Liesje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan.

Meaning: Eight consecutive l-words, with the vowel behind the l changing every time.

Language: Dutch

Literally: Liesje taught Lotje to walk along the long Linden Lane.

Category: Tricky

Origin: A much-loved Dutch twister; the Lindelaan is a street name common across the Netherlands.

More tongue twisters — Tricky

• 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.
• El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado. — A rolled-'r' workout — every word demands the vibrating trill.

More Dutch tongue twisters

• 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.
• De koetsier poetst de postkoets met postkoetspoets. — Turns on the gap between the Dutch 'oe' and 'o', with a run of 'ts' and 'p' stops layered…
• Wij smachten naar achtentachtig prachtige nachten. — Five words carrying the Dutch guttural 'cht', the sound foreigners find hardest to produc…

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