The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick
This seven-word line was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the hardest tongue twister in English. Its secret is the word “sixth”: a cluster of K, S and TH that very few people can say twice in a row without slipping.
The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- The judge trusts facts and lab tests, not the lawyers' tricks.
- She melts the butter, sifts the flour, adds the milk and bakes.
- She grasped the facts, checked the prompts and fixed the scripts.
- The old bridge's iron bolts and joints rust in the damp, cold winds.
- The scouts packed the tents, lit the lamps and watched the sparks drift.
- The artists' first sketches lacked depth, but their next drafts were striking.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- The sixth sick sheikh's
- sixth sheep's sick.
Why it is so hard
“Sixth” ends with KS and then TH: the tongue goes from the back of the mouth for K, to the ridge for S, to the teeth for TH, with no vowel in between. That is three places in a split second. Most people drop the TH and say “sicks” or drop the S and say “sikth”.
Then comes the S and SH contrast. “Sick” and “six” start with S, “sheikh's” and “sheep's” with SH. They alternate: S, S, SH, S, SH, S. The tongue moves back and forth, and the lips round for SH and relax for S. Under speed they blur into “shick sheikh's” or “sick seep's”.
The possessive endings add more weight: “sheikh's” ends with KS, “sheep's” with PS. Every word ends in a cluster, and none of them can be dropped without changing the meaning.
How to learn it
Start with “sixth”. Say “six”, then add the TH slowly: “six-th”. Let the tongue come forward to the teeth after the S. Repeat until it feels like one word.
Then practice the S and SH pairs: “sick sheikh's, sixth sheep's”. Smile on S, round the lips on SH.
Breathe after “sheikh's” at first. When both halves are clean, say the whole line slowly. It is a success if you can say it three times in a row without a slip, even at a moderate pace.
What it means
A sheikh is an Arab leader or the head of a family or tribe. The sentence says that the sixth sheep of the sixth sheikh, who is sick, is also sick. It is grammatical, but packed tight: two possessives and a short “'s” for “is” in a row, so the brain has to work out the structure while the tongue works on the sounds.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Is this the hardest tongue twister in English?
- Guinness once named it so in the 1970s, but the book no longer lists tongue twisters. In 2013 researchers at MIT proposed another candidate, “pad kid poured curd pulled cod”. Which one is harder depends on the speaker.
- How do you pronounce sheikh?
- In American English, usually “sheek”, rhyming with “seek”. Some speakers say “shake”. Both are accepted. In this tongue twister, “sheek” keeps the rhythm closer to “sheep”.
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.