De kat krabt de krullen van de trap
De kat krabt de krullen van de trap
The cat scratches the curls off the stairs
Why Is It Hard?
Krabt (scratches), krullen (curls), and trap (stairs) form a phonetic triangle of kr-krl-tr sounds. The kr cluster in Dutch requires an unvoiced guttural k followed immediately by a trill r, and then krullen demands a lateral l after the r. For non-Dutch speakers the guttural Dutch r alone is a major challenge before even attempting the cluster.
History
De kat krabt de krullen van de trap is the first tongue twister most Dutch children learn and appears in the opening pages of Dutch language workbooks. The image of a cat scratching at stair railings is a classic domestic scene. This twister has been used in Dutch speech therapy and children’s education for over a century.
Tips for Saying It
- The Dutch r is guttural — made in the throat, not with the tongue tip.
- Krabt: KRABT — the b and t both sound at the end, do not drop either.
- Practise kr alone until the k-r connection is clean before tackling krullen.
More Dutch Tongue Twisters
- Dutch Tongue Twisters — full collection
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