Thirty-three thieves thought they thrilled the throne.
Seven words, and every one of them has a TH. But one TH is not like the others.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- Voiceless TH /θ/, as in thirty, three, thieves, thought, thrilled and throne. Put the tip of the tongue lightly between your teeth and blow air. Your throat does not buzz.
- Voiced TH /ð/, as in they and the. The tongue is in the same place, but now your throat buzzes.
Quick test: put a finger on your throat and say thin, then this. You feel a buzz for this, and no buzz for thin.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
Thirty-three thieves
thought they thrilled
the throne.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
THIRty-THREE THIEVES THOUGHT they THRILLED the THRONE.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Thirty-three thieves thought they thrilled the throne.
If it falls apart, that is normal. Slow down and try again. Keep the tongue between your teeth for every TH.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
The tongue goes between the teeth over and over, and it never gets to rest.
thirty-three thieves thought they thrilled the throne
- Two spellings, th and thr, mean the tongue has to push forward and then curl into R.
- Thought they thrilled has TH, voiced TH and TH in a row, so it is easy to use the wrong one.
- Many learners say S, T or F instead of TH. That changes the word.
👀 Words to Notice
These pairs change when TH becomes another sound:
- think / sink
- three / tree
- thin / tin
- thank / tank
Say each pair slowly. Put the tongue tip between your teeth for TH.
🏆 OddLingo Challenge
- Round 1: say it slowly, one chunk at a time, with no mistakes.
- Round 2: say the whole twister once at normal speed.
- Round 3: say it three times fast without stopping.
Bonus round: if you survived all three, try this one:
Three thin thinkers thanked the thrush on Thursday.
🔗 Related Practice
- Thin Sticks Thick Bricks: TH against other sounds.
- Thirty Thirsty Thrushes: another twister built around TH.