Whether the weather is warm or whether the weather is wet, we will walk.
The twister has two words that sound the same: whether and weather. They are spelled differently, but your mouth makes the same sounds.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- W /w/, as in whether, weather, warm, wet, we and walk. Round your lips tightly, then open them fast.
- Voiced TH /ð/, as in whether, the and weather. Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth and make your throat buzz.
- Short E /e/, as in wet. A short, open eh.
Quick test: say wet, then vet. For W the lips round. For V the teeth touch the lip.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
Whether the weather
is warm
or whether the weather
is wet,
we will walk.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
WHETHer the WEATHer is WARM or WHETHer the WEATHer is WET, we will WALK.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Whether the weather is warm or whether the weather is wet, we will walk.
If it falls apart, that is normal. Slow down and try again. Keep the lips round for W and the tongue between the teeth for TH.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
W and voiced TH can be tricky for learners, and the twister puts them close together.
whether / weather
- Whether and weather sound the same for most speakers, so your ear cannot tell them apart. You only know which one you said from the meaning.
- Voiced TH needs the tongue between the teeth and a buzz, in the middle of whether and weather, and again in the.
- W needs tightly rounded lips, which is easy to turn into V.
- The long sentence repeats the pattern twice, which gives plenty of time to slip.
👀 Words to Notice
These pairs change when W becomes V:
- wet / vet
- west / vest
- wine / vine
- worse / verse
- wail / veil
Say each pair slowly. Round your lips for W.
🏆 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:
Whether the weather is wet or whether it is not, we will wait with a warm drink.
🔗 Related Practice
- Weather vs Whether: which spelling to use for which meaning.
- Wendy's Violet Vest: W against V.