The second Sunday in November is International Tongue Twister Day — a time to celebrate those ridiculous sentences that tie our tongues in knots.
Tongue twisters aren’t just for laughs. They’re powerful tools for improving pronunciation, rhythm, and speech clarity. Think of them as the gym workout for your mouth.
Why Tongue Twisters Help
English pronunciation can feel like a cruel joke at times. Tongue twisters force you to pay attention to tongue placement, lip shape, and sound contrast.
If you practise them regularly, you’ll notice clearer speech, better fluency, and even improved listening skills.
15 Tongue Twisters
Here are 15 classics with notes on which sounds they target and who they challenge most.
She sells seashells by the seashore.
Focus: /s/ vs /sh/. Tricky for: Ukrainian, Spanish, Japanese speakers.
Red lorry, yellow lorry.
Focus: /r/ vs /l/. Tricky for: Japanese, Korean, Chinese speakers.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Focus: /p/. Tricky for: Arabic and Hindi speakers.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Focus: /w/. Tricky for: German, Russian, Turkish speakers.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.
Focus: /f/ vs /w/. Tricky for: Japanese, Arabic speakers.
Unique New York.
Focus: /juː/. Tricky for: Spanish, Italian speakers.
I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.
Focus: /s/ vs /sh/. Tricky for: Ukrainian, Chinese, Portuguese speakers.
A proper copper coffee pot.
Focus: /p/, /k/. Tricky for: French speakers.
Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter’s bitter.
Focus: /b/ and vowel length. Tricky for: Spanish, Italian speakers.
Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
Focus: /sh/ vs /s/. Tricky for: Russian, Chinese speakers.
The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
Focus: /th/. Tricky for: nearly everyone.
Black bug bleeds black blood. Blue bug bleeds blue blood.
Focus: /bl/ clusters. Tricky for: Korean, Japanese speakers.
If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
Focus: /w/ and /ch/. Tricky for: Arabic, Spanish speakers.
Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
Focus: /s/. Tricky for: many Eastern European learners.
Truly rural.
Focus: /r/. Tricky for: Spanish, Italian, Indian speakers.
Final Tip: Practise Slowly, Laugh Often
Start slow. Clarity first, speed later. Record yourself and listen. Every stumble is progress.
Go on — give “Red lorry, yellow lorry” your best shot. If you nail it, treat yourself to a nice cuppa.
Ready to practise this? Book a lesson or see how I teach.