Fun with Japanese tongue twisters

It's still pretty slow with news right now, so here is something kinda fun (if you like failing, that is)!

Learning Japanese (and any new language really) can be tough at times so it's a good idea to have some fun with it.

While I was studying Japanese earlier, I was reminded of a word that gave me big troubles when I first learned it: atatakakunakatta.

Which brings me to actual Japanese tongue twisters. My favorite one is:

Kaeru pyoko pyoko mi pyoko pyoko awasete pyoko pyoko mu pyoko pyoko

By the way, that's an easy one. Here's how it's pronounced:

Ready for more?


Good choice.

Even idols fail at tongue twisters. Behold "aka pajama ao pajama ki pajama". Sounds simple enough right? Not for Risako.



lol <3

So, you've passed the frog and pajama tongue twisters and think you're ready for a challenge eh? Look no further than a Berryz 2008 FC event.



If you watch the video here, on my blog, then it will jump right to the point in the video where the tongue twister action happens. If you choose to watch on Youtube, skip to 3:53 (or be a good wota and watch the whole thing).

For your pleasure, I typed the whole tongue twister here so you don't have to pause the video (excuse the horrible romaji spacing; half of the words I've never even heard of).

Mukou no takegaki ni naze taketate kaketa? Taketate kaketakatta kara, taketate kaketa no sa! Toii haru kanojo wa, icchu no dansei to jazukashu shanson kashu ga atsumaru raibu hasu ni iki, ano meikyoku "busu basugaido basu gasu baku hatsu" o kiita. Kaeri michi no kouen de kare ga totsuzen. Ura niwa niwa, niwa niwa niwa niwatori ga irun da ze. Nante iu no de "Ara suteki ni ne" to iu to, ura niwa no buta ga buta o butta no de buta reta buta ga butta buta! Nante naisu na Amerikan jokku o iu mon da kara tsui "Suki desu!" to kouen no funsui no mae de kokuhaku shita.

Quick note: most of the pronunciation is straightforward (especially if you are familiar with Japanese a little) except for one word: iu. It's not pronounced like it looks (e-ooh), but instead its pronounced as "yuu".

Have fun. Berryz did.