English tongue twisters for pronunciation: 41 twisters by sound and difficulty
A tongue twister is a short sentence built to repeat a hard sound, so it is only useful if you choose one for the sound you actually find difficult. Here are 41 English tongue twisters: 32 in 8 groups by sound (TH, R and L, S and SH, P and B, V and W, CH and J, vowels and rhythm), then the classics and the hardest ones, with how to make each sound and a 5-step way to practise.
By The YoFluent teamUpdated 10 min read
On this page
- How to practise a tongue twister (5 steps)
- Which sounds should you practise first?
- 1. TH (/θ/ and /ð/)
- 2. R and L
- 3. S and SH
- 4. P and B
- 5. V and W
- 6. CH, J and SH
- 7. Short “i” and long “ee”
- 8. Rhythm and stress
- Beginner to advanced: which twisters first?
- More classic tongue twisters
- The hardest English tongue twisters, and why they are hard
- After tongue twisters: use the sound in real speech
- FAQ
- Sources
How to practise a tongue twister (5 steps)
- Find the target sound. Read it silently and underline the repeated sound.
- Say the sound alone 10 times, checking your tongue and lips (the notes in each group).
- Say the twister slowly, three times, with every word clear. Exaggerate the target sound.
- Speed up a little only when slow is perfect. If you make a mistake, slow down again.
- Record and compare. Listen back: is the target sound the same every time? Then use the sound in a real sentence.
Which sounds should you practise first?
Different first languages find different sounds difficult. This is a general guide, not a rule for every person. If your language isn’t listed, record yourself and listen for words that sound different from the audio.
| First language | Often hard | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | short “i” vs “ee”, V vs B, “s” + consonant at the start (“school”) | Short i / long ee, V and W |
| Arabic | P vs B, short vowels, “th” (θ) | P and B, TH |
| Hindi and Urdu | V vs W, “th” (θ, ð), T and D | V and W, TH |
| Vietnamese | final consonants (-s, -t, -d), S vs SH, CH vs J | S and SH, CH, J and SH |
| Portuguese | final consonants, “th” (θ), short “i” | TH, short i / long ee |
| Japanese and Korean | R vs L, “th” (θ), V and B | R and L, TH |
| Turkish | W (often said as V), “th” (θ) | V and W, TH |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | final consonants, TH, V vs W | TH, V and W |
1. TH (/θ/ and /ð/)
How to make it: Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth. Blow air for “th” in think, and add your voice for “th” in this. Don’t turn it into s, t, z or d.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Three thin thieves thought thirty thoughts. | /θ/ again and again: tongue out, no s or t. |
| Think about this, that and the other. | Switch between /θ/ (think) and /ð/ (this, that, the). |
| The brothers gather together whether or not the weather is rather bad. | All /ð/: voice on, tongue between the teeth. |
| Thirty-three thrilled thinkers thanked the thoughtful teacher. | Start of the word is /θ/; finish each word. |
2. R and L
How to make it: For L, touch the tip of your tongue just behind your top teeth. For R, pull the tongue back and don’t touch anything: the lips round a little.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Red lorry, yellow lorry. | Alternates R and L. Slow down on “rr” and “ll”. |
| Larry really likes rolling red lollipops. | L, R, L, R: keep each one clear. |
| Right now, Rita’s little brother is reading a long, loud letter. | Different positions: start, middle, end. |
| Lucy looked at the large, round, orange lamp. | L at the start; R in the middle of “large” and “round”. |
3. S and SH
How to make it: For S, the lips are relaxed and air goes between the tongue and the top teeth. For SH, round your lips and pull the tongue back a little.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| She sells seashells by the seashore. | Alternates SH and S. Slow first. |
| Sixty-six sick sheep sit on a ship. | S, SH and a short “i”. Don’t say “sheet” for “ship”. |
| Sherry showed Sam six shiny shoes. | SH at the start of three words. |
| Sam’s short socks shock Sue’s sister. | Mixed S and SH, with a longer vowel in “shock”. |
4. P and B
How to make it: Close your lips, then let air out. For P, add a puff of air (put your hand in front of your mouth). For B, use your voice and no puff.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. | Strong puffs of air on every P. |
| Betty bought a bit of better butter. | Voiced B, with no puff. Keep the lips together first. |
| Big blue bubbles bounce back from the baby’s pink pillow. | Practise B and P in the same phrase. |
| Pretty purple pebbles pop on Bob’s plain porch. | Mix P and B, quickly but clearly. |
5. V and W
How to make it: For V, put your top teeth on your bottom lip and use your voice. For W, round your lips and don’t touch your teeth.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Very vivid vans wove west. | V and W together, with clear lip and teeth positions. |
| We value verses we will visit. | Switch between W and V in each word. |
| Wendy’s wet vest was very warm. | Check each V: teeth on the lip. |
| Vera wondered whether Victor would wait. | V at the start, W in the middle. |
6. CH, J and SH
How to make it: CH is a short, sharp sound (cheese); J is the same with voice (jam); SH is a long sound with no stop (shop).
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Chester chose cheap cheddar cheese. | CH again and again, with a stop at the start. |
| Jolly Jack juggled jam jars in June. | Voiced J, with the tongue behind the teeth. |
| Charlie shared a cheap chocolate chip with Jill. | Mix CH, SH and J. |
| Which chef cheerfully chopped the juicy chicken? | Mix CH and J; “wh” in “which” sounds like W. |
7. Short “i” and long “ee”
How to make it: For the short “i” in ship, relax your mouth and keep it short. For “ee” in sheep, smile a little and hold it longer.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Did Dick eat green beans in a big bin? | Short “i” (did, big, bin) versus long “ee” (eat, green, beans). |
| The sheep slept in the ship’s sheet-covered seats. | Long and short vowels, side by side. |
| Bill will fill the bin with fresh green leaves. | “i” in Bill/will/fill; “ee” in green/leaves. |
| A team of six sheep needs three seats. | Long “ee” in team, sheep, needs, three, seats; short “i” in six. |
8. Rhythm and stress
How to make it: English stresses the important words and shortens the rest. Say the stressed words (in capitals) louder and longer.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| How much WOOD would a WOODchuck CHUCK if a WOODchuck could CHUCK WOOD? | The capital letters are the stressed words. Keep a steady beat. |
| Betty BOTter BOUGHT some BUTter, but she SAID the BUTter’s BITter. | Stress every second beat; “some”, “the” and “she” are weak. |
| I SCREAM, you SCREAM, we ALL scream for ICE cream. | Stress “scream” and “ice”: a steady beat, not a flat voice. |
| Eleven benevolent elephants. | Stress comes on the second syllable of “eleven” and “benevolent”. |
Beginner to advanced: which twisters first?
Difficulty depends on how many different but similar sounds sit close together, not on length. Start with one repeated sound and finish with twisters that mix sounds that are easy to confuse.
| Level | Try | Why it is at this level |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Red lorry, yellow lorry. · Chester chose cheap cheddar cheese. · Toy boat. | One or two target sounds, short, easy to restart |
| Intermediate | She sells seashells by the seashore. · Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. · Betty Botter bought some butter. | A target sound repeated in many places, with a competing similar sound |
| Advanced | The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. · Pad kid poured curd pulled cold. | Similar sounds side by side, clusters, and tiny differences between neighbouring words |
More classic tongue twisters
Short classics that every English speaker knows. They are good for warming up.
| Tongue twister | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Toy boat. (say it five times fast) | Short and tricky: “oy” then “b”, repeated. Easy to start, hard to keep clean. |
| Red leather, yellow leather. | R and L again, with a stressed rhythm. |
| Unique New York. | Y, N and the “yoo” sound in a short phrase. |
| Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward. | S and SL clusters at the start of five words. |
| Fresh French fried fly fritters. | F, FR and FL clusters, which are hard to separate. |
| Rubber baby buggy bumpers. | B and the rhythm of unstressed endings. |
A few of the famous ones have a documented history. “She sells seashells” was published in 1850 as a diction exercise, according to Wikipedia, and the term “tongue twister” was first applied to such phrases in 1895. A popular song version followed in 1908 (words by Terry Sullivan). The link often made to the fossil collector Mary Anning is folklore, with no evidence behind it. “Betty Botter” was published in 1899 in Carolyn Wells’s The Jingle Book.
The hardest English tongue twisters, and why they are hard
| Tongue twister | Why it is hard |
|---|---|
| Pad kid poured curd pulled cold. | In 2013 MIT researchers were reported to call this the trickiest tongue twister yet. |
| The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us. | Author William Poundstone called it the most difficult of common English-language tongue twisters. |
| The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. | S, SH and TH close together, with “sixth” ending in a cluster. |
Research on speech errors explains why. In a study cited by Wikipedia, MIT researchers counted 1,620 single-sound errors, and the most common mix-up was “l” replaced by “r”, followed by s/sh, f/p and w/r. Sounds placed close together tend to slide toward each other, and easy, early-learned consonants tend to replace harder ones. So the hardest twisters put similar sounds next to each other in neighbouring words. For you, the hardest twister is the one built on your confusion: R/L for many Japanese and Korean speakers, V/W for many Hindi speakers.
After tongue twisters: use the sound in real speech
Tongue twisters train your mouth, but real conversation uses the sounds in normal words and at normal speed. When a sound is clear in the twister, say five everyday words with it, then a sentence about your day. For the sounds most learners ask about, read our guides to the TH sound, word stress and linking sounds, and see the best apps for English pronunciation.
The next step is feedback. YoFluent’s AI tutor listens as you talk and shows which words were unclear, then you can try again straight away. See how an AI tutor call works.
Frequently asked questions
Do tongue twisters improve pronunciation?
They can, if you choose one for a sound you find difficult and practise slowly. A tongue twister repeats one sound many times, which gives your mouth practice in a short time. They work best with a recording and a model to compare with.
What are the best tongue twisters for English learners?
The best one is the one that repeats your difficult sound. For TH try “Three thin thieves thought thirty thoughts”, for R and L “Red lorry, yellow lorry”, for S and SH “She sells seashells by the seashore”, and for P and B “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”.
How often should I practise tongue twisters?
About 5 minutes a day is enough. Practise one sound for a week, then move to the next. Short daily practice works better than one long session.
Should I say them fast?
Not at first. Say each tongue twister slowly and correctly three times, and speed up only when the sound is right. Practising fast with errors teaches the errors.
Which tongue twister is the hardest in English?
“The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is often called one of the hardest. Hardness depends on your first language, so a twister that is easy for a Spanish speaker may be difficult for a Japanese speaker.
How do I know if I am saying a sound correctly?
Record yourself, play a model next to it, and listen for the difference. A tutor or an AI tutor can also tell you which words were unclear and let you try again immediately.
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- Tongue-twister, Wikipedia