غاب الغيم وغابت غابة الغاب. (Ghāb al-ghaym wa ghābat ghābat al-ghāb.)
Meaning: An unbroken sequence of 'gh' (غ) — a voiced uvular fricative that drills the back of the throat.
Language: Arabic
Literally: The clouds disappeared and the reed-bed forest disappeared.
Category: Fiendish
Origin: Used in Arabic diction training to separate the ghayn (غ) from the kha (خ).
More tongue twisters — Fiendish
- Chandu ke chacha ne Chandu ki chachi ko chandi ki chamach se chatni chatayi. — A 'ch' symphony from start to finish — Hindi's palatal affricate in every single word.
- 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…
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
More Arabic tongue twisters
- 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…
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