With the growing interest in Korean culture, such as K-dramas and K-pop, many people are learning Korean.
In fact, just like the Japanese tongue twister “Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago” (raw wheat, raw rice, raw eggs), Korean also has tongue twisters that are great for pronunciation practice! In this article, we’ll introduce Korean tongue twisters that are easy to try—not only for those learning Korean, but also for anyone who wants to have fun playing with tongue twisters.
They’re perfect both for practicing pronunciation and as a playful word game.
Let’s challenge ourselves with Korean tongue twisters together!
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- Kenta Otani’s original tongue twisters: a collection that’ll have you tripping over words and bursting into laughter
Makes you want to try it! Fun pronunciation practice with Korean tongue twisters (1–10)
Negaglin Killinglimun Mocklin Killinglimigo Negaglin Killinglimun Chalgling Killinglimida
It’s a slightly tricky Korean tongue twister that makes your tongue twist just by saying it out loud.
In Japanese, it means “The giraffe picture I drew is good; yours is bad,” and the comparison of good and bad cleverly turns into a rhythmic pattern of sounds.
If you practice it aloud, you’ll naturally notice differences in Korean pronunciation and accent.
Taking turns saying it with friends lets you memorize the sounds while having a laugh, which is another plus.
I found it to be a slightly mysterious but fun tongue twister that works not only for pronunciation practice, but also as a playful way to enjoy the sound and rhythm of the language.
Is the sharp angle at the top a positive acute angle or a negative acute angle?
It would be amazing to nail it in one go! It seems like a high-difficulty tongue twister packed with geminate consonants.
I’m told it means: “Are the pods spread out on the roof pods from shelled beans, or pods from beans that haven’t been shelled?” Since it includes many sounds that don’t exist in Japanese, it feels like you might stumble even when reading it slowly.
It might help to practice reading it smoothly at a slow pace first, then gradually speed up to get closer to success.
Competing to see who can say it the fastest would probably be a lot of fun too!
Is the police station chief a fake chief or a real chief?
In Japanese, it means “Is the police agency’s iron grating a single grating or a double grating?” Even though the content is serious, the difficulty of saying it makes it fun.
When you practice it out loud, similar sounds occur in succession, so your tongue tends to get twisted, making it perfect for pronunciation and rhythm training.
If you take turns saying it with a friend, you can compete to see who can say it faster and more accurately, so you can get used to Korean sounds while laughing.
It’s a bit difficult, but I thought it was a fun tongue twister that’s worth the challenge.
Shinin Chanson Kasue Shinchuun Chanson Show
There’s a Japanese tongue twister with the same meaning, right? Some of you may have tried the tongue twister “Shinjin chanson kashu shinshun chanson show.” This tongue twister is the Korean version, and when translated into Japanese it means “New Year chanson show by a rookie chanson singer.” The key point is that in Japanese it’s “shinshun,” while in Korean it becomes “sinchun”! It could be fun to try both the Japanese and Korean versions at a drinking party or during a recreational event.
Seoul Special City Dukkeo District Office and District Head Ho Gwa, Division Chief Ho Gwajang
Tongue twisters with lots of small kana, like sokuon and yōon, are inevitably hard to pronounce smoothly.
It seems this one means “Seoul Metropolitan City Patent Permission Section, Permission Section Chief, Section Chief Ho” in Japanese translation.
It’s similar to Japan’s “Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau,” isn’t it? If you managed to say it smoothly on the first try, you might be good at Korean pronunciation.
Why not take the opportunity to actively study languages? It could also be fun to try saying it three times in a row!