東京特許許可局 (Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku)
Meaning: A machine-gun of 'kyo' / 'kyoku' sounds.
Language: Japanese
Literally: Tokyo Patent Approval Bureau.
Category: Fiendish
Origin: A staple of Japanese twister lists.
More tongue twisters — Fiendish
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- 隣の客はよく柿食う客だ (Tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kuu kyaku da) — A tricky spiral on ka/ki/ku that accelerates as you try to keep the syllables distinct.
- Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril; rápido ruedan los carros sobre los rieles del ferrocarril. — The definitive Spanish rr drill — unrelenting double-r from start to finish.
- Parangaricutirimícuaro — Not a sentence but a single word — a legendary 22-letter pronunciation challenge from a r…
- 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.
- Hinter Hermann Hannes Haus hängen hundert Hemden raus. — A relentless 'h' aspirate drill — every word opens with the same breathy attack.
More Japanese tongue twisters
- 赤パジャマ黄パジャマ茶パジャマ (Aka pajama, ki pajama, cha pajama) — A rapid-fire drill on colour words; the syllable shift from aka/ki/cha trips the tongue b…
- 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.
- なまむぎ なまごめ なまたまご (Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago) — A nimble warm-up for the Japanese 'na / ma / ge' syllables.
From our idioms
- 傍若無人 (Bōjaku-bujin) — Behaving without regard for others' feelings or presence around you.
- 一期一会 (Ichi-go ichi-e) — Treasure each encounter as unique and irreplaceable in life.
- 四面楚歌 (Shimensoka) — Being surrounded by enemies with no hope of escape or support.