Foreign Language Tongue Twisters

German tongue twisters

Esel essen Nesseln nicht, Nesseln essen Esel nicht.

Donkeys don't eat nettles, and nettles don't eat donkeys.

Kluge kleine Katzen kratzen keine Krokodile.

Clever little cats don't scratch crocodiles.

Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische.

The Fischer's son Fritz is fishing for fresh fish.

Mäh'n Äbte Heu? Äbte mäh'n nie Heu. Äbte mäh'n Gras.

Do Abbots mow hay? Abbots never mow hay, they mow grass

Italian tongue twisters

Se l'arcivescovo di Costantinopoli si disarcivescoviscostantinopolizzasse, vi disarcivescoviscostantinopolizzereste voi come si è disarcivescoviscostantinopolizzato l'arcivescovo di Costantinopoli?

If the archibishop of Constantinople debishopconstantinoplized himself, would you debishopconstantinoplize yourselves in the same way as the archibishop of Constantinople debishopconstantinoplized?

Tre tigri contro tre tigri.

Three tigers against three tigers.

Dietro a quel palazzo c'è un povero cane pazzo, date un pezzo di pane a quel povero pazzo cane.

Behind that palace there is a poor mad dog. Give a piece of bread to that poor mad dog.

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

On the bench the goat lives, under the bench the goat dies.

Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento tutti e trentatré trotterellando.

Thirty-three dwellers of Trent came into Trent, all thirty-three trotting and toddling.

Japanese tongue twisters

Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago

Raw wheat, raw rice, raw egg

Buta wa buta no uta o utau.

The pig sings the pig's song.

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.

Portuguese tongue twisters

Um prato de trigo para três tigres.

One dish of wheat to three tigers

Xico xereta chupava chupeta chutou a caixinha puxou a gaveta.

Curious Xico sucked the pacifier, kicked the box pulled the shelf.

Sabia que o sabiá sabia assobiar?

Did you know that the thrush could whistle?

O rato roeu a rolha da garrafa de rum do rei da Rússia.

The rat nibbled the cork of the bottle of rum of the king of Russia.

Três tristes tigres.

Three sad tigers

O doce perguntou pro doce qual doce que era mais doce. O doce respondeu pro doce que o doce mais doce era o doce de batata doce.

The sweet asked the sweet which sweet was sweeter. The sweet answered the sweet that the sweeter sweet was the sweet potato sweet.

O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma.

The rat nibbled the King of Rome's clothes.

Um sábio soube saber que o sabiá sabia assobiar.

A wise man knew to know that a bird knew to whistle.

French tongue twisters

Un chasseur sachant chasser sait chasser sans son chien.

A hunter who knows how to hunt knows how to hunt without his dog.

Les chaussettes de l'archi-duchesses sont-elles sèches, arch-sèches?

Are the archduchess' socks dry, very dry?

Rose Sélavy et moi esquivons les ecchymoses des Esquimaux aux mots exquis.

Rose Sélavy and I tell lies to eskimos in exquisite words.

Si six scies scient six-cent-six scies, ces six-cent-six scies seront sciées.

If six saws saw six hundred six saws, those six hundred six saws will be sawed.

Spanish tongue twisters

El cielo está enladrillado. ¿Quién lo desenladrillará? El desenladrillador que lo desenladrille, ¡buen desenladrillador será!

The sky is full of bricks. Who will put them out now? The "unbricker" who could put them out, will be such a good "unbricker"!

El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Rodríguez se lo ha robado.

Saint Roque's dog has no tail because Ramón Rodríguez has stolen it.

El bebé bebe bebidas.

The baby drinks sodas.

Pedro Pérez Pereira, pobre pintor portugués, pinta preciosos paisajes por poco precio para poder pasar por parís.

Pedro Perez Pereira, poor Portuguese painter, he paints low cost landscapes at low price so he can pass by Paris

Mi mamá me mima mucho.

Mum spoils me a lot.

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.

Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en tres tristes trastos en un trigal

Three sad tigers were eating wheat in three sad (lousy) dishes in a wheat field.