Spanish tongue twisters are F U N !!!
They help practice pronunciation amongst other things.
Start off by saying them slowly, then gradually pick up speed as you get more comfortable. Of course, I recommend committing some to memory. And have fun impressing your friends!
LA "ERE" ("R")
It is worth noting when to trill or tap (flap) the Spanish "r" phoneme (sound).
The trill - the "rrrrrr" sound
The tongue taps against the roof of the mouth multiple times.
- Use when a word begins with "r": rato, rápido, rico, realmente
- Use when the letters "rr" occur: perro, carro, corro, tierra
- Use when "r" comes after "l", "n", or "s": alrededor, Enrique, desregular
The flap (or tap) - single "r"
One tap against the roof of the mouth.
- Use for all other occasions not mentioned above (with the trill).
Ejemplos: pero, caro, otro, para, hombre
There are many variations of trabalenguas, so I picked a few of my favorites below. Also, check out Superholly's video LOS PEORES TRABALENGUAS Inglés vs. Español.
Estos son algunos de los trabalenguas que me gustan.
(Here are some of the tongue twisters that I like.)
Con la "r"
Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal.
Un tigre, dos tigres, tres tigres tragaban en un trigal.
¿Qué tigre tragaba más? Todos tragaban igual. Three sad tigers ate (swallowed) wheat in a wheat field. One tiger, two tigers, three tigers ate in a wheat field. Which tiger ate most? They all ate the same amount. Ere con ere cigarro, Ere con ere barril. Rápido corren los carros, Cargados con azúcar del ferrocarril. "R" with "r" "cigar," "R" with "r" "barrel." Quickly do the sugar-laden carriages
Run off the railroad.
Con la "p"
Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico, Con un pico Pepe Pecas pica papas. Pepe Pecas (Freckles) chops potatoes with a pickax, With a pickax, Pepe Pecas chops potatoes. Pedro Pablo Pérez Pereira, pobre pintor portugués,
Pinta pequeños preciosos paisajes porteños para poder pasar por París. Pedro Pablo Perez Pereira, poor Portugese painter,
Paints small precious landscapes of Buenos Aires to be able to pass through Paris.
Con la "c" - ca/co/cu/qu (‘k’ sound)
Cuando cuentes cuentos, cuenta cuántos cuentos cuentas,
Porque si no cuentas cuántos cuentos cuentas,
Nunca sabrás cuántos cuentos has contado tú.
When you tell stories, count how many stories you tell,
Because if you don’t count how many stories you tell,
You’ll never know how many stories you've told.
A: Compadre, cómprame un coco. B: Compadre, yo no compro coco, porque como poco coco como, poco coco compro. A: Friend, buy me a coconut. B: Friend, I do not buy coconuts, because, as I do not eat a lot of coconuts, I do not buy a lot of coconuts.
La "ch" sound
Me han dicho que has dicho un dicho,
un dicho que he dicho yo.
Ese dicho que te han dicho que yo he dicho,
no lo he dicho; y si yo lo hubiera dicho,
estaría muy bien dicho por haberlo dicho yo.
They said to me that you’ve said a saying,
a saying that I said.
That saying that they said to you that I said,
I didn’t say it; and if I had said it,
it would be very well said for having been said by me.
