The sixth of six sisters sat six steps up.
Sixth is a tricky word to say quickly. It ends with three consonant sounds in a row: K, S and TH. Each of them is a different move, and your mouth has to make all three before the word is over.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- K /k/, as in sixth. The back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, then releases.
- S /s/, as in sixth, sisters, sat and steps. Your tongue is close to the ridge behind your top teeth, and the air hisses through.
- TH /θ/, as in sixth. The tongue tip comes out between your teeth at the very end.
Quick test: say six and then sixth. Sixth adds a TH after the S. That small extra sound is the difficult part.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
The sixth of six
sisters sat
six steps up.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
The SIXTH of SIX SISters SAT SIX STEPS UP.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
The sixth of six sisters sat six steps up.
If you drop the TH or the K, slow down and finish the word fully. Each sound should be clear.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
Look at the end of each word:
sixth / six / sisters / sat / steps
- Sixth has K, S and TH at the end. Three consonants at the end of one word is unusual, so your mouth is not used to it.
- Sixth and six sit close together in the sixth of six. Your mouth has to go from K-S-TH to K-S, and then straight on to sisters, which starts with S.
- Sisters, sat and steps all start with S. Your tongue keeps going back to the same place, and it is easy to run them together.
👀 Words to Notice
These pairs show how the ending changes the word:
- six / sixth: the same start, with an extra TH at the end
- five / fifth: the V becomes F, and a TH is added at the end
- twelve / twelfth: the ending changes from V to F, with a TH added
🏆 OddLingo Challenge
- Round 1: say it slowly, one chunk at a time, with no mistakes.
- Round 2: say the whole sentence once at normal speed.
- Round 3: say it three times fast without stopping.
Bonus round: if you survived all three, try this one:
The sixth sheep sipped six sweet sodas.
🧐 Did You Know?
Numbers in English often change their ending when they become an order. Six becomes sixth, five becomes fifth and twelve becomes twelfth. The -TH ending is how English turns most numbers into an order. The first three are irregular: first, second and third.
🔗 Related Practice
- Six Sleek Swans: another six-word twister, with the SW sound.
- Six Wishes, Ten Dishes: the S and Z endings for plurals.
- Twelve Tiny Twins: the number twelve starts with TW.