Pronunciation Training: Croatian Tongue Twisters

Croatian tongue twisters

In this article you will find exercises to practice Croatian pronunciation.
 
We have prepared a small collection of Croatian tongue twisters.

  1. With this tongue twister you can practice the rolling R:
    Riba ribi grize rep.
    A fish bites another fish on the tail.
  2. With this tongue twister you can train pronouncing the V in Croatian as W:
    Voda vod do voda!
    This is difficult to translate properly, word for word it is “water-tap-till-tap”.
  3. If you can master this tongue twister, then you can pronounce Č without any problems:
    Cvrči, cvrči cvrčak na čvoru crne smrče.
    The leafhopper chirps, chirps on the branch of the black pine.
    Literal translation: Chirp, chirps the leafhopper on the knot of the black pine.
  4. With this tongue twister you can practice the difference between Š and Ć:
    Na štriku se suši šosić.
    On this washing line a miniskirt is drying.
  5. Here is a tongue twister to practice lj sound:
    Ljubim Ljubu i Ljubu i ljuljam se.
    I kiss Ljubo and Ljuba and sway by.

And for those of you who still have no knots in the tongue:

Petar Petru pleo petlju pokraj puta po sto puta.
Petar has braided Petar a hundred times with a ribbon next to the path.
 
Na vrh brda vrba mrda.
On the summit of a mountain a willow is swaying.
 
Četiri čavčića na čunčiću čučeći cijuču.
Four small jackdaws whistle crouching on the boat.
 
Svaka svraka skakala na dva kraka.
Every magpie hops on two arms.
 
Ja znam da znam da ti ne znaš ono što ja znam da znam.
I know, that I know, that you don’t know, that what I know, I know.
 
Četristo četrdeset četiri čavke čuče na čamcu.
Four hundred and forty four jackdaws crouch on the boat.
 
Hrvoje sa Hvara hrani hrčka.
Hrvoje from Hvar feeds the hamster.

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