Trabalenguas! Fun pronunciation practice with the trickiest Spanish sounds.
Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril. Rápido ruedan los carros cargados de azúcar al ferrocarril.
(R with R cigar, R with R barrel. Fast roll the cars loaded with sugar to the railroad.)
El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado.
(San Roque's dog has no tail because Ramón Ramírez stole it.)
Pedro Pablo Pérez Pereira, pobre pintor portugués, pinta paisajes por poca plata para poder pasear por París.
(Pedro Pablo Pérez Pereira, poor Portuguese painter, paints landscapes for little money to be able to walk around Paris.)
Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal.
(Three sad tigers swallowed wheat in a wheat field.)
This is Spain's most famous trabalenguas!
Si Sansón no sazona su salsa con sal, le sale sosa; le sale sosa su salsa a Sansón si la sazona sin sal.
(If Sansón doesn't season his sauce with salt, it comes out bland.)
El chico checo echó el chocolate en la chaqueta del muchacho.
(The Czech boy threw the chocolate on the boy's jacket.)
Yo lloro si lloras, si lloras yo lloro. Tu llanto es mi llanto y mi llanto tu lloro.
(I cry if you cry, if you cry I cry. Your weeping is my weeping and my weeping your tears.)
Pablito clavó un clavito. ¿Qué clavito clavó Pablito?
(Little Pablo nailed a little nail. What little nail did little Pablo nail?)
El cielo está enladrillado. ¿Quién lo desenladrillará? El desenladrillador que lo desenladrille, buen desenladrillador será.
(The sky is bricked. Who will unbrick it? The unbrickerer who unbricks it will be a good unbrickerer.)
1. Read slowly, pronouncing each syllable clearly
2. Gradually speed up
3. Record yourself and compare with native speakers
4. Focus on the specific sound that's being practiced
5. Have fun — mistakes are part of learning!
1. Spain's most famous tongue twister starts with "Tres tristes _____".
2. Tongue twister in Spanish = _____.
3. The hardest sound for English speakers is the _____.
4. "Pablito clavó un _____" is a famous trabalenguas.
5. Tongue twisters help practice _____.
6. The R in "perro" is _____ (trilled/rolled).
7. Distinción is practiced in _____.
8. "Tres tristes tigres tragaban _____ en un trigal."
9. The best way to practice is to start _____ and speed up.
10. Record yourself and _____ with native speakers.
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