is a tongue twister with a hard-to-understand meaning: “Even if you eat grapes, don’t spit out the grape skins; don’t eat grapes until you spit out the grape skins.” The tricky parts are words like “budō” (grapes) and “futo” (not spitting), which become harder to pronounce when different sounds are added before and after them.
Pay attention to how similar sounds use the breath differently.
The overall intonation changes also raise the difficulty, so it’s recommended to break it down into consonants, vowels, and sound changes.
Mr. Ishii eats persimmons. He eats four persimmons a day. In ten days, he eats forty persimmons.
This is a passage depicting a teacher eating persimmons and is a tongue twister characterized by differences in breath use and tones caused by consonant contrasts.
The distinction between “four” and “ten,” and between “si” and “shi,” is a key point, so be mindful of how you use your breath and move your tongue.
また、石（stone）、师/師（teacher）、柿（persimmon）といった文字は、いずれも「shi」と発音されますが、声調が異なるため、本文を音読する際には声調の違いに注意してください。
It’s also recommended to think up sentences that highlight how changes in tone alter meaning.
In conclusion
We’ve introduced a whole collection of tongue twisters that are perfect for practicing Chinese pronunciation. The selection ranges from the classics that always come up when people talk about Chinese tongue twisters to extremely complex ones that make you want to say, “Even natives can’t say this!” To improve your Chinese, start by taking it slow and focus on pronouncing each phrase correctly.