Five frantic frogs
Eight words, every one of them starting with F, and a little drama in the middle: frogs running from fish. The line trains a steady F and the clusters FR and FL, which are where the sound most often goes soft.
Five frantic frogs fled from fifty fierce fishes.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- Bob's brave brother brought a bright blue balloon to the big parade.
- Phoebe brings five fresh violets to her favorite aunt every February.
- Philip's favorite fabric was velvet, but his father preferred fine flannel.
- Fiona found five faded photos in a brown paper box and, before breakfast, framed every photo for her father.
- Before the flight, Ben's father packed a flask of black coffee, a bag of buns, a few apples and a soft brown blanket.
- Brave Bella built a bigger boat, painted it bright purple and paddled past the fishing village before the first breeze of evening.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- Five frantic frogs fled
- from fifty fierce fishes.
Where the F gets lost
F is made with the upper teeth lightly on the lower lip and air pushed through, without voice. The line uses it again and again, and the danger is that it turns into V, P or simply a puff of air. Listen for “vive vrantic” or “pive prantic”.
The clusters are the hard part. “Frantic”, “frogs” and “from” start with FR, “fled” with FL. After the F, the tongue has to move fast into R or L. Common slips: “fantic”, “fogs”, “fed” or “fwogs”.
There is a voiced word, “five”, at the start, with V at the end. Right after it comes “frantic”. The jump from V to F tests whether you can switch voice off quickly.
How to learn it
Practice the clusters first: “fr-, fr-, fl-, fl-”. Keep the F and the following sound separate at first, then blend them. Pay attention to the R in “frantic” and “frogs”; without it, the words change.
Split the line after “fled”. The first half is what the frogs did, the second half explains why. Breathe between them at first.
Try the whole line in a whisper. F has no voice anyway, so in a whisper you hear only the friction, and any missing F is obvious. Then use your full voice, three rounds in a row, before you add speed.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Why does my F sound like a V?
- Your voice is turning on too early. F is voiceless: only air, no buzz. Put a finger on your throat while saying “five frantic” and make sure the buzz appears only on the V at the end of “five”.
Keep practicing
Practice with a timer
In DramaLab, the speed ladder is an exercise: it gives you tongue twisters one by one, walks you up the five steps and keeps time. No sign-up needed.