The Tongue Twister
Thirty thousand thoughtful boys thought about thundering horses. Thirty thousand thoughtful boys thought about thundering horses.
Why Is It Hard?
Five of the first six words begin with TH, which means your tongue must press against your teeth repeatedly before you even reach horses. Thoughtful and thundering both contain TH plus a different following consonant, making each TH slightly different in weight and duration. Boys breaks the TH run which causes many speakers to lose their place.
History and Origin
This is a modern alliterative tongue twister constructed to maximise TH repetition. It draws on the evocative image of horses to add length and memorability. TH-heavy twisters like this one are particularly useful for speakers who substitute D or F for TH, a common pattern in many English dialects and in learners from languages that lack the TH sound.
Tips for Saying It
TH in thirty, thousand, thoughtful, thought: put your tongue between your teeth and blow lightly. TH in thundering: voiced, so add a humming vibration. Say the TH sound alone five times before starting. Read the phrase line by line, pausing at the end of each line.
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.