Tongue twisters that will make you laugh out loud! Super funny
Tongue twisters used for play and articulation practice.
Whether you’re just having fun or trying to improve your diction, you might as well enjoy it! In this article, we’ll introduce tongue twisters that make wordplay fun and interesting.
We’ve gathered tongue twisters that let you feel the charm of language—some with delightful word sequences that make you want to say them out loud, and others that are amusing even if you don’t quite understand the meaning.
They can also be used for children’s play or oral exercises for older adults, so please use them as a reference!
- Challenging tongue twisters: Introducing high-difficulty phrases and sentences!
- [Recreation] Challenge! A roundup of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students
- [Diction Training] A Collection of Tongue Twisters to Improve Articulation
- Nagoya dialect tongue twisters are exquisite! A fun collection where your tongue gets tied in knots with regional dialects
- Witty quotes that make you chuckle without thinking
- “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
- [For Seniors] Boost Oral Function with Tongue Twisters! Recommended Picks to Try
- The magical power of words that make people laugh! A collection of quotes that lighten the heart
- Challenge together! A roundup of word games for adults
- [Trick Quiz] Quiz Questions That Excite Everyone from Kids to Adults
- [Rec] Interesting! A roundup of wordplay games
- A collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration.
Japanese tongue twisters that are hard to read and difficult to understand (1–10)
export car export hot water export vinegar
The word “export,” which also comes up in social studies class, is hard to say even on its own, isn’t it? The repeated “yushutsu” is what raises the difficulty of this tongue twister.
Many people find they stumble or have trouble pronouncing it partway through.
While many tongue twisters are on the longer side, this one is relatively short.
Still, despite its length, it’s quite challenging.
It might be easier to read if you break it into words like “export car,” “export hot water,” and “export vinegar.”
The director of the Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau suddenly rejected the approval today.
Speaking of tongue twisters, “Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau” (Tokyo Tokkyo Kyoka-kyoku) is a famously tricky phrase.
Here’s an extended version of that tongue twister: add “Kyokuchō kyō kyūkyo kyoka kyakka” (“The bureau chief suddenly rejected the approval today”).
With the repeated ‘kyo’ and ‘kya’ sounds, you really have to move your mouth smoothly or it’s hard to say.
It might get easier if you first understand the meaning—that the bureau chief suddenly rejected the approval today.
By the way, the “Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau” is not a real government office.
To obtain industrial property rights, you submit application documents to the Japan Patent Office located in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo.
Please buy me a KitKat.
There’s a famous Hakata-dialect tongue twister.
It goes: “You said, ‘Why didn’t you buy a KitKat when I told you to buy one?’ so I had to go buy a KitKat, but I forgot to buy it, and now I have to go out to the store again, which is such a hassle.” It’s quite long, so even just reading it is tough.
In short, it’s saying, “I wanted you to have bought a KitKat in advance, but since you said you forgot to buy it, I have to go buy it now—what a pain.”
General Secretary Gorbachev’s child, child General Secretary Gorbachev
This is a tongue twister that mainly uses General Secretary Gorbachev’s name.
Some people might not know him.
General Secretary Gorbachev was a Russian politician active from the 1970s to the early 2010s.
His full name is Mikhail Gorbachev.
A funny point in the tongue twister is that his child is referred to as “Little General Secretary Gorbachev.” Try it while paying attention to the pronunciation of “cho” and “sho.” By the way, he had a daughter named Irina.
Japanese Difficult and Hard-to-Read Tongue Twisters (11–20)
You request a yo-yo as a method to prevent becoming frail.
For those who struggle with the pronunciation of “yo,” this tongue twister might be a real hurdle: “A request for a yo-yo as a way to prevent becoming feeble.” Is someone asking for a yo-yo to prevent aging? Looking at the whole tongue twister, “yo” appears six times, and “yobo” appears four times.
Fortunately, there are no small characters (ゃゅょ), so just focus on the voiced sounds and give it a try.
Try saying it with an emphasis on the “bo.” By the way, some say yo-yos are effective for brain training.
Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce Patent Bureau, Bank of Japan Treasury Bureau, Monopoly Patent Authorization Bureau, Tokyo Patent Authorization Bureau
The government offices that appear in the tongue twister sound like they could be real, but they don’t actually exist.
That sense of plausibility may be what gives it a feeling of reality and makes the tongue twister amusing.
When saying this tongue twister, it might help to picture each office in your own way as you speak.
Because consonants in the “k” row repeat, as in Kyokakyoku or Kokkokyoku, it’s said to be effective for improving articulation.
Of course it’s fun as a tongue twister, but it’s also one that professional announcers and voice actors incorporate into their practice.
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone mass decreases and the bones become weak, leading to fractures.
You’ve probably heard of it at least once, right? It’s said to be more common as people get older.
When written in hiragana, you can see it’s “こつそしょうしょう,” where “しょう” repeats and the “そ” makes it tricky to pronounce.
If you stay calm and understand the reading in your head, it may become easier to say.
It’s a short word, but it seems like it could be quite a mouthful.
As for ways to prevent osteoporosis, it appears that appropriate exercise, calcium intake, and getting some sunlight are also beneficial.
On a gas-spraying bus, 100 passengers who often eat persimmons from 100 passenger planes in Massachusetts caused the gas bus to explode.
A tongue-twister so insanely hard that nailing it deserves a standing ovation! This one-liner—“In Massachusetts, 100 passenger planes each carrying 100 persimmon-loving passengers cause a gas-bus explosion”—is a chaotic masterpiece that tests your diction, focus, and sense of humor all at once.
It kicks off with the foreign place name “Massachusetts,” piles on numbers and tricky phrases, and caps it with the classic “gas-bus explosion.” You have to fire through it in one breath, and even if you mess up, it’s guaranteed laughs.
Whether you nail it or fail it, it kills either way—truly top-tier tongue-twister material.
Try it with friends or coworkers and watch the room explode with energy.
Ultimate luxury aircraft at a deserted Kyushu airport
Let me introduce a rising star among fiendishly tricky tongue twisters that you just can’t help but stumble over: “The ultimate luxury aircraft of the vacant Kyushu airport.” With the repeated bursts of ‘kyu,’ ‘ku,’ and ‘kou’ sounds, the faster you go, the more your tongue gets lost.
The ending, especially “ultimate luxury aircraft,” is a notorious pitfall that makes you giggle as your mouth can’t keep up.
It’s addicting because, despite being completely meaningless, it’s the sound alone that makes it so hard to say.
Great for practicing solo or getting a group laughing as you challenge each other.
Perfect for articulation drills and party games alike.
How many times can you say it in a row without tripping up?
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu three Pamyu Pamyu, together Pamyu Pamyu six Pamyu Pamyu.
@winkawauchi♪ Original Song – Demon Monkey Kawachi Denrai – Demon Monkey Kawachi Denrai
“Pamyu-pamyu” starts rampaging in your mouth! This tongue twister—“Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, three pamyu-pamyus.
Altogether, pamyu-pamyu, six pamyu-pamyus.”—is a delightfully tricky classic whose clever rhythm and confusing sound make you burst out laughing.
The phrase “pamyu pamyu” is hard to pronounce to begin with, and repeating it while mixing in numbers scrambles your brain even more.
People inevitably lose track of how many pamyu-pamyus they’ve said—an amusing maze of pronunciation you can truly enjoy.
It’s perfect for parties and icebreakers, precisely because you’ll trip over it even if you try seriously.
If you can rattle it off in good tempo, you’re a bona fide Pamyu-Pamyu master!