A fun way to strengthen your Italian speaking skills no matter where you are

One of my philosophies in life is the idea that doing things which are difficult makes it easier to do things that aren’t. And naturally this can be applied to tasks like learning a foreign language!

Among the hardest things to do in any language we find one of the most fun: saying tongue-twisters. It’s something you can do anywhere you go, and it will help you to get past those mouth-bending sounds.

Not only do tongue-twisters help you to practice and strengthen your speaking skills, but they also give you an interesting way to have fun with new friends your new language. Tongue-twisters make people smile, and they remind us of our childhood. It’s hard to think of a better icebreaker!

In Italian, a tongue-twister is called scioglilingua, and they’ve got some hard ones! I’ve listed a few here. Try them out for yourself as you read them. Then watch the video at the bottom to see an Italian doing one!

Sopra la panca la capra campa, sotto la panca la capra crepa.
On the top of the bench, the goat lives, below the bench, the goat dies.

Dietro il palazzo c’è un povero cane pazzo. Date un tozzo di pane a quel povero pazzo cane.
Behind the building there’s a poor mad dog. Give a piece of bread to that poor mad dog.

There’s also the variation…

Sotto il palazzo c’e’ un cane pazzo; te’ pazzo cane ‘sto pezzo di pane.
Under the building there is a crazy dog; here, crazy dog, a piece of bread.

Un pezzo di pizza che puzza nel pozzo del pazzo di pezza.
A piece of pizza that stinks in the well of the ragged fool.

Tre tigri contro tre tigri, tre tigri contro tre tigri …
Three tigers against three tigers … (repeat ad nauseam)

Per te il prete perse trenta denti dentro un antro.
For you the priest lost thirty teeth inside a cave.

Trentatrè trentini entrarono in Trento tutti e trentatrè trotterellando.
Thirty-three Trentans enter all together into Trento and thirty-three trotting along.

Apelle, figlio di Apollo, fece una palla di pelle di pollo. Tutti i pesci vennero a galla, per vedere la palla di pelle di pollo fatta da Apelle, figlio di Apollo.
Apelle, son of Apollo, made a ball out of chicken skin. All the fishes came to the surface to see the ball made of chicken skin by Apelle, son of Apollo.