“특별시” Korean Tongue Twister
서울특별시 특허허가과 허가과장 허 과장.
Translation: Seoul Special City Patent Approval Division, Division Chief Heo.
Why Is It Hard?
This tongue twister is a bureaucratic title that packs the aspirated consonants ㅎ (h), ㅍ (p/ph) and ㄱ (k/g) into rapid succession. 특허 (patent) contains ㅎ after ㄱ; 허가 (approval/permit) opens with ㅎ; and 허가과장 허 과장 ends with three consecutive ㅎ-opening syllables. The compound 특허허가과 is particularly brutal — five syllables where the middle three all begin with the same breathy H articulation.
History
This tongue twister emerged from the real bureaucratic language of South Korean government offices, where titles like 특허허가과장 (Patent Approval Division Chief) are used in formal settings. Korean office workers and civil servants famously use this phrase as a pronunciation warm-up exercise. It became widely known through Korean language education and has appeared in several textbooks as an example of the challenges posed by compound administrative titles — a uniquely Korean linguistic phenomenon.
Tips for Saying It
- Break 특허허가과 into three chunks: 특허 / 허가 / 과 — each chunk shares a sound with the next, which is exactly what makes it hard.
- The name 허 (Heo) at the end is your finish line — if you get there cleanly, you have succeeded.
- Aspirated H in Korean is breathier than English H — push more air through each ㅎ syllable to keep them crisp and distinct.
More Korean Tongue Twisters / 더 많은 잰말놀이
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- Korean Tongue Twisters — the complete 잰말놀이 collection
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