Tongue twisterWarm-up
Russian
RussianНа дворе трава, на траве дрова. (Na dvore trava, na trave drova.)
Meaning: A short but nasty 'tr/dr' blend — the consonant clusters that trip up every learner of Russian.
Literally: In the yard there is grass; on the grass there is firewood.
Origin: Russia's gentlest tongue twister and one of the first taught to children.
More Russian tongue twisters
- Шла Саша по шоссе и сосала сушку. (Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku.) A merciless 'sh/s/ss' collision — Sasha walking, sucking, and all those sibilants.
- Карл у Клары украл кораллы, Клара у Карла украла кларнет. (Karl u Klary ukral korally, Klara u Karla ukrala klarnet.) A 'kl/kr/r' drama — crime, countercrimes, and consonant clusters all at once.
- Корабли лавировали, лавировали, да не вылавировали. (Korabli lavirovali, lavirovali, da ne vylavirovali.) One verb, three inflections, pure 'lav/vir' torture — the word grows with every repetitio…
- Ехал Грека через реку, видит Грека — в реке рак. (Yekhal Greka cherez reku, vidit Greka — v reke rak.) A rolling 'r/k' drill where Greka, reku and rak keep trading the same two consonants.
- От топота копыт пыль по полю летит. (Ot topota kopyt pyl po polyu letit.) A 'p/t' hammering that imitates the hoofbeats it describes.
- Четыре чёрненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили чёрными чернилами чертёж. (Chetyre chyornenkikh chumazenkikh chertyonka chertili chyornymi chernilami chertyozh.) Seven consecutive words built on 'ch' — Russian's ч in every stressed position with barel…
Explore another collection: Idioms
Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.
- наступить дважды на одни и те же грабли (nastupitʹ dvazhdy na odni i te zhe grabli) To repeat the same mistake or fall into the same trap a second time.
- ежовые рукавицы (ezhovye rukavitsy) Harsh, strict, or iron-fisted rule or discipline.
- козырная карта (kozyrnaya karta) A decisive advantage or secret resource held in reserve.
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