Ten tongue twisters to practise your pronunciation in English.
English tongue twisters are a handy and funny way to practise and improve your pronunciation of English. They help you practise tricky phonemes and words. They also help you with intonation. Saying tongue-twisters can augment your confidence and prove to yourself that you can speak fluently.
We've selected a list of the most popular English tongue twisters. Read the tongue twisters out loud. First slowly, so you understand what you are saying. Then try saying it faster without hesitation. Then faster still - as fast as you can!
Can you pronounce them without hesitation?
1. Practice the w sound, the ch sound and the vowel sound in “could,” “wood” and “would.”
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
- How much ground would a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground? A groundhog would hog all the ground he could hog, if a groundhog could hog ground.
That is the American English version of this popular tongue twister. If you prefer to practise the British English version instead, give this one a go:
- How much wood would a woodpecker peck if a woodpecker could peck wood?
2. Practice the p and k sounds
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppersA peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
3. Practice the s sound and the sh sound.
- She saw Sharif's shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure those were Sharif's shoes she saw?
- She sells seashells on the seashore.
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.
And if she sells seashells on the seashore,
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.
4. Practice the b sound, but also the t and r sounds.
Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
5. Practice the the t and tw sounds
The two Tibble twins tied tiny twineto twelve teachers’ tipping trek tents.
6. Practice the consonant cluster 'fl'
A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
7. Practice the c sound
- Can you can a canned can into an un-canned can like a canner can can a canned can into an un-canned can?
- If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
8. Practice the th sound
- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
Tongue twisters are a good exercise to improve your pronunciation. But you will probably notice that some exercises are more challenging than others. identify your challenges and practise on them as much as possible, because those are the English sounds that are the most difficult for you personally.
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