Thank the other three brothers
A long chain of family words: other, brothers, father's, mother's, brother's. Almost every word has a TH, and the line switches between the voiced TH of “the” and the voiceless TH of “thank” in a pattern that is hard to keep straight at speed.
Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- Thirty thirsty sailors sailed south, though the weather was rough.
- Thursday's math test was the third this month and the thirtieth this year.
- Thea's mother smoothed the thick cloth with both hands, then set the table.
- Their father thought that three months was a long time to gather the money.
- The author thought through both themes, then threw in three other thoughts.
- Seth bathes the youngest, then dresses them, then reads them three short stories.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- Thank the other three brothers
- of their father's mother's brother's side.
Nine TH sounds, only two without voice
Count the TH sounds: thank, the, other, three, brothers, their, father's, mother's, brother's. Nine in eleven words. Only “thank” and “three” use the voiceless TH, without a buzz. All the others are voiced. The two voiceless ones sit at the start, so you have to switch on the voice and keep it on for the rest of the line.
The most common slips are “brudders”, “fadder's” and “mudder's”, where the voiced TH turns into a D. Speakers of other languages may say “brozers” or “mozer's”. Another trap is the chain of possessives at the end: “father's mother's brother's” has three “-er's” endings in a row, and people often drop one or swap the order.
The meaning does not help much either. It is hard to picture whose brothers these are, so the brain has no story to lean on and the words start to repeat or vanish.
How to learn it
Learn the end first. Say “father's mother's brother's” slowly, five times, with a clear buzz on each TH. Think of it as a path through a family tree: their father, his mother, her brother. Once the order makes sense, it stays in memory.
Then add the start, “thank the other three brothers”. Notice the switch between “thank” and “the”: the first has only air, the second has voice. The same switch happens again from “three” to “brothers”.
Take a breath before “of their”. When each half is steady, link them on one breath. If the D sound creeps into “brothers”, slow right down and put the tongue tip back between the teeth.
Questions about this tongue twister
- What does this tongue twister mean?
- It tells you to thank three more brothers on one branch of the family: the side of their father's mother's brother. It is meant to be confusing; the family words exist mainly to stack up TH sounds.
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.