Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend.

Meaning: A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.

Language: French

Literally: In your tent your aunt is waiting for you.

Category: Warm-up

Origin: A standard French beginner twister for the nasal-vowel distinction.

More tongue twisters — Warm-up

Zehn zahme Ziegen ziehen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. — A sustained 'z' / 'ts' drill — every word starts with the same affricate.
Tigre contro tigre, tigre contro un'altra tigre. — Pure 't/ig/re' drill — short and merciless; the double-g demands a crisp Italian stop.
O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma; a rainha com raiva roeu o resto. — An unstoppable 'r' trill drill — every key word begins or ends with the Portuguese r.
На дворе трава, на траве дрова. (Na dvore trava, na trave drova.) — A short but nasty 'tr/dr' blend — the consonant clusters that trip up every learner of Ru…
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…
De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. — A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.

Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.

Loading the full interactive collection…