Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal.

Meaning: A relentless run on the 'tr' sound.

Literally: Three sad tigers swallowed wheat in a wheatfield.

Origin: The Spanish-speaking world's signature twister.

More Spanish tongue twisters

El cielo está enladrillado, ¿quién lo desenladrillará? A brutal test of the rolled 'r' and 'l'.
Como poco coco como, poco coco compro. A bouncy 'co' drill — the word order and meaning flip with each repetition.
Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico. ¿Con qué pico pica papas Pepe Pecas? A bouncy 'p' cluster that accelerates with the question at the end.
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…
Pablito clavó un clavito, ¿qué clavito clavó Pablito? A bouncy drill on the 'cl' cluster.

Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.

Estrenar The specific pleasure of wearing, using, or showing off something brand new for the very…
Friolero A person who feels the cold far more than everyone else — always the first to reach for a…
Empalagar To be overwhelmed by something so sweet it turns sickly — used of food, and of people who…

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