Their other brother gathers those leather feathers.
Every one of the seven words has the buzzing TH in it. Slip, and other turns into odder or those turns into doze.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- Voiced TH /ð/, as in their, other, brother, gathers, those, leather and feathers. Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and let your voice buzz. Put a finger on your throat: you should feel it hum.
- Voiceless TH /θ/ is the quiet cousin, as in thin and think. It uses the same mouth shape, but the throat does not buzz.
Quick test: say then, and feel the hum. Say thin, and feel only air.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
Their other brother
gathers those
leather feathers.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
THEIR UH-ther BRUH-ther GA-thers THOSE LEH-ther FEH-thers.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Their other brother gathers those leather feathers.
If it falls apart, that is normal. Slow down and try again. Keep the tongue soft between the teeth, and keep the buzz going.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
The tongue pokes out between the teeth, and then it has to pull back and do it again.
their other brother gathers those leather feathers
- Seven TH sounds happen in only seven words, and five of them are in the middle of a word.
- The tongue cannot park between the teeth for long. It must go out, back, out, back, and each time it needs a little buzz.
- Gathers those is the hardest joint. The tongue must move from the Z sound at the end of gathers to the TH sound with nothing in between.
👀 Words to Notice
Say these pairs slowly. The buzzing TH is very easy to swap for another sound:
- then / den
- they / day
- those / doze
- breathe / breed
- clothe / close
Watch your tongue in a mirror. For TH, it peeks out between the teeth. For D, it stays behind them.
🏆 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:
That smooth feather soothes this other brother.
🧐 Did You Know?
Strange but true: English writes two different sounds with the same two letters, TH. Thin has the quiet one, this has the buzzing one, and the spelling gives you no clue which is which.
🔗 Related Practice
- Lesser Leather: another buzzing TH twister, with W and L.
- Thirty Thirsty Thrushes: the quiet TH, mixed with S and T.
- Clothes: Do You Say the TH?: a TH word that many people say without the TH.