Chinese Tongue Twisters (绕口令) — with Audio & Record Yourself

Q: What is a Chinese tongue twister called?

A Chinese tongue twister is called a 绕口令 (ràokǒulìng), literally a 'twisting-the-mouth order'. They pile up similar-sounding syllables — differing only in initial consonant or tone — to trip up the speaker, which makes them a classic drill for pronunciation and tone accuracy.

Q: What is the most famous Chinese tongue twister?

The most famous is the 'four is four' twister: 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十 (sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí) — 'four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty'. It drills the hard-to-separate sounds s (四 sì) and sh (十 shí) plus second and fourth tones.

Q: How do tongue twisters help you learn Chinese?

Tongue twisters force you to distinguish sounds Chinese keeps separate but English blurs — s vs sh, n vs l, b vs p — and to hold tones steady at speed. Practicing them slowly and then faster builds muscle memory for clean initials and accurate tones, which improves both your speaking and your listening.

Q: Can I record myself saying Chinese tongue twisters?

Yes. On this page each tongue twister has a 'Record yourself' button that uses your browser's built-in speech recognition to listen to your attempt and score how closely it matches the target characters. It works in Chrome and Edge with microphone access; other browsers show the text and audio without the scoring feature.

How to use this page: a Chinese tongue twister is a 绕口令 (ràokǒulìng). For each one below, press Listen to hear it, read along with the pinyin, then press Record yourself to say it and get an instant match score. Start slow, then speed up!

7 Classic Tongue Twisters

#1 · trains s vs sh

四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。

sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí.

“Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty.”

#2 · trains the 4 tones of “ma”

妈妈骑马，马慢，妈妈骂马。

māma qí mǎ, mǎ màn, māma mà mǎ.

“Mom rides a horse; the horse is slow; mom scolds the horse.”

#3 · trains p & t

吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮。

chī pútao bù tǔ pútao pí, bù chī pútao dào tǔ pútao pí.

“Eat grapes without spitting the skins; don't eat grapes yet spit the skins.”

#4 · trains l, r & ü

红鲤鱼与绿鲤鱼。

hóng lǐyú yǔ lǜ lǐyú.

“Red carp and green carp.” (Deceptively short — try it five times fast.)

#5 · trains b & p

八百标兵奔北坡，炮兵并排北边跑。

bā bǎi biāobīng bēn běi pō, pàobīng bìngpái běibiān pǎo.

“Eight hundred scouts dash up the north slope; artillerymen run side by side along the north.”

#6 · trains f & h

化肥会挥发，黑化肥发灰，灰化肥发黑。

huàféi huì huīfā, hēi huàféi fā huī, huī huàféi fā hēi.

“Fertilizer evaporates; black fertilizer turns grey; grey fertilizer turns black.”

#7 · trains n & l

牛郎恋刘娘，刘娘恋牛郎。

niúláng liàn liú niáng, liú niáng liàn niúláng.

“Niulang loves Miss Liu; Miss Liu loves Niulang.”

How to Practice

Listen first, twice — once for the words, once for the rhythm.
Say it slowly, exaggerating the tricky pair (s/sh, n/l, b/p) until every syllable is clean.
Speed up gradually. Only go faster once slow is perfect — speed hides mistakes.
Record yourself and check the score; aim to beat your last attempt.

About the score: the recorder uses your browser's speech recognition and compares the characters it heard with the target, so it's a fun guide, not a strict judge — background noise, accent, and homophones can all nudge it. A high score means you were clearly understood.

Keep training pronunciation with the Interactive Pinyin Chart, the guide to distinguishing similar sounds, and the Tone Trainer.

Related guides

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