The Hardest Tongue Twister in English Is...

Young girl covering her mouth as she laughs — You'll crack up too when you try to say some of these out loud! Jose Luis Pelaez Inc / Getty Images

Tongue twisters are those delightfully tricky phrases or verses that are designed to challenge the articulation and coordination of speech. The hardest tongue twister is packed with sequences of similar sounds, particularly consonants, that are super tricky to say quickly or repeatedly.

The difficulty arises because these phrases require precise control over vocal muscles, especially those that govern the movement of the tongue.

English tongue twisters, such as "She sells seashells by the seashore," are commonly used to improve pronunciation and elocution. If English is your native language, these challenges serve as a fun and engaging way to sharpen muscular articulation. They can be even more difficult for non-native speakers due to the nuances and specific sounds of the language.

The Hardest Tongue Twister in English

You might be surprised to learn that this short phrase won the title for the most difficult tongue twister in the world:

"Pad kid poured curd pulled cod."

It might not look that tricky at first glance, but in a 2013 study by MIT speech communication scientists, the researchers created this tongue twister, which ended up being the hardest tongue twister for their test subjects to pronounce and repeat.

Even though "Pad kid poured curd pulled cod" looks easy on paper, it can quickly become a string of muddled syllables. This seemingly simple phrase packs a punch with its use of plosive consonants (the "p" and "k" sounds) and vowel transitions.

4 Classic Tongue Twisters

Classic tongue twisters are the original word games that have stood the test of time, delighting language lovers and speech enthusiasts for generations. These playful phrases feature tricky sounds and rapid repetitions that challenge your tongue, vocal muscles and articulation skills.

Such timeless tongue twisters are not only fun to say, they’re also great for improving pronunciation. You're sure to recognize some of these challenging classic tongue twisters.

She sells seashells by the seashore.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A 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?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?

7 Challenging Tongue Twisters

For those looking to really test their vocal skills, challenging tongue twisters push the limits of your tongue’s agility and precision. These phrases feature fast, complex sound combinations that can easily trip you up — perfect for anyone who thinks they've mastered the classics and are ready for the next level.

If you must cross a coarse cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses and bludgeons, balancing them badly.
Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear.
Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.
A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor?

24 Short Tongue Twisters

Short tongue twisters pack a punch in just a few words, offering a quick challenge that’s both fun and effective for improving your speech. Despite their brevity, these bite-sized phrases are still tricky enough to keep your tongue on its toes.

Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents.
An ape hates grape cakes.
Three free throws.
A shapeless sash sags slowly.
Tie twine to three tree twigs.
Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle.
Green glass globes glow greenly.
I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
A happy hippo hopped and hiccuped.
Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.
Six sticky skeletons.
Thirty-three thousand feathers on a thrushes throat.
Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?
Four furious friends fought for the phone.
Double bubble gum, bubbles double.
Smelly shoes and socks shock sisters.
Red lorry, yellow lorry.
If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.
Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
Thirty-three thirsty, thundering thoroughbreds thumped Mr. Thurber on Thursday.
Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
Six Czech cricket critics.

3 Long Tongue Twisters

Long tongue twisters take the challenge up a notch with extended phrases that test both your speed and precision, making them a fun (and often hilarious) way to master complex sounds and improve articulation.

All I want is a proper cup of coffee, made in a proper copper coffee pot. You can believe it or not. But I want a cup of coffee from a proper copper pot. Tin coffee pots or iron coffee pots, they’re not good to me. If I can’t have a proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot, I’ll just have tea. All I want is a proper cup of coffee, made in a proper copper coffee pot. You can believe it or not. But I want a cup of coffee from a proper copper pot.
Betty Botter bought some butter but, said she, 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 bitter batter better. So she bought some better butter, better than the bitter butter, put it in her bitter batter, made her bitter batter better. So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought some better butter.
I’m a mother pheasant plucker; I pluck mother pheasants. I’m the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker to ever pluck a mother pheasant. I’m not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s wife. I’ve been plucking mother pheasants my whole pheasant plucking life. I’m not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate. I’m only plucking pheasants ’cause the pheasant plucker’s late.

3. Silly Tongue Twisters

Funny tongue twisters are a challenge for your tongue and a great source of laughter. Often resembling riddles for kids, these playful phrases combine silly sounds and absurd scenarios that are sure to bring out giggles while you work your way through the tricky tongue gymnastics.

Luke Luck likes lakes. Luke’s duck likes lakes. Luke Luck licks lakes. Luck’s duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes. Luke Luck takes licks in lakes Luke's duck likes.
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.
Birdie birdie in the sky laid a turdie in my eye. If cows could fly I’d have a cow pie in my eye.

Tips to Get Better at Tongue Twisters

The key to mastering tongue twisters is exercising the vocal muscles, particularly the tongue. These muscles need to move quickly and precisely, which is not always intuitive. As you repeat a tongue twister, the brain and the tongue become more adept at handling the intricacies of the sounds, resulting in improved clarity and fluidity of speech over time.

Whether for linguistic training or just for fun, tongue twisters can be an effective tool for developing better control of speech and enhancing communication skills.