40 tongue twisters

F Tongue Twisters

Ten F tongue twisters come up at a press, each with its F words listed under it.

F Tongue Twisters

Show all 40

A frill is no thrill, and a fret is no threat.Pairs to keep apart: frill and thrill, fret and threat.
The ferry faded in fog, far over the foam.Words to stress: ferry, faded, fog, far, foam.
The fourth thief found a thimble, and the fifth found nothing.F and Th in one word: fourth, thief, fifth. Also stress: found, thimble, nothing.
Flo flung flat flour sacks off the flatbed.Words to stress: Flo, flung, flat, flour, flatbed.
The gruff sheriff sniffed at the stiff cliff breeze.Words to stress: gruff, sheriff, sniffed, stiff, cliff.
Ralph's waffle and Daphne's muffin make a different breakfast.Words to stress: Ralph, waffle, Daphne, muffin, different, breakfast.
Finn's father folded fifty paper fans.Words to stress: Finn, father, folded, fifty, fans.
Fern filled a funnel with fine farm feed.Words to stress: Fern, filled, funnel, fine, farm, feed.
Steph's scarf and Jeff's cuff stay dry in the surf.Words to stress: Steph, scarf, Jeff, cuff, surf.
Tough stuff, rough stuff, enough stuff to stuff a trough.Words to stress: tough, stuff, rough, enough, trough.

Next step Drill Th on its own Draw from every sound

All 40 tongue twisters

F at the start 10

Faye fed forty fish as the fog fell. Words to stress: Faye, fed, forty, fish, fog, fell.
Felix fixed the farm fence with a fistful of pegs. Words to stress: Felix, fixed, farm, fence, fistful.
Fergus found his football in a field of ferns. Words to stress: Fergus, found, football, field, ferns.
Fern filled a funnel with fine farm feed. Words to stress: Fern, filled, funnel, fine, farm, feed.
The ferry faded in fog, far over the foam. Words to stress: ferry, faded, fog, far, foam.
Finn's father folded fifty paper fans. Words to stress: Finn, father, folded, fifty, fans.
Fiona found five fat figs in a faded felt hat. Words to stress: Fiona, found, five, fat, figs, faded, felt.
Four foxes followed a farmer to the fair. Words to stress: four, foxes, followed, farmer, fair.
Fussy Phil fetched a fork for the fudge. Words to stress: fussy, Phil, fetched, fork, for, fudge.
Phoebe phoned to say the photos were finished. Words to stress: Phoebe, phoned, photos, finished.

Show all 40 tongue twisters (30 more)

F blends: fl and fr 10

A flock of flamingos flew over the flooded flats. Words to stress: flock, flamingos, flew, flooded, flats.
Flashing floats flowed past the florist's flowers. Words to stress: flashing, floats, flowed, florist, flowers.
Flo flung flat flour sacks off the flatbed. Words to stress: Flo, flung, flat, flour, flatbed.
Flora's flag flapped and fluttered in a flurry of flakes. Words to stress: Flora, flag, flapped, fluttered, flurry, flakes.
Fly and fry, flame and frame, flesh and fresh. Words to stress: fly, fry, flame, frame, flesh, fresh.
Flynn's fluffy fleece flopped flat on the floor. Words to stress: Flynn, fluffy, fleece, flopped, flat, floor.
Frankie's frisky friend frowned at the frozen fruit. Words to stress: Frankie, frisky, friend, frowned, frozen, fruit.
Fred's frog froze on a frosty fringe of grass. Words to stress: Fred, frog, froze, frosty, fringe.
Freya froze fruit for her friends on Friday. Words to stress: Freya, froze, fruit, friends, Friday.
Frida freed a frightened fly from the frame. Words to stress: Frida, freed, frightened, fly, from, frame.

F in the middle or at the end 10

A giraffe's laugh is half a cough. Words to stress: giraffe, laugh, half, cough.
A wolf cub's muffled woof drifted off the bluff. Words to stress: wolf, muffled, woof, drifted, off, bluff.
The chef left half a loaf on the shelf. Words to stress: chef, left, half, loaf, shelf.
The gruff sheriff sniffed at the stiff cliff breeze. Words to stress: gruff, sheriff, sniffed, stiff, cliff.
Half a leaf lay stiff on the elf's handkerchief. Words to stress: half, leaf, stiff, elf, handkerchief.
Ralph's waffle and Daphne's muffin make a different breakfast. Words to stress: Ralph, waffle, Daphne, muffin, different, breakfast.
Sophie's dolphin trophy sat on the sofa. Words to stress: Sophie, dolphin, trophy, sofa.
The staff's photograph of the reef is safe. Words to stress: staff, photograph, reef, safe.
Steph's scarf and Jeff's cuff stay dry in the surf. Words to stress: Steph, scarf, Jeff, cuff, surf.
Tough stuff, rough stuff, enough stuff to stuff a trough. Words to stress: tough, stuff, rough, enough, trough.

F beside Th and V 10

A frill is no thrill, and a fret is no threat. Pairs to keep apart: frill and thrill, fret and threat.
Fan and van, fine and vine, few and view. Pairs to keep apart: fan and van, fine and vine, few and view.
The fourth thief found a thimble, and the fifth found nothing. F and Th in one word: fourth, thief, fifth. Also stress: found, thimble, nothing.
Fred's thread frayed, and the three threads fell free. Pairs to keep apart: Fred and thread, free and three.
Free, not three; fin, not thin; first, not thirst. Pairs to keep apart: free and three, fin and thin, first and thirst.
Leave the leaf, save the safe, and have a half. Pairs to keep apart: leaf and leave, safe and save, half and have.
Thelma found three thin ferns in the first thicket. F words: found, ferns, first. Th words: Thelma, three, thin, thicket.
Vera's ferry is very fast across the vast bay. Pairs to keep apart: ferry and very, fast and vast.
Vic's vine van followed Fay's fine van to the fair. F words: followed, Fay, fine, fair. V words: Vic, vine, van.
Viv gave Finn a few fine views over four valleys. F words: Finn, few, fine, four. V words: Viv, gave, views, over, valleys.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site in October 2026: all 40 tongue twisters are our own wording, and none is copied or reworded from a published collection. Compared with every other tongue twister page on this site (no line is on two pages and no run of five words is shared by two lines) and with the key phrases of about 120 well-known published twisters and stock phrases, none of which appears. The line under each twister is worked out from the twister itself, and every word it names was checked against its pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict): the two words of each pair there differ by F against Th, or F against V, and nothing else. Ph and gh words said with an F (phone, laugh) count as F words; the word of, said with a V, never does. How F is made and how th comes to be said as f follow Wikipedia (Voiceless labiodental fricative; Th-fronting), read on 15 October 2026. Licence: own work

How it works

These F tongue twisters are 40 lines written for this site, in four groups: F at the start of a word, the blends fl and fr, F in the middle or at the end, and F beside Th and V.

Read the full guide

Teeth on the lip

F is made with the upper teeth on the lower lip. Th moves the work to the tongue, and in some accents of English three is said like free. The last group sets the two side by side: "Free, not three; fin, not thin; first, not thirst."

F without the letter F

Ph and gh spell the sound in phone, photo, laugh, cough and enough, so those words count here. The word of goes the other way: it is written with an F and said with a V, and no line names it as an F word.

For a quick warm-up, say "Fly and fry, flame and frame, flesh and fresh." three times in a row.

Questions and answers

What are some F tongue twisters?

"Fiona found five fat figs in a faded felt hat." starts seven words with F, and "Four foxes followed a farmer to the fair." is shorter. For F at the end of a word, try "A giraffe's laugh is half a cough."

What is the difference between the F and V sounds?

Only the voice. Teeth and lip sit in the same place for both; F is breath alone and V adds the voice. The last group mixes them, as in "Fan and van, fine and vine, few and view."

Do F tongue twisters help a child who says free for three?

They give practice at hearing and saying the two sounds apart, and saying th as f is a feature of several accents of English. If you are worried about a child's speech, ask a speech-language pathologist.