“기린” Korean Tongue Twister
네가 그린 기린 그림은 못 그린 기린 그림이고 내가 그린 기린 그림은 잘 그린 기린 그림이다.
Translation: The giraffe picture you drew is a badly drawn giraffe picture, and the giraffe picture I drew is a well-drawn giraffe picture.
Why Is It Hard?
This is one of Korea’s most beloved tongue twisters, built on three words that sound nearly identical: 그린 (그리다 — drew), 기린 (giraffe), and 그림 (picture/drawing). All three contain the 그린/기린/그림 sequence of sounds with only vowel and consonant length changes separating them. The sentence uses all three in close succession four times, and the competitive framing (네가/yours vs 내가/mine) adds a layer of pronoun tracking on top of the phonetic challenge.
History
기린 is one of the most widely taught Korean tongue twisters, appearing in primary school textbooks and children’s TV programmes across South Korea. Its popularity stems from the delightful absurdity of the scenario — a competitive argument about whose giraffe drawing is better — which children find immediately relatable and funny. The giraffe (기린) was chosen as the subject partly for its phonetic convenience and partly because giraffes are a favourite animal in Korean children’s culture. It is considered a rite of passage for Korean language learners.
Tips for Saying It
- The three key words: 그린 (drew — past tense verb), 기린 (giraffe — noun), 그림 (picture — noun) — practise them in that exact order before the full sentence.
- 네가 (you) and 내가 (I) are your structural anchors — one per clause; each clause is identical except for 못 (badly) vs 잘 (well).
- Point to an imaginary person for 네가 and to yourself for 내가 — the physical gesture locks in the structure and prevents mixing up the two clauses.
More Korean Tongue Twisters / 더 많은 쟰말놀이
Discover more tongue twisters from around the world:
- Korean Tongue Twisters — the complete 쟰말놀이 collection
- Hard Tongue Twisters — the most challenging twisters in any language
- Tongue Twisters for Kids — fun for all ages