Perfect for pronunciation practice! A collection of English tongue twisters.
Tongue twisters are used a lot in Japan for fun and for practicing enunciation.
Did you know that these tongue twisters actually exist in English, too?
In English, tongue twisters are called “tongue twisters.”
Tongue twisters are very useful when learning English pronunciation, and they can even help you practice sounds that Japanese speakers often find difficult!
In this article, we’ll introduce English tongue twisters like these.
Even when words sound similar, they often feature subtle differences in how they’re pronounced, so you can study the distinctions between each sound as well.
Be sure to practice and master English pronunciation!
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Perfect for pronunciation practice! A collection of English tongue twisters (1–10)
She sells seashells by the seashore.
This one features lots of “shi”-like sounds.
But don’t pronounce them all the same way.
The sentence means “She sells seashells by the seashore.” For She, shell, and shore, keep your back teeth together and push your lips forward slightly as you make the sound.
In contrast, for sea and sell, place your tongue behind your upper and lower teeth and release a short burst of air.
Saying this quickly and accurately is pretty tough! There’s a longer version of this tongue twister, so once you’ve got this shorter one down, definitely give the long version a try!
Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.
I’d like people who want to get the feel for the “V” sound to give this a try.
“Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently” is a tongue twister meaning “Vincent swore revenge very intensely.” Although it contains many words you don’t often see, what matters is the pronunciation of the “V.” Every word starts with “V,” right? When pronouncing “V,” lightly press your upper front teeth against your lower lip and let the sound vibrate.
Since the “V” sound is one many Japanese speakers struggle with, it’s recommended to practice it repeatedly.
Red leather, yellow leather.
Short but tricky! “Red leather, yellow leather” is a tongue twister meaning “red leather, yellow leather.” Compared to other tongue twisters, it’s shorter, but it packs in words that are hard to pronounce.
First, you’ve got R and L: R is pronounced without the tip of your tongue touching anywhere in your mouth, while L is made by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth.
Then there’s “ther.” For the “th,” lightly place your tongue in the small gap between your slightly parted upper and lower teeth, blow air over it, and pull your tongue back as you voice it.
Since it’s followed by “er,” keep your tongue tip from touching anywhere in your mouth, and you’ll have it perfect!
Perfect for pronunciation practice! A collection of English tongue twisters (11–20)
A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.
This is a tongue twister you can use to practice tongue and lip movements.
“A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule” means “A loyal warrior seldom worries about the reason for ruling.” The key sounds in this tongue twister are L, W, and R.
When pronouncing these consonants, the movements of the tongue and lips are very important.
For L, place the tip of your tongue on your upper palate and release it as you make the sound.
For W, start with pursed lips and quickly change to the mouth shape of the following vowel as you pronounce it.
For R, make sure the tip of your tongue isn’t touching anywhere inside your mouth.
Keep these in mind and practice slowly!
Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
Among English tongue twisters, this one might be quite difficult.
“Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?” is a tongue twister that means “Can you make canned goods like a canner can?” The trick to pronouncing tongue twisters where the word “can” appears repeatedly is to link the final consonant of one word to the vowel of the next word.
For the “can a can” part, connect the “n” and the “a,” pronouncing it like “ca-na can.” This connected pronunciation is called linking.
If you master linking, you’ll be able to speak more naturally, like a native speaker!
Eight apes ate eight apples.
The trick is to open your mouth sideways and really use your jaw when pronouncing it! “Eight apes ate eight apples” is a tongue twister that means “Eight monkeys ate eight apples.” Except for the final word “apples,” all the other words use the /eɪ/ sound.
When you listen, you can hear the repeated “ay” sound.
The key to this tongue twister is to clearly distinguish the sounds of “a” and “e,” and to smoothly connect “eight apes” and “ate eight” as you say them.
If you link them smoothly while paying attention to your mouth shape and movement, you’ll nail it!
Vivian believes violent,violet bugs have very big value.
A tongue twister where distinguishing between B and V is important.
"Vivian believes violent, violet bugs have very big value" は、日本語で「ビビアンは乱暴なスミレ色の虫には大きな価値があると信じている」という意味の早口言葉です。
The letter B is pronounced the same as the Japanese ba-gyo sounds, with the lips closed once before releasing.
V, on the other hand, is a sound that doesn’t exist in Japanese.
To pronounce V, lightly touch your upper front teeth to your lower lip and let the sound vibrate.
If you focus on making a clear difference in your lip movement, you can master the difference between B and V!