44 Spanish Tongue Twisters: The Ultimate Guide [With Audio]

In this article, you’ll learn a ton of Spanish tongue twisters, or trabalenguas, to help you with your pronunciation. Tongue twisters are phrases or sentences that are designed to be difficult to pronounce correctly, and they are a fun way to improve your pronunciation skills. Spanish tongue twisters are no exception and can be a great way to challenge yourself and improve your fluency in the language.

In this post, we will be sharing 44 of some of the best Spanish tongue twisters to try today, as well as some of the most tricky Spanish tongue twisters out there. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced speaker, these are sure to put your pronunciation skills to the test. So, let’s get started!

One of the things that I enjoy the most as a Spanish teacher is practicing pronunciation with my students. It’s one of the few moments when we can put aside all the grammar and vocabulary matters that may sometimes feel overwhelming, and focus instead on our body and the sounds that we can produce with our mouth. It’s really like playing, and it’s so much fun!

Sadly, people are often ashamed to make mistakes and sound funny. That all too often stops them from trying and, as a consequence, from improving their pronunciation. Let me tell you that mistakes are the raw material that teachers work with. We expect our students to make mistakes so we can point them out and then, little by little, with a lot of practice, make them disappear. So know that mistakes are actually a good thing and give it a try!

Tongue Twister Warm-up Words

Before we start twisting our tongues, I’d like to give you a short list of everyday words that are usually difficult to pronounce for Spanish students. Use this as a warm-up.

• estadounidense – demonym of USA
• alrededor – around
• probablemente – probably
• ronronear – purr
• Otorrinolaringólogo – ear, nose, and throat specialist

How did you do? Was this difficult at all? No? Alright, so let’s get to it. This is the ultimate list of tongue twisters in Spanish. They are classified according to the sounds that I suggest you focus on. Besides paying special attention to these sounds, remember that pauses are also important. Only by pausing when we have to, we’ll get the right rhythm for the tongue twister. Good luck!

Tongue Twisters with the Trilled R

In this first section you’ll find tongue twisters that will allow us to practice your trilled R. If you are still struggling with this sound, check out our article where we show you how to roll your Rs in Spanish.

I like this first tongue twister because it combines the trilled R with P and T, stop consonants that usually don’t pose any pronunciation problems, and will let us focus on the R.

El perrito de Rita me irrita, dile a Rita que cambie el perrito por una perrita.

El perrito de Rita – Spanish Tongue Twister

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The next one is a classic when it comes to learning how to trill your R. If you have already mastered pronouncing the trilled R, focus now on differentiating it from the tapped R contained in the words cargados and azúcar.

Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril. Rápido corren los carros cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril.

Erre con erre cigarro v1 – Spanish Tongue Twister

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There are multiple variations of this tongue twister, so you may have heard it differently somewhere else. Here’s another take on the same idea:

“Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril, rápido ruedan las ruedas del ferrocarril”.

Erre con erre cigarro v2 – Spanish Tongue Twister

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This other one is a little bit more difficult because it combines the trilled R with B and P, labial consonants that are easy to mix up.

Un burro comía berros y el perro se los robó. El burro lanzó un rebuzno y el perro al barro cayó.

Un burro comía berros – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Finally, we have this tongue twister where the trilled R goes after an N. This NR combination together with the LR sequence is probably one of the most difficult sounds for Spanish students to pronounce.

El perro cachorro de Enrique Becerra se enrosca en la ropa, la enrolla y la enreda.

El perro cachorro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Tongue Twisters with the Tapped R

Most students focus on the pronunciation of the trilled R, probably because it’s the most characteristic sound of Spanish and maybe also because it must feel great to shout ¡Arriba! It’s fun to try to sound like a true native, so why not? Try doing it in front of your friends just to show it off a little. All this fuss about the trilled R makes people forget about the tapped R. A less flashy sound, but still important for pronouncing words properly. The following tongue twisters will allow you to practice it.

Quiero y no quiero querer a quien no queriendo quiero. He querido sin querer y estoy sin querer queriendo. Si por mucho que te quiero, quieres que te quiera más, te quiero más que me quieres. ¿Qué más quieres? ¿Quieres más?

Quiero y no quiero – Spanish Tongue Twister

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In the following tongue twister, I suggest you pay attention to the tapped R, and don’t worry about the LL. I have noticed that Spanish students, especially English speakers, worry a lot about how to pronounce properly LL and Y, but slightly mispronouncing these sounds won’t affect the meaning of what you are saying. Besides, the way native speakers pronounce these sounds changes from one region to another. The case that sticks out the most is the Rioplatense accent, where LL and Y are pronounced as SH. If you are interested in knowing more about these geographical variations, read our article about the different Spanish accents around the world.

Yo lloro si lloras, si lloras yo lloro. Tu llanto es mi llanto; y tu llanto, mi lloro. Si tu ya no lloras, tampoco yo lloro.

Yo lloro si lloras – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Here’s another:

No me mires, que miran que nos miramos. Miremos la manera de no mirarnos. Mira, no nos miremos. Y cuando no nos miren, nos miraremos.

No me mires – Spanish Tongue Twister

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The next three trabalenguas are a little bit more difficult because they combine the tapped R with L. As these two sounds share the same point of articulation – the tongue touches the alveolar ridge – there is an interesting relationship between them. For example, in the Andalusian dialect, the L turns into an R and the R turns into an L when they are located at the end of a syllable. For example:

• el caldito – er cardito
• por detrás – pol detrás

Something similar happens in some Caribbean regions, where the R is turned into an L when it is placed at the end of a syllable. For example:

• Puerto Rico – Puelto Rico
• arte – alte
• surfear – sulfeal

Find out more about these regional variations in this other article.

El amor es una locura que solo el cura lo cura, pero el cura que lo cura comete una gran locura.

El amor es una locura – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Teodoro el Moro con su oro, compró un loro. Por eso el loro de Teodoro es un loro moro con oro. Al loro y a Teodoro imploro que sean moros con decoro.

Teodoro el Moro con su oro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Camarón, caramelo. Caramelo, camarón.

Camarón, caramelo. Caramelo, camarón.

Camarón, caramelo – Spanish Tongue Twister

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(repeats endlessly 😅)

In these other tongue twisters, we find the tapped R after voiceless stop P and voiced stops D and B. These three combinations are a great way to practice this R sound.

Pedro Pérez Pereira, pobre pintor portugués, pinta pinturas por poca plata, para pasear por Portugal.

Pedro Pérez Pereira – Spanish Tongue Twister

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La bruja Maruja

prepara un brebaje,

con cera de abeja,

dos dientes de ajo,

cuarenta lentejas

y un pelo de oveja.

La bruja maruja – Spanish Tongue Twister

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In the next one, I suggest you focus on the difference between the trilled R we find in rata and the tapped R in ingrata, guardó, pobre, and por. 

La rata ingrata, ingrata rata

en una lata guardó la plata

y la pobre rata, por insensata,

quedó sin la plata y sin la lata.

La rata ingrata – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Finally, with the following tongue twisters, you’ll be able to practice the tapped R preceded by T, a stop consonant that is a good match for the sound we are focusing on.

Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal. En un trigal, tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo.

Tres tristes tigres – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Una caracatrepa trepa con tres caracatrepitos. Cuando la caracatrepa trepa, trepan los tres caracatrepitos.

Una caracatrepa trepa – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Treinta y tres tramos de troncos

trozaron tres tristes trozadores de troncos

y triplicaron su trabajo

de trozar troncos y troncos.

Treinta y tres tramos – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Tongue Twisters with Voiceless Stop Consonants

The fancy subtitle refers to the sounds of P, T, CH, and C, which are produced by blocking the vocal tract. Pronouncing phrases with many stop consonants on it is definitely not the easiest thing to do. Let’s try the following.

El que poco coco come, poco coco compra.

Como poco coco como, poco coco compro.

El que poco coco come – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Pepe pecas pica papas con un pico.

Con un pico pica papas Pepe pecas.

Pepe pecas pica papas – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Papá pone pan para Pepín.

Para Pepín pone pan papá.

Papá pone pan – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Pepe puso un peso en el piso del pozo.

En el piso del pozo, un peso puso Pepe.

Pepe puso un peso – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Pepe peina pocos pelos

pero peina peluqueros.

Peina Pepe peluqueros

con el peine de los pelos.

Pepe peina pocos pelos – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Me han dicho que tú has dicho

un dicho que yo he dicho.

Ese dicho está mal dicho,

pues si yo lo hubiera dicho,

estaría mejor dicho

que el dicho que a mí me han dicho

que tú has dicho que yo he dicho.

Me han dicho – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Puerco pezcuecicrespo, desenpuercopezcuecicréspate.

Desenpuercopezcuecicréspate, pezcuecicrespo puerco.

Puerco pezcuecicrespo – Spanish Tongue Twister

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The next two add the difficulty of L, which turns things a lot trickier.

Pablito clavó un clavito en la calva de un calvito.

En la calva de un calvito, un clavito clavó Pablito. 

Pablito clavo un clavito – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Pancha plancha con cuatro planchas.

¿Con cuántas planchas plancha Pancha?

Pancha plancha – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Next, we have the same voiceless stops now combined with other sounds, like G, B, and S.

Si tu gusto no gusta con el gusto que gusta mi gusto, qué disgusto tiene mi gusto al saber que tu gusto no gusta con el gusto que gusta mi gusto.

Si tu gusto no gusta – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Buscaba el bosque Francisco, un vasco bizco, muy brusco, y al verlo le dijo un chusco, “¿Busca el bosque, vasco bizco?”

Buscaba el bosque Francisco – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Al que me saque mi saco

su saco le sacaré.

Así decía un cosaco,

cosaco de Cosaqués.

Mas eran cosaquerías,

cosaquerías del no sé qué.

Al que me saque mi saco – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Anacleta sin chancleta

anda sin corneta su bicicleta.

Qué tristeza, no hizo piruetas

porque la bicicleta de Anacleta

no hace piruetas sin corneta.

Anacleta sin chancleta – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Tongue Twisters with Ñ

A very characteristic sound of Spanish is Ñ, and the following tongue twister will help us practice it.

Niño, ñame y ñandú

uña, rebaño y pequeño

caño, peña, piña y ñu

paño, baño, caña y leño.

Dueño, peldaño, enseño,

extraño, y escudriño con empeño,

acompaño añiles y ensueños

soñando con años muy añejos.

Nino, name, y nandu – Spanish Tongue Twister

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La araña con maña amaña la laña.

La araña con maña es una tacaña.

La arana con mana – Spanish Tongue Twister

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This last one combines the Ñ sound with the tapped R sound, which makes things more interesting.

Mariana Magaña

desenmarañará mañana

la maraña que enmarañara

Mariana Magaña.

Mariana Magana – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Tongue Twisters with Diphthongs

The pronunciation of diphthongs (a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable) is often problematic for Spanish students. Since the very first lessons when learning the numbers, for example, English speakers face the difficulty of pronouncing properly numbers 6, 16, 20, and 30 precisely because of the diphthongs. 99% of my English speaking students switch the EI for a IE sound. Sadly, I didn’t find any tongue twister to practice this EI diphthong that poses so many problems for some people, but here is a short list of words that you can practice in case you need it.

• aceite
• reino
• peine
• afeitar
• pleito

This next tongue twister is helpful to improve the pronunciation of the diphthong EU,  a sound that German speakers have trouble with.

¡Qué ingenuo es Eugenio! ¡Y qué genio tiene el ingenuo Eugenio!

Que ingenuo es Eugenio – Spanish Tongue Twister

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The following allows us to focus on differentiating the UA sound from the UE sound.

Cuando cuentes cuentos, cuenta cuántos cuentos cuentas, porque si no cuentas cuántos cuentos cuentas, no sabrás cuántos cuentos sabes contar.

Cuando Cuentes Cuentos – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Tongue Twisters with S

The next two, play with the S sound which is usually easily pronounced, so I believe these are the easiest tongue twisters of this list. If you want to make it more interesting, pronounce it with a Castilian accent. This is, differentiating the S from the Z and C (when followed by an E and I). 

Si Sansón no sazona su salsa con sal, le sale sosa. Le sale sosa su salsa a Sansón si la sazona sin sal. Hizo el asado salado. Hizo la ensalada sin sal. No sé para qué cocina, si todo le sale mal.

Si Sanson no sazona – Spanish Tongue Twister

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The Shortest Tongue Twister in Spanish

It consists of one single – invented – word and it is usually what you say to make your annoying little cousin stop repeating everything you say. 

Parangaricutirimícuaro

Parangaricutirimícuaro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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This word is said to come from the original town of San Juan Parangaricutiro in Mexico, which was swallowed up by a volcano in 1943, The Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro is also known as Parangaricutirimícuaro, a word which is longest toponym in Mexico.

The Infinite Tongue twister

There is a tongue twister in Spanish that has infinite variations. It’s always the same structure with only a few variations in the main terms. Here are some of the most popular versions. If can master the single word tongue twister, these take it to the next level.

El pueblo de Parangaricutirimícuaro se va a desparangaricutirimicuarizar. Quien logre desparangaricutirimicuarizarlo primero será un gran desparangaricutirimicuatizador.

El pueblo de Parangaricutirimícuaro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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or

Al rey de Parangaricutirimícuaro lo quieren desparangaricutirimicuarizar. El que logre desparangaricutirimicuarizarlo un buen desparangaricutirimicuatizador será.

Al rey de Parangaricutirimícuaro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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or

El volcán del Parangaricutirimícuaro

se quiere desparangaricutirimicuarizar.

El que logre desparangaricutirimicuarizarlo

un buen desparangaricutirimicuatizador será.

El volcan del Parangaricutirimícuaro – Spanish Tongue Twister

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El ácido desoxirribonucléico se quiere desoxirribonucleizar. El que logre desoxirribonuclizarlo, un buen desoxirribonucleizador será.

El ácido desoxirribonucléico – Spanish Tongue Twister

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El cielo está encapotado. ¿Quién lo desencapotará? El desencapotador que lo desencapote, un buen desencapotador será.

El cielo está encapotado – Spanish Tongue Twister

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El cielo está enladrillado. ¿Quién lo desenladrillará? El desenladrillador que lo desenladrille, un buen desenladrillador será.

El cielo está enladrillado – Spanish Tongue Twister

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El cielo está entablicuadriladrillado.

¿Quién lo desentablicuadriladrillará?

El desentablicuadriladrillador que lo desentablicuadriladrille,

un buen desentablicuadriladrillador será.

El cielo está entablicuadriladrillado – Spanish Tongue Twister

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Practice Your Accent with Tongue Twisters

Something important that you should bear in mind when practicing these tongue twisters, is your accent. In the section of tongue twisters with an S, for example, you could either differentiate the sound of S from Z and C (when followed by an E and I) or pronounce them with the same sound. The same thing happens with Y and LL. If you would like to learn the Rioplatense accent, then you should pronounce them accordingly, with an SH sound.

We have arrived at the end of the list. How did it go? Which one did you find the most difficult? Don’t give up. Keep practicing until you master them all!

Photos: Young girl with her tongue out by Hayes Potter on Unsplash, Woman in green shirt by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels.