Tongue Twisters With L and R

Press the button for ten tongue twisters with L and R, each with the words to stress under it.

Tongue Twisters With L and R

Show all 40
  1. Ray led, Ron lagged and Ruby leaped.Words to stress: Ray, led, Ron, lagged, Ruby, leaped.
  2. The gorilla's umbrella rolled into the gallery.Words to stress: gorilla, umbrella, rolled, gallery.
  3. Crisp clouds, glassy grass and a fresh flag.Words to stress: crisp, clouds, glassy, grass, fresh, flag.
  4. Carol's caramel roll beat its regular rival.Words to stress: Carol, caramel, roll, regular, rival.
  5. Proud Preston placed prize plums on plain plates.Words to stress: proud, Preston, placed, prize, plums, plain, plates.
  6. Red light, right lane, rainy landing.Words to stress: red, light, right, lane, rainy, landing.
  7. Lorries, salaries, galleries and flurries.Words to stress: lorries, salaries, galleries, flurries.
  8. Light rain, loud rain, late rain, long rain.Words to stress: light, rain, loud, late, long.
  9. The clown's crown cracked with a clean click.Words to stress: clown, crown, cracked, clean, click.
  10. Rickety ladders rattle loudly by the red lighthouse.Words to stress: rickety, ladders, rattle, loudly, red, lighthouse.

Next step Drill L on its ownDrill R on its own

How it works

These tongue twisters with L and R put both sounds in every line. The 40 lines, written for this site, fall in four groups: L before R, R before L, paired blends, and both sounds in one word.

Read the full guide

Touch, then let go

For L the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the top teeth and the air passes round its sides; for R the tongue only comes near. In the first group an L word leads each pair, as in "Lock the rock box, then load the road wagon." The second group leads with R.

Blends and one-word lines

A blend puts L or R straight after another consonant: fly and fry differ only there. In a study of Japanese speakers the two sounds were hardest to tell apart in blends and between vowels, and the last two groups lean on those places: "The gorilla's umbrella rolled into the gallery."

  • Say lock, rock, load and road as single words before you try a whole line.

Questions and answers

What are some tongue twisters with L and R?

Try "Red light, right lane, rainy landing." For blends, "Clumsy crows crowd the cloudy cliffs." For both sounds inside one word, "Laurel's squirrel relaxed in a barrel of celery."

Why are L and R hard for some English learners?

Some languages have one sound where English has two. Japanese and Korean are examples: each has a single sound of this kind, so English L and R are a new pair to hear and to say apart.

What are minimal pairs for L and R?

Two words that differ in that one sound and mean different things: lock and rock, load and road, light and right, fly and fry, clown and crown. Several lines here set such a pair side by side.

Do tongue twisters help with R and L pronunciation?

They are practice in switching between two sounds you can already say alone; they do not teach either sound. To drill one first, use the R or L page. For a child's speech, ask a speech-language pathologist.

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All 40 tongue twisters

L word, then R word 10

  • A long river, a lazy raft and a low red moon. Words to stress: long, river, lazy, raft, low, red.
  • Lazy rabbits like ripe, leafy radishes. Words to stress: lazy, rabbits, like, ripe, leafy, radishes.
  • Leave room, lend rope, lift rocks, lay rugs. Words to stress: leave, room, lend, rope, lift, rocks, lay, rugs.
  • Lemon rice, lime rice, lentil rice. Words to stress: lemon, rice, lime, lentil.
  • Lena reads, Leo rests and Lucy runs. Words to stress: Lena, reads, Leo, rests, Lucy, runs.
  • Light rain, loud rain, late rain, long rain. Words to stress: light, rain, loud, late, long.
  • Little red lamps ring the lake's rim. Words to stress: little, red, lamps, ring, lake, rim.
  • Lock the rock box, then load the road wagon. Words to stress: lock, rock, load, road.
  • Lou rowed, Lee rode and Lyn ran. Words to stress: Lou, rowed, Lee, rode, Lyn, ran.
  • Lucky Rita lent Rosa a lilac raincoat. Words to stress: lucky, Rita, lent, Rosa, lilac, raincoat.
Show all 40 tongue twisters (30 more)

R word, then L word 10

  • Rain lashed the reef as the raft landed. Words to stress: rain, lashed, reef, raft, landed.
  • Ray led, Ron lagged and Ruby leaped. Words to stress: Ray, led, Ron, lagged, Ruby, leaped.
  • Read the list, rinse the ladle, raise the lid. Words to stress: read, list, rinse, ladle, raise, lid.
  • Red light, right lane, rainy landing. Words to stress: red, light, right, lane, rainy, landing.
  • Rickety ladders rattle loudly by the red lighthouse. Words to stress: rickety, ladders, rattle, loudly, red, lighthouse.
  • Ripe lemons rest low on the rocky ledge. Words to stress: ripe, lemons, rest, low, rocky, ledge.
  • Rita laughs, Ravi listens and Rosa leaves. Words to stress: Rita, laughs, Ravi, listens, Rosa, leaves.
  • Rob loves raw leeks, but Ruth likes rice. Words to stress: Rob, loves, raw, leeks, Ruth, likes, rice.
  • Rowdy lambs race lazy lions round the lake. Words to stress: rowdy, lambs, race, lazy, lions, round, lake.
  • Rows of lettuce, rings of leeks, rounds of lime. Words to stress: rows, lettuce, rings, leeks, rounds, lime.

L and R blends: fl and fr, gl and gr 10

  • Blue brooms brush the black bridge. Words to stress: blue, brooms, brush, black, bridge.
  • Brown blossoms bloom on the bleak, bright branch. Words to stress: brown, blossoms, bloom, bleak, bright, branch.
  • The clown's crown cracked with a clean click. Words to stress: clown, crown, cracked, clean, click.
  • Clumsy crows crowd the cloudy cliffs. Words to stress: clumsy, crows, crowd, cloudy, cliffs.
  • Crisp clouds, glassy grass and a fresh flag. Words to stress: crisp, clouds, glassy, grass, fresh, flag.
  • Fly and fry, flee and free, flame and frame. Words to stress: fly, fry, flee, free, flame, frame.
  • Freddy's fresh fruit flan flopped flat. Words to stress: Freddy, fresh, fruit, flan, flopped, flat.
  • Glad Grace grows green grapes in a glass globe. Words to stress: glad, Grace, grows, green, grapes, glass, globe.
  • Grumpy Glen grabbed the glue and grinned. Words to stress: grumpy, Glen, grabbed, glue, grinned.
  • Proud Preston placed prize plums on plain plates. Words to stress: proud, Preston, placed, prize, plums, plain, plates.

L and R in one word 10

  • A rural railroad rarely rattles in April. Words to stress: rural, railroad, rarely, rattles, April.
  • A trolley of laundry rolled past the tropical grill. Words to stress: trolley, laundry, rolled, tropical, grill.
  • Carol's caramel roll beat its regular rival. Words to stress: Carol, caramel, roll, regular, rival.
  • The florist sang a really floral lyric. Words to stress: florist, really, floral, lyric.
  • The gorilla's umbrella rolled into the gallery. Words to stress: gorilla, umbrella, rolled, gallery.
  • Laurel's squirrel relaxed in a barrel of celery. Words to stress: Laurel, squirrel, relaxed, barrel, celery.
  • Lorries, salaries, galleries and flurries. Words to stress: lorries, salaries, galleries, flurries.
  • The rascal raffled a roller, a ruler and a rattle. Words to stress: rascal, raffled, roller, ruler, rattle.
  • Relatives rally to celebrate the relay trial. Words to stress: relatives, rally, celebrate, relay, trial.
  • The royal library has a mural of a parallel railway. Words to stress: royal, library, mural, parallel, railway.

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 80 well-known published twisters, none of which appears. The words-to-stress line under each twister is worked out from the twister itself with the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict): the words that begin with an L or R sound, that begin with an L or R blend, or that hold both sounds. How the two sounds are made and which learners mix them follow Wikipedia (Voiced dental and alveolar lateral approximants; Pronunciation of English /r/; Approximant; Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers; Liquid consonant; Minimal pair), read on 8 October 2026. Licence: own work