International Tongue Twister Day – Second Sunday in November

International Tongue Twister Day is a fun and light-hearted observance celebrated annually on the second Sunday in November. The day is dedicated to the art of tongue twisters, which are words or phrases that are difficult to say, especially when spoken quickly and repeatedly.

The origins of International Tongue Twister Day are unknown, but the day encourages people to challenge themselves and others to see who can say the most complicated tongue twisters without stumbling or getting tongue-tied. It’s a great opportunity to have fun with friends and family, and to improve your speaking skills.

To celebrate International Tongue Twister Day, you can challenge yourself to say some of the most popular tongue twisters, such as “She sells seashells by the seashore,” “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck,” and “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” You can also create your own tongue twisters and share them with others on social media using the hashtag #InternationalTongueTwisterDay.

What are tongue twisters called in other parts of the world?

  1. In French, they are called “virelangues” which means “tongue-turners”.
  2. In German, they are called “Zungenbrecher” which means “tongue-breakers”.
  3. In Japanese, they are called “早口言葉” (hayakuchi kotoba) which means “fast-mouth words”.
  4. In Hindi, they are called “जबटवचन” (jabtavachan) which means “jaw declaration”.
  5. In Italian, they are called “scioglilingua” which means “tongue-melters”.
  6. In Spanish, they are called “trabalenguas” which means “work-tongues”.
  7. In Russian, they are called “скороговорки” (skorogovorki) which means “fast-speakers”.
  8. In Mandarin Chinese, they are called “绕口令” (ràokǒulìng) which means “twisted tongue phrases”.
  9. In Turkish, they are called “dil yarası” which means “tongue wound”.

5 Most Popular Tongue Twisters in the world

  1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
  2. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck (https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1996/02/groundhog-day-facts-and-factoids, About 700 pounds.)
  3. She sells seashells by the seashore
  4. I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop
  5. Unique New York, New York’s unique

5 Tongue Twisters In English

  1. Six slimy snails slid slowly down the slimy slope.
  2. Betty bought a bit of bitter butter, but the butter was bitter so Betty bought a better butter to make the bitter butter better.
  3. Eleven elves licked eleven little licorice lollipops.
  4. Fresh fried fish, fish fresh fried, fried fish fresh, fish fried fresh.
  5. Theophilus Thistler, the thistle sifter, sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles thrusting three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.

Looking for more tongue twisters in English? Try these!

5 Tongue Twisters In Hindi

  1. कच्चे पापड़ खाकर, पक्के पापड़ खाये। (Kachhe papad khaakar, pakke papad khaye.)
  2. चार चोर चांटा चक्की चबानी, चक्की पे सोया चम्मच चटाने चला जाता है। (Char chor chaanta chakki chabaani, chakki pe soya chamach chataane chala jaata hai.)
  3. एक राजा की एक रानी ने की इंग्लिश में बातचीत। (Ek raja ki ek rani ne ki English mein baatcheet.)
  4. सारे शहर में शोर है, सुनते ही जाओ। (Saare shehar mein shor hai, sunte hi jaao.)
  5. बेटा जल्दी जल्दी भागा, बहुत झुंड हैं मगर संग में सुख नहीं है। (Beta jaldi jaldi bhaga, bahut jhund hain magar sang mein sukh nahin hai.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Marathi

  1. झोपे झोपात झाले खोपे, तेथे टाकून द्या शोपे। (Jhope jhopaat jhaale khope, tethe taakuun dya shoppe.)
  2. कोंकणाचे कोंबडी, कोंबडी घेतली कोंबडी, कोंबडी लावली कोंबडी, कोंबडी लावली कोंबडी। (Konkaṇache kombadi, kombadi ghetaili kombadi, kombadi lavali kombadi, kombadi lavali kombadi.)
  3. एका एका पेड़ावर एक अंडे, एका एका वाटावर एक बंदे। (Eka eka pedavar ek ande, eka eka vaatavar ek bande.)
  4. बारा बारा माळ्यांची माळी, तेथे आल्या ते उडी जाते। (Baaraa baaraa maalyaanchi maali, tethe aalyaa te udi jaate.)
  5. नाकाचं टोंगा, मुखातलं तोंगा, तीनही तोंग असती, असं माझं विश्वास असतं। (Naakach tonga, mukhaatal tonga, teenhi tonga asati, asa mazha vishwaas asata.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Korean:

  1. 경치 좋은 곳에서 국밥을 먹으려면 고기와 밥을 구입해야 한다. (Gyeongchi joheun goseseo gukbapeul meogeuryeomyeon gogiwa bapeul gugiphaeya handa) – To eat hot rice soup in a beautiful place, you have to buy meat and rice.
  2. 붉은 빛이 들어올 때 불빛도 함께 들어온다. (Bulgeun bichi deureool ttae bulbichdo hamkke deureoonda) – When the red light comes in, the light also comes in together.
  3. 감기 기운이 날 때 감귤과 생강 차를 마셔야 한다. (Gamgi giuni nal ttae gamgyeolgwa saenggang chareul masyeoya handa) – When you feel a cold coming on, you should drink citrus and ginger tea.
  4. 살얼음을 파봐도 파도 끝이 보이지 않는다. (Sareoreumeul pabwado pado kkeuti boiji anhneunda) – Even if you dig through the thick ice, you can’t see the end of the wave.
  5. 빨간 팬티 끈이 밖으로 비치는 복숭아 나무 밑에서 팬티를 세탁하던 피그렛은 팬티를 잃어버렸다. (Ppalgan paenti kkeuni bakkeuro bichineun boksunga namu miteseo paentireul setakhadeon pigureteun paentireul ilheobeoryeotda) – Piglet, who was washing panties under the peach tree where the red panty strings were showing, lost his panties.

5 Tongue Twisters In Tamil:

  1. சுமார் சுருக்கும் சுழன்று சுடுதல் செய்தனர். (Sumaar surukkum suzhandru suduthal seithanar) – Lazy people burn their fingers while heating small amounts.
  2. எரிச்சல் உயிரினும் பின்பறப்பார் எலுமிச்சை. (Erichal uyirinum pinpaarpaar elumichchai) – Even after death, tamarind tree is still standing tall.
  3. கருவாயன் கூர்ந்து கொட்டிய கருப்பு காய்கறிகள் கொஞ்சம் கொடுத்தால் கனமாகும். (Karuvayan koornthu kottiya karuppu kaaykarakal konjam kuduthaal kanamaagum) – Black vegetables become tastier when cooked with a pinch of tamarind.
  4. பொருள் பெருகும் வரை புழுவாய் புரியும் வகை வைத்திருக்கலாம். (Porul perugum varai puluvai puriyum vakai vaithirukkalam) – We can categorize things till we understand them completely.
  5. தங்க கடிந்து நன்கு நடந்துகொண்ட தங்கமும் தங்கப் பிடிக்காத கடலைப் படிக்கும் தங்கையும். (Thanga kadinthu nanku nadandhukonda thangamum thangap pittkaadha kadalaip padikkum thangaiyum) – A sister who reads the golden books while carrying the gold and walking carefully on the sea shore.

5 Tongue Twisters In Indonesian:

  1. Saya sedang makan sate di sini, sambil menyapu serpihan serpihan sate yang sudah jatuh ke tanah. (I’m eating satay here while sweeping up the pieces of satay that have fallen on the ground.)
  2. Suara sapi sapi sapi sapi sedang disiapkan untuk diadu dalam perlombaan suara sapi. (The sounds of cows are being prepared for a cow sound competition.)
  3. Raja raja terdahulu rajin memerintah dengan arif dan bijak. (The past kings ruled diligently with wisdom and insight.)
  4. Ayam aya aya makan ya, atau ayam aya aya aya? (Is it the chicken eating or is it the chicken making noise?)
  5. Rantangnya rentang di dinding, ranting pohon rambutan terentang di udara. (The lunch box is hung on the wall, the branch of the rambutan tree stretches out in the air.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Urdu:

  1. ایک ایک آئینہ دیکھتا ہوں، کس کس کا آئینہ دیکھتا ہوں؟ (Ek ek aaina dekhta hun, kis kis ka aaina dekhta hun?) – I look in each mirror, whose mirror am I looking at?
  2. بیٹھ کر بیٹھک بچہ بیٹھکی بیٹھکی بیٹھکی بیٹھکی بیٹھکی بیٹھکی (Baith kar baithak bacha baithki baithki baithki baithki baithki baithki) – Sitting in the gathering, the child sat still, sitting and sitting and sitting.
  3. کھیتوں کے خوشبو کی خوشبو کو خوشبودار خوشبودار خوشبودار خوشبودار کہتے ہیں۔ (Kheton ke khushbu ki khushbu ko khushbodar khushbodar khushbodar khushbodar kehte hain) – The scent of the fields is called fragrant, fragrant, fragrant, fragrant.
  4. سفر سے سفر کرتے ہوئے صاف صاف باتیں بتائیں (Safar se safar karte hue saaf saaf baatein batayen) – While traveling, tell clear stories.
  5. تنگی تنگی تنگی، تو تنگ نہ ہو، تنگی تنگی تنگی، تو تنگ ہے کہ نہیں۔ (Tangi tangi tangi, tu tang na ho, tangi tangi tangi, tu tang hai ke nahin) – Tight, tight, tight, don’t feel tight, tight, tight, are you tight or not?

5 Tongue Twisters In Chinese:

  1. 小薇喜欢吃糖，把糖放在糖罐里，糖罐里的糖是小薇的糖。 (Xiǎo wēi xǐhuān chī táng, bǎ táng fàng zài táng guàn lǐ, táng guàn lǐ de táng shì xiǎo wēi de táng.) – Xiao Wei likes to eat candy and puts it in a candy jar. The candy in the jar belongs to Xiao Wei.
  2. 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。 (Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.) – Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty.
  3. 高高的高跟鞋，高高的高跟鞋，高高的高跟鞋。 (Gāogāo de gāogēnxié, gāogāo de gāogēnxié, gāogāo de gāogēnxié.) – High heels, high heels, high heels.
  4. 黑化肥发灰会挥发，灰化肥发黑会挥发。 (Hēi huàféi fā huī huì huī fā, huī huàféi fā hēi huì huī fā.) – Black fertilizer turns gray and will volatilize, gray fertilizer turns black and will volatilize.
  5. 一只鱼，两只鱼，红色的鱼，蓝色的鱼，游啊游，乱游啊游。 (Yī zhī yú, liǎng zhī yú, hóngsè de yú, lán sè de yú, yóu ā yóu, luàn yóu ā yóu.) – One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, swim and swim, swim randomly.

5 Tongue Twisters In Japanese:

  1. となりのトトロ、となりのトトロ、となりのトトロ。 (Tonari no Totoro, tonari no Totoro, tonari no Totoro.) – My Neighbor Totoro, my neighbor Totoro, my neighbor Totoro.
  2. 赤巻紙、青巻紙、黄巻紙。 (Akamakigami, aomakigami, kiimakigami.) – Red roll of paper, blue roll of paper, yellow roll of paper.
  3. 唐船島にて候。 (Karafunejima nite sōrō.) – Waiting at Karafune Island.
  4. 田中さんの猫の名前はタマで、タマの鼻は茶色で、茶色のタマの鼻の下には玉がある。 (Tanaka-san no neko no namae wa Tama de, Tama no hana wa chairo de, chairo no Tama no hana no shita ni wa tama ga aru.) – Mr. Tanaka’s cat’s name is Tama, Tama’s nose is brown, and under Tama’s brown nose there is a jewel.
  5. 車庫には車がいっぱい。 (Shako ni wa kuruma ga ippai.) – The garage is full of cars.

5 Tongue Twisters In French:

  1. Les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches ? (Are the socks of the archduchess dry, very dry?)
  2. Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents six scies scient six cent six cyprès. (If six saws saw six cypresses, six hundred and six saws saw six hundred and six cypresses.)
  3. Je veux et j’exige des excuses pour ces six souches de saucissons secs. (I want and demand apologies for these six stumps of dry sausages.)
  4. Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien de chasse. (A hunter who knows how to hunt must know how to hunt without his hunting dog.)
  5. Ces cerises sont si sûres que c’en est un plaisir de les cueillir, de les manger et de les savourer. (These cherries are so safe that it’s a pleasure to pick them, eat them, and savor them.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Spanish:

  1. Tres tristes tigres comen trigo en un trigal. (Three sad tigers eat wheat in a wheat field.)
  2. Pepe Peña pela papa, pita, pelo, pica. (Pepe Peña peels potatoes, whistles, shaves, stings.)
  3. El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado. (San Roque’s dog has no tail because Ramón Ramírez has stolen it.)
  4. Como poco coco como, poco coco compro. (Since I eat little coconut, I buy little coconut.)
  5. La vaca Lola luce una luna violeta. (Lola the cow sports a purple moon.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Tagalog:

  1. Bababa ba? (Will you come down?)
  2. Pitong puting tupa ang pumupwesto sa pader. (Seven white sheep are resting on the wall.)
  3. Isang hakbang papalayo, dalawang hakbang paakyat. (One step away, two steps up.)
  4. Sa loob ng isang lubid na abaka, tatlong talampakan ang haba. (Inside a rope made of abaca, three feet long.)
  5. Babangon ba siya sa gabing ito, o babagsak na lang sa kanyang pagkakahiga? (Will he rise up tonight, or just fall asleep where he lies?)

5 Tongue Twisters In German:

  1. Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische; frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze. (Fisherman Fritz fishes fresh fish; fresh fish are fished by Fisherman Fritz.)
  2. Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid. (Red cabbage remains red cabbage and wedding dress remains wedding dress.)
  3. Zwischen zwei Zwetschgenkernen sitzen zwei Schwalben und schwatzen. (Two swallows sit and chat between two plum pits.)
  4. Bierbrauer Bauer braut braunes Bier, braunes Bier braut Bierbrauer Bauer. (Beer brewer Bauer brews brown beer, brown beer is brewed by beer brewer Bauer.)
  5. Hinter Hermanns Haus hängen hundert Hemden. (A hundred shirts are hanging behind Hermann’s house.)

5 Tongue Twisters In Mandarin Chinese:

  1. 红鲤鱼与绿鲤鱼，谁能告诉我它们有什么区别？(Hóng lǐ yú yǔ lǜ lǐ yú, shuí néng gàosù wǒ tāmen yǒu shénme qūbié?) – Red carp and green carp, who can tell me what the difference is between them?
  2. 李雷和韩梅梅恋爱了，李雷去买了几个梅子呢？(Lǐ léi hé hán méi méi liàn ài le, lǐ léi qù mǎi le jǐ gè méi zǐ ne?) – Li Lei and Han Meimei are in love, how many plum fruits did Li Lei buy?
  3. 爸爸背抱抱爸爸，爸爸不背抱抱爸爸。(Bàba bèi bào bào bàba, bàba bù bèi bào bào bàba.) – Daddy carries and hugs daddy on his back, daddy won’t carry and hug daddy.
  4. 飞机飞得很高，高得飞机看不见。 (Fēijī fēi de hěn gāo, gāo de fēijī kàn bù jiàn.) – The plane is flying so high that it cannot be seen by other planes.
  5. 猩猩心里想吃香蕉，香蕉却不是猩猩的。 (Xīngxing xīnlǐ xiǎng chī xiāngjiāo, xiāngjiāo què bù shì xīngxing de.) – The gorilla wants to eat bananas, but bananas are not for gorillas.

5 Tongue Twisters In Arabic

  1. طار طيري طار، ولا قعد طيري قاعد (Tar tayyari tar, wala ‘a’ad tayyari qa’ad) – My bird flew away, it didn’t stay perched.
  2. على باب القفص قفل قفل، وعلى باب الحجرة حجر حجر (Ala bab al-qafas qifl qifl, wa’ala bab al-hujra hijr hijr) – On the cage door there are locks, and on the room door there are stones.
  3. الصيصان في الصيصانية صايصخوا وصيصوصيصو (Assayassaan fi assayassaani sayisakhwu wa sayisawwisaw) – The chicks in the coop are getting bigger and more lively.
  4. هاشم حلّيم حلّم حلماً حليماً في الحلم حلماً حليماً (Hashim hallim hallam halman halliman fil-hulm halman halliman) – Hashim, the kind one, dreamed a dream in which he was kind.
  5. قلم رصاص، رصاص قلم، رصاص رصاص رصاص (Qalam rasaas, rasaas qalam, rasaas rasaas rasaas) – A pencil, lead, lead pencil, lead, lead, lead.

5 Tongue Twisters In Bengali

  1. রাজু খেলা খেলছে রাজুর খেলা খেলা ভাল না লাগছে (Raju khela khelchhe Rajur khela khela bhalo na lagchhe) – Raju is playing, Raju’s playing is not going well.
  2. মাটির মধ্যে মতি মাখি মাখি (Mati’r moddhe moti makhimakhi) – I’m planting pearls in the soil.
  3. সুদর্শন শান্তিসীল শশি স্বস্তি নিশ্চয় (Sudarshan shantoshil shoshi shosti nishchoy) – Sudarshan is peaceful and content, the rabbit is certainly well.
  4. ছোট ছেলে ছোট ছেলে চাঁদ পাখি চড়বে চোখে দেখবে চোখে পাখি না চড়লে সে চোখে চকচক করবে (Chhoto chele chhoto chele, chand pakhi charbe chokhe dekhebe chokhe, pakhi na charle se chokhe chokchok korbe) – The little boy, the little boy, will see the moon bird flying in his eyes. If the bird doesn’t fly in his eyes, he will blink.
  5. প্রভাতে পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ পখ (Probhate pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh pokh) – In the morning, the sound of birds fluttering.

5 Tongue Twisters In Russian:

  1. Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку (Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku) – Sasha was walking along the highway and eating a dry biscuit.
  2. Стоит сто сорок сороковых сороковка, стоит сороковка сорок сороковых сто (Stoit sto sorok sorokovykh sorokovka, stoit sorokovka sorok sorokovykh sto) – A 140th model car is standing, a 40th model car is standing at the 140th model car.
  3. Карл у Клары украл кораллы, а Клара у Карла украла кларнет (Karl u Klary ukral korally, a Klara u Karla ukrala klarne) – Karl stole corals from Klara, and Klara stole a clarinet from Karl.
  4. Четыре черненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили черными чернилами чертёж (Chetyre chernen’kikh chumazenkikh chertyonka chertili chernymi chernilami chertezh) – Four little dirty imps were drawing a sketch with black ink.
  5. Тридцать три корабля лавировали лавировали да не вылавировали (Tridtsat’ tri korablya lavirovali lavirovali da ne vylavirovali) – Thirty-three ships were tacking, tacking, but didn’t maneuver well enough.

5 Tongue Twisters In Portuguese:

  1. A vaca malhada foi molhada por outra vaca molhada e malhada. (The spotted cow was wet by another wet and spotted cow.)
  2. O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma. (The mouse gnawed the clothes of the king of Rome.)
  3. Atrás da porta torta tem uma porca morta. (Behind the crooked door there’s a dead sow.)
  4. A aranha arranha a rã. A rã arranha a aranha. Nem a aranha arranha a rã, nem a rã arranha a aranha. (The spider scratches the frog. The frog scratches the spider. Neither the spider scratches the frog, nor the frog scratches the spider.)
  5. Sabia que o sabiá sabia assobiar? (Did you know that the sabiá [a type of bird] knew how to whistle?)

5 Tongue Twisters In Punjabi:

  1. ਚਿੱਟੇ ਚੀਨੀ ਚੀਨੀ ਚਮਚੇ ਚਾਰ, ਚਿੱਟੀ ਚੀਨੀ ਚਮਚੀ ਚਮਚੀ ਹੈ ਸਾਰੇ ਚਾਰ। (Chitte cheeni cheeni chamche chaar, chitti cheeni chamchi chamchi hai saare chaar.) – Four white china spoons, the white china spoon is the winner among them all.
  2. ਕਾਗਜ਼ ਕਪੜੇ ਤੇ ਕਲਮ ਲਿਖਦਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਕਲਮ ਤੇ ਕਾਗਜ਼ ਨਹੀਂ ਲਿਖਦਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ। (Kaagaz kapde te kalam likhda janda hai, kalam te kaagaz nahi likhda janda.) – The pen writes on paper and clothes, but the paper cannot write on a pen.
  3. ਪੰਜਾਬ ਪੰਜ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸਰਬਤ ਪਿਆਰਾ। (Punjab panj amrit sarbat pyaara.) – Punjab loves the five nectars (amrit) equally.
  4. ਹਰਿਆਲੀ ਕਿੱਟੇ ਮੁੱਛੜੇ ਖੜੇ ਨੇ, ਪਤਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿਹੜਾ ਮੁੱਛਰਾ ਖਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। (Harialee kitte muchhde khadhe ne, pata nahi kihda muchhra khaanda hai.) – Green caterpillars are standing, no one knows which caterpillar is eating.
  5. ਕੱਚੀਆਂ ਪਕਾਈਆਂ ਪਕਾਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਦਾ ਪਕਾਣਾ ਪਕਾ ਪਕਾ ਪਕਾਏ। (Kacchian pakaiyan pakaana vale da pakana paka paka pakaaye.) – The cooking of the one who cooks raw things is very well-cooked.

5 Tongue Twisters In Turkish:

  1. Çarşıdan alırım, köyüne giderim; köyünden alırım, çarşıma gelirim. (I buy from the market and go to my village; I buy from my village and come to the market.)
  2. Ben bir berber, bir berberin bir berbere vereceği bir berber dükkanı arıyorum. (I am a barber, looking for a barber shop that a barber would give to another barber.)
  3. Kırmızı kapı, mavi çerçeve, turuncu pencere, pembe perde. (Red door, blue frame, orange window, pink curtain.)
  4. Dört dörtlük dilekçe dilekçe dilekçe doldurulur mu? (Can a perfect petition be filled with petitions?)
  5. İki hadım aynı çamaşırcıda çamaşır yıkıyorlarmış. (Two eunuchs were washing clothes in the same laundry.)