22 Tongue Twisters To Boost Your French Pronunciation

Learning a new language is most of the time not an easy thing to do. Practicing any language orally can sometimes be seen as a trivial, boring and difficult task. Therefore, we helped you find fun and entertaining ways to practice your French pronunciation to become better while enjoying the learning curve.

One of such ways is doing "virelangues" (which means tongue twisters in french). It can even be an fun way to learn French. You can practice in groups and turn it into a hilarious challenge with your friends.

Which is why, in this article, we have gathered 22 french tongue twisters that you will find down below. To make it easier for you, we categorized them into 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Intermediate, Hard and Hardcore.

So ... Why Engage in Fun French Tongue Twisters?

1. Improve Pronunciation

Tongue twisters helps you to identify and clarify how you are pronuncing the sounds and vowels of the words. It makes it easy to exercise on the specific sound repetitively due to the short and amusing phrases. They can also help you speak more clearly due to better muscle memory with your tongue and mouth, thus improving your articulation and diction. Parents love using tongue twisters with their children to improve their articulation and entertain them. This is a great way to recognise your difficulties when it comes to speaking a language, even for native French speakers.

2. Reduce Stress And Improve Confidence

Is it the eve of your presentation or speech in French class and you are anxious about your pronunciation? Do not panic, tongue twisters are the best way to calm yourself while improving your confidence in speaking in public. While it can be easy to read French and understand the language, it takes another level of bravery to speak and converse out loud with other people, especially if they are better in French. So, you can spend some time practicing tongue twisters before the dreading presentation or conversation.

3. Fun Way To Pass Time

Are you commuting in the bus or train with nothing to do with your friends? Is it becoming awkward and you don't know what to do or say? Well, why don't you grab some fun tongue twisters out of your icebreaker bag and set the room on fire! You can challenge your friends or acquaintences with a mouthful French phrase and laugh out loud. To make the challenge more difficult, you can ask them to say the sentences faster and on repeat!

And Here Are Fun Tongue Twisters To Have A Blast

1. Easy

This is where we start, as slow and simple as possible. You will find that they are relatively short and easy. This section serves as a warm up for the higher levels and an introduction for those of you who are beginners in learning the beautiful language of French!

1. Douze douches douces.
   Translation: Twelve(Douze) smooth(douces) showers(douches).

2. Seize chaises sèches.
   Translation: Sixteen(Seize) dry(sèches) chairs(chaises).

3. Son chat chante sa chanson.
   Translation: His(Son) cat(chat) sings(chante) his(sa) song(chanson).

4. Un grand gradé drague un gradé dégradé.
   Translation: A(Un) high-ranked person(grand gradé) flirts(drague) with a(un) degraded high-ranked person(gradé dégradé).

5. Cinq chiens chassent six chats.
   Translation: Five(Cinq) dogs(chiens) hunt(chassent) six(six) cats(chats).

2. Medium

Starting from here, we will be picking up the pace. While the sentences themselves remain relatively simple, these are longer compared to the ones in the previous level. Additionally, some of the following sentences have both homonyms (words that have same spelling but have different meanings) and homophones (words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings) in them so you should be careful while attempting those. Otherwise, enjoy!

6. Le ver vert va vers le verre vert.
   Translation: The(Le) green(vert) worm(ver) goes(va) towards(vers) the(le) green(vert) glass(verre).

7. Un généreux déjeuner regénérerait des généraux dégénérés.
   Translation: A(Un) generous(généreux) lunch(déjeuner) would regenerate(regénérerait) the(des) degenerate(dégénérés) generals(généraux).

8. La cavale aux Valaques avala l’eau du lac et l’eau du lac lava la cavale au Valaques.
   Translation: The(La) Vlacs on the run(cavale aux Valaques) gulped(avala) the lake’s water(l’eau du lac) and the lake’s water(l’eau du lac) cleansed(lava) the Vlacs on the run(la cavale au Valaques).

9. Si ton tonton tond ton tonton, ton tonton sera tondu.
   Translation: If(Si) your(ton) uncle(tonton) mows(tond) your(ton) uncle(tonton), your(ton) uncle(tonton) will be(sera) mowed(tondu).

10. Lily lit le livre sur le lit
    Translation: Lily(Lily) reads(lit) the(le) book(livre) on(sur) the(le) bed(lit).

3. Hard

We are now at a high level. Before diving into it, we have to congratulate those who have completed the two previous levels and are still willing to attempt the high level. Not everyone has the determination and courage to do all that. So, the tongue twisters that await you guys are more difficult due to the fact that there are a lot of words with the same sounds recurring in different words. For example, in the first sentence, the “è” and “s” repeat themselves often. This is why you all should not let your guard down but it is always funny to hear someone else messing up. Once again, enjoy!

11. Est-ce que les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont sèches ou archi sèches?
    Translation: Are(Est-ce que) the(les) socks(chaussettes) of(de) the archduchess(l’archiduchesse) dry(sont sèches) or(ou) very dry(archi sèches)?

12. Trois petites truites non cuites, trois petites truites crues.
    Translation: Three(Trois) little(petites) uncooked(non cuites) female piglets(truites), three(trois) raw(crues) little(petites) female piglets(truites). Note: this is a cute sentence among the French natives.

13. Tata, ta tarte tatin tenta tonton; Tonton tâta ta tarte, Tata.
    Translation: Aunty(Tata), your(ta) tatin pie(tarte tatin) tempted(tenta) Uncle(tonton); Uncle(Tonton) touched(tâta) your(ta) pie(tarte), Aunty(Tata).

14. Un maçon macho mache machinalement un marshmallow mâché.
    Translation: A(Un) macho(macho) builder(maçon) mechanically(machinalement) chews(mache) the(un) chewed(mâché) marshmallow(marshmallow).

15. Un pâtissier qui pâtissait chez un tapissier qui tapissait, demanda un jour au tapissier qui tapissait: “Vaut-il mieux pâtisser chez un tapissier qui tapisse ou tapisser chez un pâtissier qui pâtisse?”
    Translation: A(Un) baker(pâtissier) who(qui) was baking(pâtissait) at(chez) a(un) carpet maker’s place(tapissier) who(qui) was making carpets(tapissait), one(un) day(jour) asked(demanda) the(au) carpet maker(tapissier): "Is it(Vaut-il) better(mieux) to bake(pâtisser) at(chez) a(un) carpet maker(tapissier) who(qui) is making carpets(tapisse) or(ou) making carpets(tapisser) at(chez) a(un) baker(pâtissier) who(qui) bakes(pâtisse)?”

16. Ces cerises sont si sûres qu’on ne sait pas si c’en sont.
    Translation: These(Ces) cherries(cerises) are(sont) so(si) sure(sûres) that you(qu'on) don’t(ne) know(sait pas) if(si) they(c'en) are(sont).

4. Hardcore

This level is for those who are really looking for even harder challenges. They are the toughest of the tough, the bravest of the brave; those who are always looking for a harder nut to crack open. It is important to note that this level, while it can contribute to better word pronunciation, is not necessary to achieve a good pronunciation in french. Nonetheless, there is no harm in trying, right!

17. Le cricri de la crique crie son cri et critique car il craint que l’escroc ne le croque et ne le craque.
    Translation: The(Le) cicada(cricri) of(de) the(la) cove(crique) shouts(crie) its(son) cry(cri) and(et) criticizes(critique) because(car) he(il) fears(craint) that(que) the scammer(l'escroc) will eat(croque) him(le) and(et) break(craque) him(le).

18. T’as tout un tas de tics et tu t'éteins; tu t’attaques à ton teint en t’entetant Totor, t’as tort, tu te tues et t’as tort.
    Translation: You have(T'as) a lot(tout un tas) of(de) tics(tics) and(et) you(tu) shut off(t'éteins); you(tu) strike(t’attaques) at(à) your(ton) own complexes(teint) by(en) being stubborn(t'entetant) Totor(Totor), you are(t'as) wrong(tort), you(tu) kill(tues) yourself(te) and(et) you are(t'as) wrong(tort).

19. Ciel, si c’est cinq sous ces six ou sept saucissons-ci, c’est cent cinq sous ces sept saucissons aussi.
    Translation: Heaven(Ciel), if(si) it’s(c'est) five(cinq) cents(sous) for those(ces) six(six) or(ou) seven(sept) sausages(saucissons), it's(c'est) a hundred(cent) and five(cinq) cents(sous) for(ces) those seven(sept) sausages(saucissions) too(aussi).

20. Ces Basques se passent ce casque et ce masque jusqu'à ce que ce masque et ce casque se cassent.
    Translation: These(Ces) Basques(Basques) are passing(se passent) this(ce) mask(masque) and(et) this(ce) mask(masque) until(jusqu'à ce que) this(ce) mask(masque) and(et) this(ce) mask(masque) break(se cassent).

21. Six scies scient six cyprès, six cent scies scient six cents cyprès
    Translation: Six(Six) saws(scies) are sawing(scient) six(six) cyprus(cyprès), six(six) hundred(cent) saws(scies) are sawing(scient) six(six) hundred(cent) cyprus(cyprès).

22. Je cherche ces chiots chez Sancho. Je cherche ces chats chez Sacha. Je cherche ces seize cent seize chaises chez Sanchez.
    Translation: I(Je) look(cherche) for these(ces) puppies(chiots) at(chez) Sancho's(Sancho). I(Je) look(cherche) for these(ces) cats(chats) at(chez) Sacha's(Sacha). I(Je) look(cherche) for these(ces) sixteen(seize) hundred(cent) and sixteen(seize) chairs(chaises) at(chez) Sanchez's(Sanchez).

Master Your French Pronunciation Game Today

Now that you'ved read the different tongue twisters, do you think they are the best way to learn French? Debatable. But, there is no doubt that they are a great way of practicing your French while having a blast! Navigating through the tongue twisters, especially the hardcore ones, can definitely improve your French pronunciation skills massively!

Do not give up easily as to learn French effectively, you always have to practice it! If you want to start speaking like a French Native, you can do so through Speechling.com, a non-profit online language learning platform that provides guidance to speak and increase your vocabulary from professional native speakers! You can also check out the other captivating articles on French, such as the six best books to learn French and the Ultimate benefit of being a Bilingual.

Are you a fan of tongue twisters in general? Why not branch out to other languages. They are the perfect introduction to learning new languages and to practice the pronunciations. If you are interested, you can read our articles on Spanish tongue twisters and Chinese tongue twisters.