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Japanese Tongue Twisters

A curated set of 5 tongue twisters in Japanese — literal translations, real meanings, and where each one comes from.

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  • なまむぎ なまごめ なまたまご (Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago) — A nimble warm-up for the Japanese 'na / ma / ge' syllables. Literally: Raw wheat, raw rice, raw egg..
  • 東京特許許可局 (Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku) — A machine-gun of 'kyo' / 'kyoku' sounds. Literally: Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau..
  • 赤パジャマ黄パジャマ茶パジャマ (Aka pajama, ki pajama, cha pajama) — A rapid-fire drill on colour words; the syllable shift from aka/ki/cha trips the tongue beautifully. Literally: Red pajamas, yellow pajamas, brown pajamas..
  • 坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた (Bōzu ga byōbu ni jōzu ni bōzu no e o kaita) — A sustained 'b' and long-vowel drill — bōzu/byōbu/jōzu demand precise mouth control. Literally: The monk skillfully painted a picture of a monk on a folding screen..
  • 隣の客はよく柿食う客だ (Tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kuu kyaku da) — A tricky spiral on ka/ki/ku that accelerates as you try to keep the syllables distinct. Literally: The customer next door is a customer who often eats persimmons..

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