A Tongue Twister Challenge Participated By 40+ Countries (With Audios)

Doing Tongue Twister is always fun. If you don’t know what Tongue Twister is, it is basically a phrase that is designed to be difficult to enunciate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken word game. Many tongue-twisters use a combination of alliteration and rhyme. They have two or more sequences of sounds that require repositioning the tongue between syllables, then the same sounds are repeated in a different sequence.

These kinds of phrases come in different languages, too. That’s why I created a challenge of tongue twister for participating countries to showcase their own. See challenge below:

CHALLENGE OF THE DAY

Let’s get your tongue twisted today! Yep – it’s a tongue twister challenge! The cool thing is you have to pick your own tongue twister BUT it should be a “known tongue twister” from your country and should be in your native language. In addition, try not to pick an easy one! 🙂

Here are the steps to follow:

📱Send the written version of your chosen tongue twister. Romanized version is preferred.
(Please also include English translation.)

🎙Record an audio with the following:
1. State your name, country, and native language.
2. Take a deep breath.
3. Start the tongue twister. If your tongue twister is too short, try repeating it over and over. 30-45 overall time is preferred.

A Kiwi man after his tongue twister challenge

With 40+ nationalities participating in this challenge, here is how each one perform their tongue twister in their own language. So get your earphones ready!

And let us know in the comment section below if they did a good job!

  • Angola 🇦🇴
  • Native Language: Portuguese

O tempo perguntou ao tempo quanto tempo o tempo tem, o tempo respondeu ao tempo que o tempo tem o tempo que o tempo tem.

(The time asked to the time how many time the time has, the time answered the time that the time has the time that the time has.)

  • Argentina 🇦🇷
  • Native Language: Spanish

Tres tristes tigres tragan trigo en un trigal.

(Three sad tigers swallow wheat in a wheat field.)

  • Australia 🇦🇺
  • Native Language: English

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

  • Brazil 🇧🇷
  • Native Language: Portuguese

Um ninho de mafagafos
Tinha sete mafagafinhos
Quem desmafagafar o ninho de mafagafos
Bom desmafagafador será.

(A nest of mafagafos
I had seven mafagafos
Who unhook the nest of mafagafos
Good desmafagafador will be)

  • Burundi 🇧🇮
  • Native Language: Kirundi / Kinyamulenge

Isazi ishotse icitse ishara.

(The fly drinks water with a broken garlic)

  • Chile 🇨🇱
  • Native Language: Spanish

Mírame sin mirar, Myriam,
mírame mientras me muevo;
no me mires Myriam mía,
no me mires que me muero.

(Look at me without looking, Myriam,
look at me while I move;
don’t look at me, my Myriam,
Don’t look at me because I die.)

  • China 🇨🇳
  • Native Language: Chinese

dǎ nán biān lái le gè yǎ bɑ, yāo lǐ bié le gè lǎ bɑ;
dǎ běi biān lái le gè lǎ mɑ, shǒu lǐ tí le gè tǎ mɑ.
tí zhe tǎ mɑ de lǎ mɑ yào ná tǎ mɑ huàn bié zhe lǎ bɑ de yǎ bɑ de lǎ bɑ;
bié zhe lǎ bɑ de yǎ bɑ bù yuàn ná lǎ bɑ huàn tí zhe tǎ mɑ de lǎ mɑ de tǎ mɑ.

(From the north comes a mute, carrying a trumpet at his waist.
From the south comes a monk, holding a fish in his hand.
The monk who is holding a fish wants to trade his fish for a trumpet with the mute who is carrying a trumpet.
The mute who is carrying a trumpet doesn’t want to trade his trumpet with the monk who is holding the fish.)

  • Czech Republic 🇨🇿
  • Native Language: Czech

Třistatřicettři stříbrných stříkaček stříkalo přes třistatřicettři stříbrných střech.

(Three hundred thirty three of silver syringes sprayed over three hundred and thirty-three silver roofs.)

  • Denmark 🇩🇰
  • Native Language: Danish

Rød grød med fløde.

(Red porrige with cream.)

  • Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
  • Native Language: Spanish

Yo tengo una gata etica peletica pelin plampletica pelada peluda pelin plampluda que tiene gatitos eticos peleticos pelados peludos pelin plampludos si la gata no fuera etica peletica pelada peluda pelin plampluda los gatitos no fueran eticos peletico pelados peludos pelin plamludos.

  • England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
  • Native Language:English

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit;
and on the slitted sheet I sit.

  • France 🇫🇷
  • Native Language: French

Later.

  • Germany 🇩🇪
  • Native Language: German

Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.

(Red cabbage stays red cabbage and a wedding dress stays a wedding dress)

  • Greece 🇬🇷
  • Native Language: Greek

O papas o paches efage pachea fake, geate papa pache efages pachea fake?

(The thick priest ate thick lentils, why did you thick priest eat thick lendils?)

  • Hungary 🇭🇺
  • Native Language: Hungarian

Nem minden szarka farka tarka, csak a tarka farkú szarka farka tarka.

(Not every magpie’s tail is gaudy, just the gaudy tailed magpie’s tail is gaudy.)

  • India 🇮🇳
  • Native Language: Hindi

Later.

  • Indonesia 🇮🇩
  • Native Language: Indonesian

Kuku kaki kakak kakak ku kayak kuku kaki kakek kakek ku.

(My brother’s toenails are like my grandfather’s toenails.)

  • Iran 🇮🇷
  • Native Language: Farsi

Afsare Arshade Arteshe Otrish.

(Austrian Army Chief Officer.)

  • Italy 🇮🇹
  • Native Language: Italian

Sopra la campa la capra campa, sotto la campa la capra crepa.

(Over the bench the goat is alive, under the bench the goat dies.)

  • Japan 🇯🇵
  • Native Language: Japanese

Niwa no niwa ni wa, niwa no niwatori wa niwaka ni wani o tabeta.

(In (Mr) Niwa’s garden, two chickens suddenly ate a crocodile.)

  • Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
  • Native Language: Kazakh

Aq tas aqpa, qara tas aqpa aq tas aqpa, qara tas aqpa aq tas aqpa, qara tas aqpa.

(white white stone or black white  stone, white white stone or black white  stone.)

  • Mexico 🇲🇽
  • Native Language: Spanish

El volcán de parangaricutirimicuaro se quiere desparangaricutirimicuarizar: el que lo desparangaricutirimicuarice un buen desparangaricutirimicuarizador será.

(The parangaricutirimicuaro volcano wants to be unarangaricutirimicazed: the one who unparangaricutirmique will be a great unarangaricutirimicazer.)

  • Netherlands 🇳🇱
  • Native Language: Dutch

Bram de brave broer van breiende brauwende Brielse Brechtje, bracht in zijn bronsbruin broekje een bril en een brandbrief en een gebroken brokje bros bruin brood over de brede brug naar Breukelen.

(Bram the good brother of knitting braving Brielse Brechtje, brought in his bronze-brown pants glasses and a fire letter and a broken lump of brittle brown bread over the wide bridge to Breukelen.)

  • Peru 🇵🇪
  • Native Language: Spanish / Quechua

Me han dicho un dicho que han dicho que he dicho yo.
Ese dicho está mal dicho; si lo hubiera dicho yo,
estaría mejor dicho que el dicho que han dicho que he dicho yo.

(I’ve heard a quote which they say I said.
That quote is misquoted; if I had said it,
it would be better said than the quote which they say I said.)

  • Philippines 🇵🇭
  • Native Language: Filipino

“Minekaniko nang mekaniko ni Monico ang makina nang Minica ni Monica.”

(Monico’s mechanic mechanically fixed the Minica of Monica.)

  • Poland 🇵🇱
  • Native Language: Polish

W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie i Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie.

(In [the town of] Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reed, for which Szczebrzeszyn is famous.)

  • Russia 🇷🇺
  • Native Language: Russian

Karl u Klary ukral korally, a Klara u Karla ukrala klarinet.

(Carl stole corals from Clara, and Clara stole a clarinet from Carl.)

  • South Africa 🇿🇦
  • Native Language: Afrikaans

Later.

  • South Korea 🇰🇷
  • Native Language: Korean

Ne-ga geu-rin gi-rin geu-ri-meun mot geu-rin gi-rin geu-ri-mi-go nae-ga geu-rin gi-rin geu-ri-meun jal geu-rin gi-rin geu-ri-mi-da.

(The drawing of a giraffe that you drew is a poorly drawn drawing of a giraffe, and the drawing of a giraffe that I drew is a well-drawn drawing of a giraffe.)

  • Tanzania 🇹🇿
  • Native Language: Swahili

Katibu Kata wa Kata ya Mkata amekataa katakata kukata miti katika kata ya Mkata.

(The chief of Mkata district has forbidden the cutting of trees in the Mkapa district.)

  • Thailand 🇹🇭
  • Native Language: Thai

Chao fad pud fug yen gin fug pud yay gin lum yai nam lai yai lai yoi.

(Eat Pud Fug (thai food) in the morning, and eat Fug Pud in the afternoon also, and Grandma is eating Lumyai (a thai fruit) and she is drooling.)

  • Turkey 🇹🇷
  • Native Language: Turkish

Bir berber bir berbere gel beraber bir berber dükkanı açalım demiş.

(It was said, one barber called another barber to open up new hairdresser.)

  • United States 🇺🇸
  • Native Language: English

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are sea-shells, I’m sure.
For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore
Then I’m sure she sells sea-shore shells.

  • Vietnam 🇻🇳
  • Native Language: Vietnamese

Luộc hột vịt lộn, luộc lộn hột vịt lạc, ăn lộn hột vịt lạc, luộc lại hột vịt lộn, lại lộn hột vịt lạc.

(Boiling the balut (a duck egg), boiled the wrong eggs, ate the wrong eggs, boiling the balut one more time, boil the wrong eggs again.)

So there you have it!

Did you learn something today? If you haven’t join us yet, feel free to register to ConnectPals for free and be part of our growing Language Exchange community.

Anyhow, what Language Exchange Challenge do you want us to do next? Feel free to leave a reply in the comment section below!

UPDATE: Comments are disabled at this moment but do contact @connectpals if you have something to say. =)

Contributed by Dan

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Ksenia

    Thanks. It a funny and easy way to improve the own pronunciation.?
    Will be great to collect some examples of proverbs and common saying in different languages ( saying break a leg we wishe someone a good luck)

  2. ConnectPals

    Glad you liked it!
    We’ll definitely consider your suggestions:)

Comments are closed.