Sobre Aquela Serra — Portuguese Tongue Twister

Sobre aquela serra corre a serra de serrar

Sobre aquela serra corre a serra de serrar

On that mountain runs the saw for sawing

Why Is It Hard?

Serra means both mountain range and saw in Portuguese, and serrar is the verb to saw. The tongue twister uses all three in one sentence. The s and rr sounds alternate in a way that requires precise tongue placement — the rr in serra is a strong trill, while the s in sobre is softer.

History

This tongue twister exploits one of Portuguese’s most interesting homonyms. Serra as mountain range comes from the Latin for saw, because jagged mountain peaks look like saw teeth. The double meaning has been used in Portuguese wordplay for centuries. It appears in children’s riddle books as well as tongue twister collections.

Tips for Saying It

• Understand the two meanings of serra before starting.
• The rr in serra requires a full trill — do not soften it.
• Slow practice: sobre-aquela-serra / corre / a-serra / de-serrar.

More Portuguese Tongue Twisters

• Portuguese Tongue Twisters — full collection
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