![[Recreation] Challenge! A roundup of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/75mtg-447q0/hqdefault.jpg)
[Recreation] Challenge! A roundup of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students
Let’s all have fun and exercise our mouths!
We’ve put together some tongue twisters we definitely want elementary schoolers to try.
When you read them, you might think, “These aren’t hard at all,” but when you actually say them, you end up stumbling… Tongue twisters are such a curious kind of game!
You can compete with friends to see who can say them properly, or challenge yourself with harder ones to test your limits—there are lots of ways to play!
Even if you can’t say them smoothly at first, if you keep at it, your articulation might get better and better!
[Rec] Challenge! A collection of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students (1–10)
When a pig hits a pig
We use the word “buttsu” to mean hitting something, right? There’s a tongue twister that plays on that and the animal “buta” (pig): “Buta ga buta o buttara” (“If a pig hits a pig”).
It’s sad to think about getting hit, but imagining a pig smacking another pig can feel kind of cute.
Anyway, with “bu” and “ta” appearing a total of 29 times, it’s extremely hard to say.
You’ll definitely lose track of what you’re saying midway through.
When writing it down, try adding marks, like highlighting the parts that say “buta,” to make it easier.
I’m Bob.
When we think of tongue twisters, we tend to imagine reading complicated sentences.
But there are some simple tongue twisters, too—like “Boku Bobu.” I’m not sure whether “Bob” is a person’s name or a hairstyle, but either way, it’s very simple.
All you have to do is say it three times, yet it’s surprisingly hard.
The sounds bo and bu get tangled up.
Also, because it seems easy, people try to say it faster, which makes it even harder to pronounce.
First, take a deep breath and give it a try calmly.
A monk skillfully painted a picture of a monk on a folding screen.
People’s strengths and weaknesses vary a lot with the tongue twister “A monk skillfully drew a picture of a monk on a folding screen.” You’ll see when you try saying it: it features many voiced sounds like bo, bi, and zu.
If you’re not bad with voiced consonants, you can say it without much trouble.
The trick is to pronounce the voiced sounds with emphasis.
How about practicing by breaking it into phrases first? By the way, this tongue twister highlights how impressive it is to draw well on a folding screen, which has creases.
The one who leaned bamboo against the bamboo grove is
One tongue twister that’s often cited as particularly difficult is “Takeyabu ni take tatekaketa no wa.” There are two main reasons it’s tricky.
The first is its length: it’s quite a long sentence, so memorizing it is hard to begin with.
The second is the repeated sequence of “take” (bamboo) and “tatekaketa” (propped up).
Each word on its own is easy enough to say, but when they alternate, your brain gets tangled.
Start by preparing a written copy and practice saying it repeatedly.
By the way, a taketakegaki is a fence made of bamboo.
Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau
When you’re getting a bit tired of tongue twisters, try tackling “Tokyo Tokkyo Kyoka-kyoku” (Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau).
It’s said—rumor has it, at least—that this one is even used in announcer recruitment exams, that’s how difficult it is.
To master this tongue twister, you not only need the ability to pronounce “kyo” correctly, but also the reading comprehension to parse a string of consecutive kanji accurately.
That said, you probably won’t be able to read it right off the bat, so start by marking the word boundaries and memorizing it that way.
New Year Chanson Show Featuring All the Up-and-Coming Chanson Singers
One characteristic of tricky tongue twisters is that they include unfamiliar phrases.
With that in mind, let me introduce: “Shinshin Chanson Kashu Sōshutsuen Shinshun Chanson Show.” The especially unfamiliar word is probably “chanson.” Chanson is a style of music with roots in France, and it has a vibe similar to jazz.
This could be a good opportunity to take an interest in chanson.
Another reason it’s considered difficult is that it uses many pronunciations we don’t use often, like “sha,” “shu,” and “sho.”
Plums and peaches are both kinds of peaches.
It’s a rare tongue twister with the same sound repeating.
That’s why, when you see it written as “Sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi,” it’s hard to make sense of it.
In fact, it’s saying that the fruits sumomo (Japanese plum) and momo (peach) are the same kind of fruit.
Keeping that in mind makes it a little easier to say, doesn’t it? By the way, both sumomo and momo belong to the rose family.
So you could even say, “Sumomo mo momo mo, baraka no uchi” (They’re both in the Rosaceae), which might be the more accurate statement.
Be sure to share this fun fact, too!