Sources
All of these long tongue twisters are traditional rhymes from public collections; we wrote none of them. The Tutor follows Carolyn Wells's 1899 Jingle Book.
Long Tongue Twisters You Can Record
Say these long tongue twisters in one take, then play it back to hear where your breath or your focus ran out.
Say these long tongue twisters in one clean take
Fresh fried fish, fish fresh fried, fried fish fresh, fish fried fresh.
This try--
Your best--
Your recording stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded. Hear it uses your device's built-in voice, so it varies by device.
Why Long Tongue Twisters Are a Different Challenge
A short line tests one sound switch. Long tongue twisters test three things at once: the switch, your breath and your memory. Most slips come near the end, when air is low and you are reading ahead.
Many long tongue twisters are old rhymes that grew from one famous line, adding a question, an answer or a small story.
There is no agreed longest tongue twister, since people keep adding verses. The longest of the long tongue twisters here is Mr. See's saw at 65 words, counted by spaces.
The Longest Long Tongue Twisters on This Page
- 65 wordsTraditional
Mr. See owned a saw
See, Soar, saw and seesaw repeat until the story knots itself in the middle.
- 48 wordsTraditional, many versions
Theophilus Thistle
TH and S trade places in nearly every word, and the second round is where it breaks.
- 46 wordsFolk form of an 1899 Carolyn Wells rhyme
Betty Botter bought some butter
Butter, batter, bitter and better, with four full stops to breathe at.
- 36 wordsTraditional limerick
A flea and a fly in a flue
Flea, fly, flee, flew, flaw and flue: the vowel after FL does all the work.
- 35 wordsTraditional
I thought a thought
The word thought comes back 13 times, and keeping count is the challenge.
How to breathe through long tongue twisters
| Where to breathe | Try this line | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| At each full stop | Betty Botter bought some butter | Four sentences, four quick sips of air. |
| After the question | How much wood would a woodchuck chuck | Breathe after chuck wood, then say the answer in one go. |
| At the commas | Amidst the mists and coldest frosts | Small sips keep the ST endings crisp. |
| Halfway, not at the end | Mr. See owned a saw | Breathe after which made Soar sore. |
21 Long Tongue Twisters, Sorted by Length
Filter these long tongue twisters by word count, then press the microphone beside a line to try it in the recorder.
Long Tongue Twisters with 12 to 20 Words
One breath is enough if you start full. Good long tongue twisters to warm up on.
Fresh fried fish, fish fresh fried, fried fish fresh, fish fried fresh.
FR, SH
If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
W, CH
Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum, swan!
SW
A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.
B, BL
A big bug bit the little beetle, but the little beetle bit the big bug back.
B, T, L
One-one was a racehorse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too.
W, T
Three grey geese in the green grass grazing. Grey were the geese and green was the grass.
GR, Z
Denise sees the fleece, Denise sees the fleas. At least Denise could sneeze and feed and freeze the fleas.
S, Z, FL
Long Tongue Twisters with 21 to 34 Words
Two sentences or a short verse. These long tongue twisters need one planned breath.
If you must cross a coarse cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the coarse cross cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.
KR, K
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts, he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
STS, ST
She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
S, SH
How many cans can a canner can if a canner can can cans? A canner can can as many cans as a canner can, if a canner can can cans.
K, N
There was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure. Till a fish with a grin pulled the fisherman in. Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.
F, SH
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
W, CH
A tutor who tooted the flute tried to teach two young tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor, "Is it harder to toot, or to tutor two tooters to toot?"
T
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
P, K
Full Rhymes: Long Tongue Twisters Hard to Finish
Complete classic verses. Plan two or three breaths before you try these long tongue twisters.
I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought. If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn't have thought so much.
TH
A flea and a fly in a flue were imprisoned, so what could they do? Said the fly, "Let us flee!" "Let us fly!" said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
FL
Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
B, T
Theophilus Thistle, the thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now if Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, then success to the successful thistle sifter.
TH, S
Mr. See owned a saw, and Mr. Soar owned a seesaw. Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw before Soar saw See, which made Soar sore. Had Soar seen See's saw before See sawed Soar's seesaw, See's saw would not have sawed Soar's seesaw. So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw. But it was sad to see Soar so sore just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw!
S, SAW
How to Practice Long Tongue Twisters
Long tongue twisters reward a plan more than speed.
Read it silently first
Mark the full stops in long tongue twisters where you will breathe.
Learn it in halves
Say the first half of these long tongue twisters three times, then the second, then join them.
Record one full take
Press Record and say the whole rhyme. On playback, listen for where the long tongue twisters start to blur.
Fix that spot, then speed up
Repeat just that part five times, then try the full take again.
One or two long tongue twisters a day, learned by heart, beat ten read off the screen.
How We Picked and Tested These Long Tongue Twisters
Word counts
Each of the long tongue twisters is counted by spaces, so One-one counts once. The groups follow those counts.
Recorder
We tried the recorder in desktop Chrome and at phone width. It records, replays, and keeps your best time on that device.
Limits
The recorder does not grade long tongue twisters. You judge the playback; the timer only measures length.
Updated November 9, 2026
Play Long Tongue Twisters with Friends
Long tongue twisters make a good party round: everyone fails somewhere different.
2+ players
Pass the verse
One player says the first sentence, the next picks up the second. A slip sends the verse back to the start.
2+ players
Beat the clock
Everyone records the same one of these long tongue twisters. The fastest clean take wins.
3+ players
Last breath standing
Go group by group through the long tongue twisters. Anyone who stops for air in the wrong place sits out a round.
Once long tongue twisters feel smooth, read a whole scene from our voice acting scripts.
Long Tongue Twisters: FAQ
What is the longest tongue twister?
There is no agreed winner. Of the classic long tongue twisters, Mr. See owned a saw is among the longest at 65 words.
Are long tongue twisters hard?
Long tongue twisters are hard in a different way: the sounds are simple, but you manage breath and memory too.
How do I say long tongue twisters without running out of breath?
Breathe at full stops, not mid-phrase, and take quick sips of air. The breathing table above shows where.
Where should a beginner start?
With short lines. Our easy tongue twisters page has two-word repeats and kids' classics that build up to these.
Is my recording saved anywhere?
No. The recording stays in your browser on this device, and nothing is uploaded.
Ready to Voice a Whole Scene?
Long tongue twisters build breath and focus. Our dubbing game puts your voice on a movie or cartoon scene you can watch back.
Play the dubbing game