P, B, T and D Tongue Twisters
These tongue twisters drill the explosive consonants /p/, /b/, /t/ and /d/. In English, /p/ and /t/ start stressed syllables with a puff of air (aspiration) that many languages skip, and these phrases force that puff out.
Practice Tips
- Hold a hand in front of your mouth: "Peter" and "picked" should each produce a small puff of air.
- /b/ and /d/ are voiced: no puff, but your vocal cords vibrate from the very start.
- Keep final consonants light and clean; never add an extra vowel after them.
Showing 8 tongue twisters
Intermediate
Focus: p sound repetition
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
Practice this tongue twister to improve p sound repetition.
Intermediate
Focus: b sound repetition
“Rubber baby buggy bumpers”
Practice this tongue twister to improve b sound repetition.
Beginner
Focus: b sound repetition
“A big black bug bit a big black bear”
Practice this tongue twister to improve b sound repetition.
Intermediate
Focus: b and t sounds
“Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter”
Practice this tongue twister to improve b and t sounds.
Beginner
Focus: t and p sounds
“The top cop saw a cop top”
Practice this tongue twister to improve t and p sounds.
Intermediate
Focus: b and d sounds
“Double bubble gum, bubbles double”
Practice this tongue twister to improve b and d sounds.
Intermediate
Focus: b and bl consonant clusters
“Big black bugs bleed blue black blood”
Practice this tongue twister to improve b and bl consonant clusters.
Intermediate
Focus: p sound repetition
“A proper copper coffee pot”
Practice this tongue twister to improve p sound repetition.
More Tongue Twisters by Sound
S, SH and Z Tongue Twisters6 tongue twistersConsonant Cluster Tongue Twisters9 tongue twistersVowel Sound Tongue Twisters6 tongue twistersR and L Tongue Twisters6 tongue twistersM, N and NG Tongue Twisters4 tongue twistersTH, F, V and W Tongue Twisters8 tongue twistersDiphthong Tongue Twisters6 tongue twisters