Chandu ke chacha ne Chandu ki chachi ko chandi ki chamach se chatni chatayi.
Meaning: A 'ch' symphony from start to finish — Hindi's palatal affricate in every single word.
Language: Hindi
Literally: Chandu's uncle fed Chandu's aunt chutney with a silver spoon.
Category: Fiendish
Origin: Perhaps the most famous Hindi tongue twister; Chandu and family have appeared in Indian school readers for decades.
More tongue twisters — Fiendish
- Sju sjösjuka sjömän skötte sjuttiosju sjösjuka sjölejon på skeppet Shanghai. — An unstoppable 'sj/sk/sh' onslaught — the Swedish sj-sound (a unique voiceless fricative)…
- Appilan pappilan apupapin papupata pankolla kiehuu ja kuohuu. — A relentless 'pap/pap/pu' bilabial drill stacked with Finnish double consonants.
- Setze jutges d'un jutjat mengen fetge d'un penjat. — The famous 'j / tg / tj' test for the voiced sound Spanish lacks — a true Catalan shibbol…
- Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabarbara. — An unbroken 'bar / ara / rab' roll built almost entirely from the same handful of syllabl…
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Четыре чёрненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили чёрными чернилами чертёж. (Chetyre chyornenkikh chumazenkikh chertyonka chertili chyornymi chernilami chertyozh.) — Seven consecutive words built on 'ch' — Russian's ч in every stressed position with barel…
More Hindi tongue twisters
- Khadak Singh ke khadakne se khadakti hain khidkiyan, khidkiyon ke khadakne se khadakte hain Khadak Singh. — A 'kh/kh/kh' recursive loop — each clause triggers the other, like a rattling chain react…
From our idioms
- आ बैल मुझे मार (Ā bail mujhe mār) — To deliberately invite trouble upon yourself.
- नाक में दम करना (naak mein dam karna) — To harass or pester relentlessly.
- नाक रगड़ना (nāk ragaṛnā) — To grovel and beg humbly.