De koetsier poetst de postkoets met postkoetspoets.

Meaning: Turns on the gap between the Dutch 'oe' and 'o', with a run of 'ts' and 'p' stops layered on top.

Language: Dutch

Literally: The coachman polishes the mail coach with mail-coach polish.

Category: Tricky

Origin: A classic Dutch tongbreker; the compound postkoetspoets exists purely to make the sentence harder.

More tongue twisters — Tricky

• Liesje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan. — Eight consecutive l-words, with the vowel behind the l changing every time.
• Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
• Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal. — A relentless run on the 'tr' sound.
• Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische, frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz. — The German 'f' / 'sch' staple.
• Sopra la panca la capra campa, sotto la panca la capra crepa. — A beloved 'c' / 'p' rhythm trap.
• 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.

More Dutch tongue twisters

• Wij smachten naar achtentachtig prachtige nachten. — Five words carrying the Dutch guttural 'cht', the sound foreigners find hardest to produc…
• De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. — A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.
• Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. — The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.

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