R and L Tongue Twisters
These tongue twisters train the American /r/ and the /l/ sound, and above all the rapid switch between them. Phrases like "red lorry, yellow lorry" are famously hard even for native speakers.
Practice Tips
- For the American /r/, curl the tongue back slightly; the tip touches nothing.
- For /l/, the tongue tip presses the ridge behind your top teeth.
- Alternate "red, led, red, led" slowly before trying the full twister.
Showing 6 tongue twisters
Advanced
Focus: r and l sounds
“Red lorry, yellow lorry”
Practice this tongue twister to improve r and l sounds.
Expert
Focus: r and l distinction
“Really rural, really rural, really rural”
Practice this tongue twister to improve r and l distinction.
Intermediate
Focus: l sound repetition
“Little Lily likes lemon lollipops”
Practice this tongue twister to improve l sound repetition.
Advanced
Focus: r sound with consonant clusters
“Rolling red wagons race rapidly 'round”
Practice this tongue twister to improve r sound with consonant clusters.
Advanced
Focus: l and r sounds with t
“Larry sent the latter a letter later”
Practice this tongue twister to improve l and r sounds with t.
Advanced
Focus: r and l distinction with th
“Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather”
Practice this tongue twister to improve r and l distinction with th.
More Tongue Twisters by Sound
S, SH and Z Tongue Twisters6 tongue twistersP, B, T and D Tongue Twisters8 tongue twistersConsonant Cluster Tongue Twisters9 tongue twistersVowel Sound Tongue Twisters6 tongue twistersM, N and NG Tongue Twisters4 tongue twistersTH, F, V and W Tongue Twisters8 tongue twistersDiphthong Tongue Twisters6 tongue twisters