Japanese tongue twisters (早口言葉) you can get scored on

Twelve of the best-known hayakuchi kotoba, each with its reading, romaji, meaning and the sounds it trains. Listen to one, then say it: the recorder scores every word and every mora, so you can see exactly where your tongue slipped.

  • Classic 早口言葉 with kana, Hepburn romaji and an English meaning
  • What each one trains: long vowels, small っ, ん, the ky- and sh- sounds
  • Say any twister and get a score per word and mora — free, no account

  1. 1.生麦生米生卵

    なまむぎ なまごめ なまたまご

    namamugi namagome namatamago

    Raw wheat, raw rice, raw eggs.

    Trains: m and n with the vowels a, u, o, at speed

    生麦生米生卵

    Tap to record

    Every word and mora is scored. Pitch accent is not.

  2. 2.隣の客はよく柿食う客だ

    となりの きゃくは よく かき くう きゃくだ

    tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kū kyaku da

    The guest next door is a guest who eats a lot of persimmons.

    Trains: k against ky (かき / きゃく)

  3. 3.東京特許許可局

    とうきょう とっきょ きょかきょく

    Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku

    Tokyo Patent Approval Office.

    Trains: kyo after a small っ, and long ō

  4. 4.赤巻紙青巻紙黄巻紙

    あかまきがみ あおまきがみ きまきがみ

    akamakigami aomakigami kimakigami

    Red rolled paper, blue rolled paper, yellow rolled paper.

    Trains: ma-ki-ga-mi in an even rhythm

  5. 5.坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた

    ぼうずが びょうぶに じょうずに ぼうずの えを かいた

    bōzu ga byōbu ni jōzu ni bōzu no e o kaita

    A monk skilfully drew a monk on a folding screen.

    Trains: long ō in bō, byō, jō

  6. 6.すもももももももものうち

    すもも も もも も もも の うち

    sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi

    Plums and peaches are both kinds of peach.

    Trains: eight も in a row, each one a beat

  7. 7.庭には二羽鶏がいる

    にわには にわ にわとりが いる

    niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru

    In the garden there are two chickens.

    Trains: ni-wa repeated; keeping the beats even

  8. 8.バスガス爆発

    ばす がす ばくはつ

    basu gasu bakuhatsu

    Bus gas explosion.

    Trains: the whispered u in su and tsu

  9. 9.新春シャンソンショー

    しんしゅん しゃんそん しょー

    shinshun shanson shō

    A new-year chanson show.

    Trains: shi, sha, shu, sho against s, and ん as its own beat

  10. 10.蛙ぴょこぴょこ三ぴょこぴょこ、合わせてぴょこぴょこ六ぴょこぴょこ

    かえる ぴょこぴょこ み ぴょこぴょこ、あわせて ぴょこぴょこ む ぴょこぴょこ

    kaeru pyokopyoko mi pyokopyoko, awasete pyokopyoko mu pyokopyoko

    Frogs hop-hop, three hop-hops; together hop-hop, six hop-hops.

    Trains: pyo and the old counters み (three) and む (six)

  11. 11.竹垣に竹立てかけたのは竹立てかけたかったから竹立てかけた

    たけがきに たけ たてかけたのは たけ たてかけたかったから たけ たてかけた

    takegaki ni take tatekaketa no wa take tatekaketakatta kara take tatekaketa

    I leaned bamboo against the bamboo fence because I wanted to lean bamboo against it.

    Trains: ta-te-ka-ke and the small っ in かった

  12. 12.魔術師魔術修行中

    まじゅつし まじゅつ しゅぎょうちゅう

    majutsushi majutsu shugyōchū

    A magician in magic training.

    Trains: ju, tsu, shu, gyō, chū in one breath

How to practise a tongue twister

Start slowly. A tongue twister is a timing drill before it is a speed drill: every kana is one beat (a mora), and the small っ and ん are beats too. Say 生麦生米生卵 as thirteen even beats, na-ma-mu-gi na-ma-go-me na-ma-ta-ma-go, before you try it fast.

Then speed up until it breaks, and look at where it broke. The score shows the word and the mora that slipped, which is usually the same one every time: the ky- of きゃく, the long ō of とうきょう, the held beat of とっきょ. The guide to the small っ and the guide to long and short vowels explain those two.

What the score checks

The recorder scores every word and every mora of your reading against a native reference: the vowels, the consonants and their length. It does not score pitch accent. For any other sentence, paste it into the furigana converter to get its reading first, or straight into the Japanese practice page.

Three twisters are scored on their kana spelling, so that the score follows the traditional reading (三 as み, 六 as む, 鶏 as にわとり); the kanji is shown beside them.

Japanese tongue twisters: questions

What is the most famous Japanese tongue twister?+

生麦生米生卵 (namamugi namagome namatamago, "raw wheat, raw rice, raw eggs") is the one most Japanese people learn first. 東京特許許可局 and 隣の客はよく柿食う客だ are close behind.

What does hayakuchi kotoba mean?+

早口言葉 means "fast-mouth words": phrases that are hard to say quickly. Announcers and actors use them as warm-ups.

Is the scoring free?+

Yes, with a daily number of scored takes. Listening and reading are unlimited.

Does it check my pitch accent?+

No. Each word and mora is scored for its sounds and timing. To see pitch, the pitch accent page draws your pitch line over a word’s dictionary pattern, without a score.

Practise Japanese out loud every day

The TonePerfect app gives you short daily speaking sessions in Japanese, with a score on every word and every mora.

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Twisters: traditional Japanese hayakuchi kotoba (public domain). Audio: your device’s Japanese voice.