Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch
Four words, and few people get through them five times fast on the first try. The difficulty is that “Irish” and “Swiss” end with sounds that are almost the same, SH and S, and then the hard word “wristwatch” follows each of them.
Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- Ships sail, sails shift and the tall masts sway in the breeze.
- Sixty-six sizzling sausages sat side by side in a shiny steel pan.
- The shy musician closes her eyes, then sings the soft, easy phrases.
- Sofia's husband chooses zesty sauces and seasons the soup with sea salt.
- Zoe's sister surely shouldn't share these secrets, so she says she's sorry and sits in silence.
- The sushi chef slices fresh salmon, sprinkles sesame seeds and serves six small dishes to the hungry guests.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
- She sees cheese
- Selfish shellfish
- Sheep should sleep in a shed
- Sure the ship's shipshape, sir
- Six slippery snails
- Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches
- If a dog chews shoes
- Should such a shapely sash
- A noisy noise annoys an oyster
- Swan swam over the sea
- Susie works in a shoeshine shop
- She sells seashells by the seashore
Where to breathe
- Irish wristwatch,
- Swiss wristwatch.
Where it jams
“Irish” ends with SH. “Swiss” ends with S. Both are followed by “wristwatch”, which starts with R. So the line asks the tongue to go from SH to R, then from S to R, and the two transitions feel almost the same. The brain mixes them up: “Irish wrishwatch”, “Swish wristwatch”, “Iris wristwatch”.
Inside “wristwatch” there is the cluster ST followed by W, and then CH at the end. The S and the CH are close to SH, so the SH from “Irish” easily spreads into the whole word. Many people end up with “wrishwash” by the third round.
The R at the start of “wrist” is the anchor. If it stays clear, the word holds together. When the tongue is still in the SH position from “Irish”, the R gets lost.
How to learn it
Start with the two pairs separately: “Irish wrist” and “Swiss wrist”. Leave a small gap between the words at first, so the SH or S can finish before the R begins.
Then practice “wristwatch” on its own: “rist · watch”. The T at the end of “wrist” is often dropped, so make it clear.
Say the full line slowly five times, then faster. If it falls apart, the problem is almost always the switch between SH and S, so return to “Irish, Swiss, Irish, Swiss” for a few rounds.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Is Irish wristwatch the hardest tongue twister?
- Nobody keeps an official ranking of tongue twisters. This one feels so hard because the same few sounds repeat in a slightly different order, and the ear cannot catch the change in time.
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.