Whether the weather
Part tongue twister, part rhyme. It plays on two words that sound the same, “whether” and “weather”, then throws in “whatever” and uses “weather” as a verb near the end. The sounds are not hard on their own; the repetition is what trips you.
Whether the weather be fine or whether the weather be not, whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- 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.
- Beth thanked the three thoughtful authors, though none of them thought their thick third book was worth the thanks.
- Though the path through the northern hills was thick with thorns, Ethan and Ruth kept walking without once thinking of turning back.
- The thunderstorm threatened the north of the town, so the three of them gathered their things and drove south through the heavy rain.
- Every month, their math teacher shows the thirty students three ways to prove the same theorem, then asks them which method they prefer.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- Whether the weather be fine
- or whether the weather be not,
- whether the weather be cold
- or whether the weather be hot,
- we'll weather the weather,
- whatever the weather,
- whether we like it or not.
Whether, weather and the buzzing TH
For most American speakers, “whether” and “weather” are said exactly the same way: W, a short E, a voiced TH and a weak “-er”. That voiced TH is the main sound of the rhyme: a dozen times inside “whether” and “weather”, and seven more in “the”. In the middle of a word it easily turns into a D, giving “wedder”.
The W at the start is the second sound. It needs rounded lips every time. After a while the lips get lazy and you hear “ether” or a soft “uh-ether”.
The third trap is the structure. Lines one and three are almost the same, and so are lines two and four. The brain loses track and repeats “fine” where “cold” should be, or ends a line with “hot” too early.
How to learn it
Learn it as a poem first. Read it aloud slowly in three parts and notice the pattern: fine or not, cold or hot, then the conclusion. The rhyme of “not” and “hot” helps you keep order.
Then focus on the TH. Say “whether, weather, the, weather” slowly with a clear buzz between the tongue and teeth each time. If you hear a D, bring the tongue tip forward.
Breathe after “not” and after “hot”. The last part, “we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not”, is the fastest and most crowded, so practice it separately before running the whole text.
Questions about this tongue twister
- What does weather the weather mean?
- To weather something means to get through it, to survive a hard time. So “we'll weather the weather” means we will cope with whatever the weather brings, good or bad.
- Do whether and weather sound the same?
- For most speakers today, yes. Some accents, for example in Scotland and Ireland, still start “whether” with a breathy HW, so it differs from “weather”. Both ways are correct; the tongue twister works either way.
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.