20 German Tongue Twisters for Pronunciation Practice
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?
German tongue twisters give you a playful way to repeat difficult sound combinations and practise speaking clearly.
German tongue twisters, or deutsche Zungenbrecher, appear in Standard German and regional dialects. Start slowly with the sounds and words that give you trouble, then increase your speed while keeping them clear.
Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online German course, here’s the course I recommend: German Uncovered – Learn German Through the Power of Story, a course with a fascinating new method by my friend Olly. You can try it for free for 7 days!
Table of contents
- Why Study German Tongue Twisters
- Most Popular German Tongue Twisters
- 1 – Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.
- 2 – Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische.
- 3 – Schnecken erschrecken, wenn sie an Schnecken schlecken, weil zum Schrecken vieler Schnecken Schnecken nicht schmecken.
- 4 – Am zehnten Zehnten, zehn Uhr zehn zogen zehn zahme Ziegen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo.
- German Tongue Twisters for Umlauts, R and CH
- 5 – Die ältere Schwester kam im März spät mit einem Käsekorb nach Hause und fand in der Nähe einen Bären.
- 6 – Die zwölf österreichischen Vögel versteckten den schönen Löffel des Königs in Kölns höchstem Baum.
- 7 – Herr Lücke ging über eine Brücke, sah eine Mücke und nahm seine Krücke, um sie zu schlagen.
- 8 – Rasend rasantes Rumpelstilzchen rumpelt Rollos rauf und runter.
- 9 – Aldrichs Tochter besuchte gern die Kirche am Bach und las Bücher.
- Easy German Tongue Twisters
- 10 – Violett steht ihr recht nett, recht nett steht ihr violett.
- 11 – Kleine Kinder können keine Kirschkerne knacken.
- 12 – Der Mondschein schien schon schön.
- Hard German Tongue Twisters
- 13 – Ein Dutzend nuschelnde Dutzer dutzen nuschelnd dutzende dutzender Nuschler nuschelnd.
- 14 – Klitzekleine Katzen kotzen klitzekleine Kotze. Klitzekleine Kotze kotzen klitzekleine Katzen.
- 15 – Sie stellte das tschechische Streichholzschächtelchen auf den Tisch, auf den Tisch stellte sie das tschechische Streichholzschächtelchen.
- German Tongue Twisters for Different Dialects
- 16 – Z Schwyz am Ziit schiind d Sunne, und schiind si nid z Schwyz, so schiind si z Brunne.
- 17 – Vena laus amoris, pax, druxun goris.
- 18 – S´Vuchtlond is do wo de Hasn Hosn un de Hosn Husn haßen.
- 19 – Zwischen zwa Zwetschgenzweigerln sitzen zwei Zeiserln.
- 20 – Moischt, mascht Moscht? Moscht muasch ma mega!
Why Study German Tongue Twisters
Learning a new language includes hearing and producing unfamiliar sounds. Depending on your accent and other languages you speak, German ä, ü, ö, r and ch may need extra practice.
Teachers may use deutsche Zungenbrecher, literally “German tongue-breakers”, as one form of pronunciation practice.
Using themed tongue twisters, such as seasons or animals, can also help you build your vocabulary.
Sound-specific tongue twisters also let you focus on contrasts that may not occur in your other languages. They are practice material, not a substitute for listening to a clear model and getting feedback.
Most Popular German Tongue Twisters
Some tongue twisters are especially well known. English has “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”, while German has classics such as the first four below.
1 – Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.
“Blue cabbage remains blue cabbage, and a wedding dress remains a wedding dress.”
2 – Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische.
“Fisher Fritz fishes fresh fish.”
There is also a longer version: Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische, frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze.
3 – Schnecken erschrecken, wenn sie an Schnecken schlecken, weil zum Schrecken vieler Schnecken Schnecken nicht schmecken.
“Snails are startled when they lick snails because snails don’t taste good to the horror of many snails.”
4 – Am zehnten Zehnten, zehn Uhr zehn zogen zehn zahme Ziegen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo.
“On the tenth of October at 10:10, ten tame goats hauled ten hundredweights of sugar to the zoo.”
German Tongue Twisters for Umlauts, R and CH
German has three umlauted vowel letters: ä, ö and ü. Their sounds are distinct from a, o and u. When you cannot type an umlaut, the standard replacements are:
- Ä = Ae
- Ö = Oe
- Ü = Ue
Standard German uses the Ach-Laut [x], as in Bauch, and the Ich-Laut [ç], as in Kirche and Bücher. Some varieties of English use [x] in words such as “loch”, but [ç] is unfamiliar to many English speakers. German r also varies by region and speaking style, so use a recording from the variety you are learning as your model.
If you speak several languages, some German sounds may already be familiar. Notice which sounds transfer well, then focus your practice on the ones that are new to you.
For example, it took me years to realise that the Welsh “ll” gave me a useful starting point for the Standard German Ich-Laut. They are not the same sound, so I still needed to adjust how I pronounced it. Regional German pronunciation can differ substantially from the standard models used in courses.
Use the next tongue twisters to target sounds you find difficult. Aim for careful, repeatable pronunciation before speed.
5 – Die ältere Schwester kam im März spät mit einem Käsekorb nach Hause und fand in der Nähe einen Bären.
“The older sister came home late in March with a basket of cheese and found a bear nearby.”
6 – Die zwölf österreichischen Vögel versteckten den schönen Löffel des Königs in Kölns höchstem Baum.
“The twelve Austrian birds hid the king’s beautiful spoon in Cologne’s tallest tree.”
7 – Herr Lücke ging über eine Brücke, sah eine Mücke und nahm seine Krücke, um sie zu schlagen.
“Mr. Lücke went over a bridge, saw a mosquito and took his crutch to hit it.”
This is a shortened version of the long German tongue twister given below:
Herr und Frau Lücke gingen über eine Brücke. Da kam eine Mücke und stach Frau Lücke ins Genicke. Da nahm Herr Lücke seine Krücke und schlug Frau Lücke ins Genicke. Weswegen dann Frau Lücke mit der Mücke und der Krücke im Genicke tot umfiel.
“Mr and Mrs Lücke walked over a bridge. A mosquito came and stung Mrs Lücke on the neck. Mr Lücke then took his crutch and struck Mrs Lücke on the neck, whereupon she fell down dead with the mosquito and crutch at her neck.”
8 – Rasend rasantes Rumpelstilzchen rumpelt Rollos rauf und runter.
“Furiously fast Rumpelstiltskin rumbled roller blinds up and down.”
Here das Rollo is a roller blind that rolls up and down. It can also be called die Jalousie.
9 – Aldrichs Tochter besuchte gern die Kirche am Bach und las Bücher.
“Aldrich’s daughter liked to visit the church by the stream and read books.”
This one will let you practice switching between the two High German “ch” sounds.
- Ach-Laut [x] (as in the English word “loch”) – Tochter, besuchte, Bach
- Ich-Laut [ç] – Aldrich, Kirche, Bücher
Easy German Tongue Twisters
German and English share a lot of the same sounds thanks to their common heritage as Germanic languages. Find out why learning German is simple for English-speakers here. Easy German tongue twisters highlight this feature in simple, short sentences.
10 – Violett steht ihr recht nett, recht nett steht ihr violett.
“Purple suits her quite nicely; she looks quite nice in purple.”
11 – Kleine Kinder können keine Kirschkerne knacken.
“Small children cannot crack cherry stones.”
12 – Der Mondschein schien schon schön.
“The moonlight was already shining beautifully.”
Hard German Tongue Twisters
The German language can combine smaller words to form longer words. Hard German tongue twisters take advantage of vocabulary building and repetitive sound combinations.
13 – Ein Dutzend nuschelnde Dutzer dutzen nuschelnd dutzende dutzender Nuschler nuschelnd.
“A dozen mumbling ‘du-sayers’ mumblingly address dozens of dozens of mumblers as du.”
The modern spelling is duzen, meaning “to address someone as du”. The tongue twister uses the older or playful forms Dutzer and dutzen to repeat the sound. The standard verb for mumbling is nuscheln.
14 – Klitzekleine Katzen kotzen klitzekleine Kotze. Klitzekleine Kotze kotzen klitzekleine Katzen.
“Tiny cats vomit tiny amounts of vomit. Tiny amounts of vomit are vomited by tiny cats.”
15 – Sie stellte das tschechische Streichholzschächtelchen auf den Tisch, auf den Tisch stellte sie das tschechische Streichholzschächtelchen.
“She placed the Czech matchbox on the table; on the table she placed the Czech matchbox.”
If you need more help with Standard German pronunciation, find a clear speaker or teacher whose recordings you can imitate and compare with your own voice. You can also use the audio and speech-recognition exercises discussed in our Rocket Languages review.
German Tongue Twisters for Different Dialects
German has substantial regional variation, and the boundaries and names used for dialect groups depend on the classification. “Swiss German”, for example, covers varieties that differ from place to place. The German spoken in Bern is not identical to the German spoken in Appenzell.
Many dialects do not have one universally accepted spelling system. Writers often choose spellings that suggest local pronunciation. In the next tongue twister, for example, Schwyz represents a Swiss German form corresponding to Standard German Schweiz.
16 – Z Schwyz am Ziit schiind d Sunne, und schiind si nid z Schwyz, so schiind si z Brunne.
Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch)
“In Schwyz, the sun shines on the clock; and if it does not shine in Schwyz, it shines in Brunnen.”
Approximate Standard German: In Schwyz scheint die Sonne an der Uhr, und scheint sie nicht in Schwyz, so scheint sie in Brunnen.
17 – Vena laus amoris, pax, druxun goris.
Bavarian (Bayerisch)
“When there is a louse on your ear, grab it, press it, and it’s done for.”
Approximate Standard German: Wenn eine Laus am Ohr ist, pack sie, drück sie, bis sie gar ist. The written tongue twister is playful pseudo-Latin designed to sound like the dialect phrase.
18 – S´Vuchtlond is do wo de Hasn Hosn un de Hosn Husn haßen.
Upper Saxon (Sächsisch)
“The Vogtland lies there, where the rabbits [are called] pants and the pants are called houses.”
Approximate Standard German: Das Vogtland liegt dort, wo die Hasen Hosen und die Hosen Husen heißen.
19 – Zwischen zwa Zwetschgenzweigerln sitzen zwei Zeiserln.
Viennese (Wienerisch)
“Two siskins (small songbirds) sit between two branches of the plum.”
Approximate Standard German: Zwischen zwei Zwetschgenzweigen sitzen zwei Zeisige.
20 – Moischt, mascht Moscht? Moscht muasch ma mega!
Schwäbisch
“Do you think you like Most (apple or pear must)? You have to like Most!”
Approximate Standard German: Meinst du, du magst Most? Most muss man mögen!
The Standard German word is Zungenbrecher; one Low German form is Tungenbrekers. To explore regional examples, search for Zungenbrecher nach Dialekt plus the place or variety you are interested in. Treat written dialect forms as guides, then look for audio from speakers of that variety.
For more examples, Sprachnudel has a large alphabetical collection sorted by difficulty. Choose one tongue twister, listen to a reliable model if you can, and practise it slowly before speeding up.
Social