40 tongue twisters

T Tongue Twisters

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

T Tongue Twisters

Show all 40

Tim's team did a tidy dance on a dim deck.Starts with T: Tim, team, tidy. Starts with D: did, dance, dim, deck.
Tina took her time in town while Dina dropped a dime downtown.Starts with T: Tina, took, time, town. Starts with D: Dina, dropped, dime, downtown.
Tall Tomas tuned a tiny tambourine on Tuesday.Words to stress: tall, Tomas, tuned, tiny, tambourine, Tuesday.
The bat that bit the bait got caught in the net.Words to stress: bat, that, bit, bait, got, caught, net.
Tina's tabby tapped a tune on a table top.Words to stress: Tina, tabby, tapped, tune, table, top.
Todd wrote the word road on a card in the cart.Pairs to keep apart: wrote and road, card and cart.
Late at night Kate let the goat eat a treat.Words to stress: late, at, night, Kate, let, goat, eat, treat.
Try and dry, train and drain, trip and drip.Pairs to keep apart: try and dry, train and drain, trip and drip.
Rhett jumped, hopped, skipped and stopped at the gate.Words to stress: Rhett, jumped, hopped, skipped, stopped, at, gate.
Trudy's train trundled down a tricky track to the trees.Words to stress: Trudy, train, trundled, tricky, track, trees.

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All 40 tongue twisters

T at the start 10

Tall Tomas tuned a tiny tambourine on Tuesday. Words to stress: tall, Tomas, tuned, tiny, tambourine, Tuesday.
Ted taught a talking turkey to tell the time. Words to stress: Ted, taught, talking, turkey, to, tell, time.
Teddy took two tickets to the tennis tournament. Words to stress: Teddy, took, two, tickets, to, tennis, tournament.
Ten tugboats towed a tanker past the terminal. Words to stress: ten, tugboats, towed, tanker, terminal.
Tessa took ten tomatoes to the top of the tower. Words to stress: Tessa, took, ten, tomatoes, to, top, tower.
Tia tipped a teaspoon of tea into a tin teapot. Words to stress: Tia, tipped, teaspoon, tea, tin, teapot.
Tina's tabby tapped a tune on a table top. Words to stress: Tina, tabby, tapped, tune, table, top.
Tired Tara tucked her toes under a tartan towel. Words to stress: tired, Tara, tucked, toes, tartan, towel.
Toby's tortoise tiptoed toward a tub of turnips. Words to stress: Toby, tortoise, tiptoed, toward, tub, turnips.
Tori's teacher typed ten tidy timetables. Words to stress: Tori, teacher, typed, ten, tidy, timetables.

Show all 40 tongue twisters (30 more)

T blends: tr, st and tw 10

A stork stepped on a stump and stared at the stream. Words to stress: stork, stepped, stump, stared, stream.
The street sweeper started at the stone steps and stopped at the store. Words to stress: street, started, stone, steps, stopped, store.
Stu stood still as the storm struck the station. Words to stress: Stu, stood, still, storm, struck, station.
Tracy tried to trim the trellis with a trowel. Words to stress: Tracy, tried, trim, trellis, trowel.
Travis traded a truck of treats for a tray of trout. Words to stress: Travis, traded, truck, treats, tray, trout.
Trip and strip, tray and stray, train and strain. Words to stress: trip, strip, tray, stray, train, strain.
Trolls trudged over the trail with a trunk of trinkets. Words to stress: trolls, trudged, trail, trunk, trinkets.
Trudy's train trundled down a tricky track to the trees. Words to stress: Trudy, train, trundled, tricky, track, trees.
Twenty twirling dancers twist under the twinkling lights. Words to stress: twenty, twirling, twist, twinkling.
The twins tweeted twice at twilight in tweed. Words to stress: twins, tweeted, twice, twilight, tweed.

T at the end 10

A bright white kite caught the light. Words to stress: bright, white, kite, caught, light.
A fleet of eight boats set out at sunset. Words to stress: fleet, eight, set, out, at, sunset.
The bat that bit the bait got caught in the net. Words to stress: bat, that, bit, bait, got, caught, net.
Beat, bit, bet and bat; bought, boat and boot. Words to stress: beat, bit, bet, bat, bought, boat, boot.
The best shirt shrank a bit in that heat. Words to stress: best, shirt, bit, that, heat.
Don't let the wet paint get on that coat. Words to stress: don't, let, wet, paint, get, that, coat.
Late at night Kate let the goat eat a treat. Words to stress: late, at, night, Kate, let, goat, eat, treat.
Matt left his wet boot out on the mat. Words to stress: Matt, left, wet, boot, out, mat.
Pete put that hot pot right at his foot. Words to stress: Pete, put, that, hot, pot, right, at, foot.
Rhett jumped, hopped, skipped and stopped at the gate. Words to stress: Rhett, jumped, hopped, skipped, stopped, at, gate.

T and D side by side 10

Bet and bed, seat and seed, coat and code. Pairs to keep apart: bet and bed, seat and seed, coat and code.
Dan's tan dog dug under Tad's dad's tent. Starts with T: tan, Tad, tent. Starts with D: Dan, dog, dug, dad.
Dora tore down the door to the dusty tower. Starts with T: tore, to, tower. Starts with D: Dora, down, door, dusty.
Dotty's daughter taught Teddy to draw two dozen tigers. Starts with T: taught, Teddy, to, two, tigers. Starts with D: Dotty, daughter, draw, dozen.
Ten and den, tip and dip, town and down. Pairs to keep apart: ten and den, tip and dip, town and down.
Tim's team did a tidy dance on a dim deck. Starts with T: Tim, team, tidy. Starts with D: did, dance, dim, deck.
Tina took her time in town while Dina dropped a dime downtown. Starts with T: Tina, took, time, town. Starts with D: Dina, dropped, dime, downtown.
Todd wrote the word road on a card in the cart. Pairs to keep apart: wrote and road, card and cart.
Try and dry, train and drain, trip and drip. Pairs to keep apart: try and dry, train and drain, trip and drip.
Two ducks took a dip at the tip of the dock. Starts with T: two, took, tip. Starts with D: ducks, dip, dock.

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 T against D and nothing else. In the third group only words whose last sound is T are named, so jumped and stopped count and boats does not. Words with a silent T, such as castle and listen, are kept out. The burst of breath on an English T and the tap heard in butter follow Wikipedia (Aspirated consonant; English phonology; Flapping), read on 15 October 2026. Licence: own work

How it works

These T tongue twisters are 40 lines written for this site, in four groups: T at the start of a word, the blends tr, st and tw, T at the end, and T beside D.

Read the full guide

A burst of breath

At the start of a word most English speakers say T with a small burst of breath. After S the burst goes, so the T of stood, still and storm is plainer than the T of took and ten.

No group for the middle

Between vowels, as in butter, many accents turn T into a quick tap, and butter may be heard as budder. So this page has no group for T in the middle of a word. Words with a silent T, such as castle and listen, are left out.

Jumped, hopped, skipped and stopped are spelled with ed and end in a T sound. One line in the third group uses all four.

Questions and answers

What are some T tongue twisters?

"Ted taught a talking turkey to tell the time." starts seven words with the T sound, and "Tessa took ten tomatoes to the top of the tower." is another. For T at the end of a word, try "A bright white kite caught the light."

What is the difference between the T and D sounds?

D is the voiced partner of T: T is made without the voice and D with it. The last group sets them side by side, at the start and at the end of a word: "Bet and bed, seat and seed, coat and code."

Are T tongue twisters good for speech practice?

They give practice with a sound a speaker can already make, and they suit a warm-up before reading aloud. They are not a treatment. If you are worried about how a child says T or D, ask a speech-language pathologist.