Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami
Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami
A table with broken-off legs
Why Is It Hard?
Stół contains the Polish o-umlaut (a deep, rounded vowel) and the final l-with-stroke, which sounds like a w. Then powyłamywanymi (po-wy-la-my-wa-ny-mi) packs seven syllables with the wy, la, my, wa, ny, mi sequence. Poles find this word difficult at speed and non-Poles find it nearly unpronounceable. The nogami ending is a relief after the main challenge.
History
This tongue twister is included in Polish language arts classes as an example of Polish’s capacity for very long compound words. The image of a wobbly broken table is relatable and domestic. It is often the second tongue twister Polish schoolchildren learn after W Szczebrzeszynie, as it tests a completely different aspect of Polish phonology – long suffix chains rather than consonant clusters.
Tips for Saying It
- The Polish l-with-stroke (l) sounds like English w – stool becomes ‘stow’.
- Break powyłamywanymi syllable by syllable: po-wy-la-my-wa-ny-mi.
- Once you have the long word, nogami (no-GAH-mi) is easy – end with confidence.
More Polish Tongue Twisters
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