Irresistibly tempting to try! Have fun practicing pronunciation with Korean tongue twisters

Cheolsu bookshelf iron bookshelf

If you can say it, you're a genius! Korean tongue twisters

It might be a tongue twister that’s easier to read if you say it in rhythm.

At first glance, some people might feel it’s difficult because the words seem unfamiliar, but if you try reading it with a steady beat and tempo, you may be surprised at how doable it is! In Japanese, it apparently means “Cheolsu’s desk is an iron desk.” Try visualizing it and pronouncing it as if you’re singing along to a rhythm.

The key is the consonant sounds, but since it’s a short tongue twister, many people will probably nail it on the first try! It’s an easy tongue twister you can tackle in spare moments.

Chapsaltteok Seolleung Chob Chapsaltteok

A short and easy challenge! This is a Japanese tongue twister meaning “30 plates of glutinous rice mochi, glutinous rice mochi.” If you can nail the repeated words, you’ll pick it up quickly.

It helps to set your own word breaks and rhythm when you practice.

As tongue twisters go, it’s short and probably low difficulty.

Try competing with friends or family to see who can say it the fastest, and whose speed is the best—it’ll boost motivation.

Give it a try!

Chogijo twintori negatwil twintoringa nega antwil twintoringa

The pronunciation is tough! This is a tongue twister in Japanese meaning, “Is that vaulting box over there the one I will jump over, or the one I won’t?” Since sounds like ‘twin’ or ‘twil’ don’t really exist in Japanese, many people stumble there.

It might be easier to master if you experiment with intonation and decide where to place the stress before you try.

Once you can say it smoothly at speed, show it off to your friends and family!

Peach blossom, apricot blossom, baby azalea blossom

Let’s have fun and give it a try while emphasizing the sokuon (geminate consonants)! It’s a beautiful tongue twister about flowers that means “peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, and azaleas” in Japanese.

If you practice while paying attention to the sokuon that marks word boundaries, you might master it faster than you expect.

The key is not to overthink it and to pronounce it without tension! Since these are names of flowers you can actually see in Japan, using the tongue twister as a starting point to look up what other flower names are called in Korean could also be a great way to learn.

They considered it a tuition fee for education and used the high tuition fee grants.

Voiced sounds and contracted sounds are the key! This is a tongue twister in Japanese meaning “The Koryo High School uniform is a luxury uniform, and Koryo High School’s uniform uses high-end fabric.” Even if you’re confused by unfamiliar pronunciations or words, practicing slowly while understanding each word’s meaning will help you say it smoothly.

Whether you’ve always been interested in Korean or you’re encountering it for the first time, try it while comparing it with the Japanese translation.

As you learn more words, your interest in the country is likely to deepen too!