吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮。(Chī pútao bù tǔ pútao pí, bù chī pútao dào tǔ pútao pí.)
Meaning: A 'pú/tǔ/pí' drill with reversing logic — the negations flip the meaning as the tongue trips.
Language: Mandarin
Literally: Eat grapes without spitting out grape skins; not eating grapes, spit out grape skins.
Category: Tricky
Origin: A classic Mandarin twister that drills bilabial stops and the tonal contrast.
More tongue twisters — Tricky
- Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. — The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.
- 간장 공장 공장장은 장 공장장이고 된장 공장 공장장은 강 공장장이다. (Ganjang gongjang gongjangjang eun Jang gongjangjang igo, doenjang gongjang gongjangjang eun Gang gongjangjang ida.) — A 'gong/jang/gang' syllable storm — the two surnames (Jang/Gang) swap while the rest stay…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? — A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- خالد خلّى خلال خاله في الخلاء. (Khālid khallā khalāl khālih fī al-khalāʾ.) — A rapid-fire 'kh' (خ) drill — the throaty fricative that non-Arabic speakers find uniquel…
- 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…
- Şu çam sakızı çan sakızı olmuş, çan sakızı şan sakızı olmuş. — A 'ş/ç/şan/çan' duel — Turkish's two close sibilants at war with each other.
More Mandarin tongue twisters
- 黑化肥发黑会挥发；灰化肥发灰会挥发。(Hēihuàféi fā hēi huì huīfā; huīhuàféi fā huī huì huīfā.) — A 'hēi/huī/huì/fā' four-tone minefield — the tones alone change every meaning.
- 红鲤鱼与绿鲤鱼与驴 (Hóng lǐyú yǔ lǜ lǐyú yǔ lǘ) — lǐ, lǜ and lǘ differ only by vowel rounding and tone — nine syllables that all collapse t…
- 八百标兵奔北坡，炮兵并排北边跑。(Bābǎi biāobīng bēn běipō, pàobīng bìngpái běibian pǎo.) — A pure b-versus-p drill, separating Mandarin's unaspirated b from its aspirated p.
- 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。(Sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.) — A pure sì/shí tone drill — the two numbers are near-identical and the tones swap each tim…
From our false friends
- Camera — Actually means 'room'. A camera (device) is una macchina fotografica.
- Pretendere — Actually means 'to demand' or 'to expect'. Pretende troppo = He demands too much.
- Parente — Actually means 'relative'. A parent (mother or father) is un genitore.