As a child, I made it a point to perfect English tongue twisters. When I flawlessly recited, “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Oh, just as much as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood,” both adults and children expressed admiration. It felt like magic to me. I could do something even the adults around me couldn’t. But the truth is, it wasn’t magic at all—those tongue twisters were doing exactly what they’re meant to do: training my mouth and brain to move quickly through the sounds of the English language.
Today, I want to introduce you to a few tongue twisters that can help you improve your pronunciation of two particularly tricky English sounds: /θ/ and /ð/. These are the two “th” sounds in English—the first, as in breath or thing, is voiceless; the second, as in father or breathe, is voiced. I’ll walk you through how to produce each sound, offer some guidance and resources, and then give you sentences you can use to train your brain and mouth to use them fluidly.
If your first language doesn’t include one or both of these sounds, you may find yourself replacing them with a “d” sound when speaking English. The following practice can help you overcome that tendency and speak more naturally.
Mouth Position
The good news is that both /θ/ and /ð/ use the same mouth position. Keep your lips parted and relaxed, your teeth slightly separated, and the tip of your tongue resting softly in the space between your teeth. The tongue should lie flat—not touching the roof of your mouth or pressing down into the bottom. The key difference between the two sounds is whether your vocal cords are active.
To check if you’re using your voice, place your fingers gently on your throat. If you feel vibration, the sound is voiced. If not, it’s voiceless.
/θ/: The “th” in thing
Place your mouth in the position described above. Push air out around your tongue and between your teeth without using your voice. This sound should be light and whispery, like you’re telling someone a secret.
This interactive IPA chart lets you hear the sound (click on the θ symbol in the chart), and if you want real-time feedback, reach out to a teacher, tutor, or chatbot—or ask a friend who speaks English.
Practice Sentences:
(Note: Both sentences contain the word “the,” which uses the /ð/ sound.)
- Thirty-three thieves thought they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
- I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought.
Start slowly and focus on producing the correct sound. These sentences are designed to be challenging at speed, so take your time. As you grow more confident, pick up the pace and pay attention to the transitions between voiced and voiceless sounds.
/ð/: The “th” in this
Use the same mouth position as for /θ/, but this time engage your vocal cords. Push air around your tongue and through your teeth while allowing your throat to vibrate. You can use the IPA chart to hear the sound for comparison, or ask a fluent speaker or chatbot to demonstrate it.
Practice Sentences:
- That brother and this mother bother each other.
- Whether the weather is cold, whether the weather is hot, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.
Tongue Twisters with Both Sounds
These will stretch your skills and improve your fluidity with both /θ/ and /ð/:
- Thank the other three brothers on their father’s mother’s brother’s side.
- She thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of her thumb.
Craving a challenge? Try this:
The third time the three three-toed tree toads tried tying their toes together, the third three-toed tree toad tied the two three-toed tree toads’ toes to the third toad’s toes. Then the two three-toed tree toads told the third three-toed tree toad that tying their toes together thrilled them to the tips of their toes.
Keep Practicing
Tongue twisters are funny, challenging, and incredibly effective for sound production practice. I found these examples here, but you can easily search for more—especially ones featuring sounds you personally struggle with. As you master them, not only will your English pronunciation improve, but you’ll also gain a fun linguistic party trick that adds a little magic to any dull get-together.
HS ESL 