The Tongue Twister
A loyal warrior will rarely worry. A loyal warrior will rarely worry.
Why Is It Hard?
Loyal, warrior, will, rarely, and worry all contain L, W, or R sounds in close succession. The word warrior itself contains W and R back to back, and rarely begins with R but ends with a different vowel sound than worry. Your tongue has to switch rapidly between these three sounds throughout the phrase.
History and Origin
This tongue twister belongs to the L, W, and R confusion category, which is especially challenging for speakers whose first language does not distinguish between these sounds. Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean speakers often use twisters like this in English pronunciation practice. It is also a favourite in voice coaching because it exercises three of the most commonly slurred consonants in rapid speech.
Tips for Saying It
For W, fully round your lips before the sound comes out. For R, pull your tongue back slightly without touching the roof of your mouth. For L, press your tongue tip firmly up. Say loyal and warrior separately five times each. Then warrior will, then rarely worry, then join them all.
Explore more tongue twisters on our site. Try the hard tongue twisters collection or browse tongue twisters for kids. Check out the full English tongue twisters list for more classics.