Cherry blossoms bloom on Sakura Mountain: some blossoms are in bloom, and some are falling.
[Tongue Twister Navi] On the cherry-blossom mountain where cherries bloom, some cherry blossoms are blooming and some are falling | Japanese Tongue Twisters | Hayakuchi Kotoba |
Difficult tongue twisters often target sounds that include small ya-row vowels like ‘ryo’ or ‘pyo,’ as well as the na, ma, and ka rows.
Indeed, these sounds are hard to say even in short sequences and are notoriously difficult.
However, there are also challenging tongue twisters that use other sounds.
A representative example is: ‘Sakura saku sakura no yama no ōka; saku sakura ari, chiru sakura ari.’ Because it focuses on the ‘sa’ row, people who struggle with breath control using the teeth may find it particularly hard.
Today’s kyogen performer came from Kyoto today, performs kyogen today, and today returns to their hometown, Kyoto.
[Tongue Twister Navi] Today's kyogen performer came from Kyoto today, performs kyogen today, and returns to their Kyoto hometown today | Japanese Tongue Twisters | Hayakuchi Kotoba |
Common tongue twisters are generally kept fairly short, but when it comes to high-difficulty ones, even just reading them as a sentence can be tough.
One such tongue twister is: “Today’s kyōgen performer came from Kyōto today, performed kyōgen today, and is going back today to his hometown in Kyōto.” It’s a tongue twister that mixes “kyo” sounds with other K-row consonants, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it’s one of the hardest among those that use “kyo.” Give it a try!
Sugamo-Komagome, Komagome-Sugamo, parent duck and duckling, big duck and small duck
[Tongue Twister Navi] Sugamo-Komagome Komagome-Sugamo Parent Duck, Duckling Big Duck, Little Duck | Japanese Tongue Twisters | Hayakuchi Kotoba |
This tongue twister shifts from the names of stations on Tokyo’s Yamanote Line to the names of birds.
Because similar-sounding words come one after another, you may find the words getting swapped without noticing, or end up not even understanding what you’re saying.
Effective strategies include writing the words in kanji instead of relying on your ears, and isolating the tricky parts to practice them repeatedly.
It’s also classic but recommended to start slowly and gradually increase your speed.
As a result of consultations among the instructors for each subject this semester in the Mechanical Department of the Naval Engineering School, the following have been finalized: science, geometry, mechanics, national language, foreign languages, drawing, civics.
There are pronunciations that are hard to say due to cultural backgrounds.
However, there are also large individual differences, and many people may find that words in the “ka” consonant series are easy to pronounce, right? This tongue twister—‘Kaigun Kikan Gakkō Kikaika Konkigakki Gakka Kamoku Kaku Kyōkan Kyōgi no Kekka Kaki no Gotoku Kakutei, Kagaku Kika Gaku Kikaigaku Kokugo Gogaku Gaikokugo Kaiga Kokkasaku’—is a challenge I’d like those who are good with the “ka” sounds to try.
It’s said to be one of the most difficult “ka”-series tongue twisters, and it really makes your mouth snap and pop.
The riddle about bananas is a mysterious riddle and all, but the banana riddle is still a riddle, you know.
A difficult tongue twister, performed and explained by an announcer: “Riddles like banana riddles are puzzling, but the mystery of the banana is still a mystery, you know.”
When many people hear “tongue twisters,” they probably think of ones like “Kaeru pyoko-pyoko” or “Tokyo Tokkyo Kyoka-kyoku.” But if you ask, “So, what’s a really hard tongue twister?” many might think of this one: “Banana no nazo no nazo-nazo nado nazo na no dakeredo, banana no nazo wa mada nazo na no da zo.” What makes this tongue twister so difficult is, above all, the repeated ‘na’ sounds.
With “nazo,” “dazo,” and “nano” all jumbled together, your tongue might go into panic mode! Give it a try!
Frogs hop-hop three hop-hop; together they hop-hop six hop-hop.
[Tongue Twister] Kaeru Pyoko Pyoko [#1]
Among the tongue twisters introduced here, the most popular is “Kaeru pyoko-pyoko 3 pyoko-pyoko, awasete pyoko-pyoko 6 pyoko-pyoko.” Haven’t we all tried it at least once? The tricky part of this tongue twister is definitely the combination of “pyo” and “ko.” The key is whether you can pronounce “pyo” clearly.
By the way, it’s said that any French person can pronounce this tongue twister.
If you have friends who are international students, try tackling it together.
