Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian Tongue Twisters
jezikolomke / brzalice

Rough Translations

1. The needle plays the game of the needle. German: Die Nadel spielt das Spiel der Nadel 
2. Four crows are perched on a bucket. A tomcat jumped on the barrel and caused havoc. 
3. Did your (peasant) shoes fall apart? 
4. A Turk turns the barrel, a Turk's wife rolls a barrel, the Turk turns the barrel better then the Turk's wife rolls it. 
5. Mouse up the gun, mouse down the gun, in the middle of the gun it drinks some water. 
6. The dog (bitch) started barking and went on barking. 
7. Peter asks Paul, how much are a pair of ducks; a pair of ducks are five nickels (fivers), five ducks (are) many nickels. German: Peter fragt Paul, wieviel kosten zwei Enten; zwei Enten fünf Fünfer, fünf Enten viele Fünfer. 
8. When they though about you, did they make you happy you? German: Als sie an dich dachten, haben sie dich erfreut? 
9. A black billy goat is chewing the thorny bush's black top; Don't chew, black billy goat, the thorny bush's black top. French: Un bouc noir broute le sommet noir d'un arbuste épineux; bouc noir, ne broute pas le sommet noir de l'arbuste épineux! 
10. We came to the tinker when the tinker was mending pots with his nine tinker's daughters and the the tinker's old woman was carrying water in a mended pot. French: Nous sommes allés chez le chaudronnier, quand le chaudronnier répare les chaudrons avec ses neuf fils de chaudronnier, mais la vieille femme du chaudronnier leur apporte de l'eau avec des chaudrons rapiécés. 
11. Did you have a good time? 
12. A fish is bitting off a fish's tail. 
13. On the top of the riverbank the willow is swaying. 
14. Chirp, chirp, cricket on the knot of the black spruce. 
15. A Turk rolls the barrel, the barrel pushes the Turk. It is better for the barrel to push the Turk, than that the Turk roll the barrel (away). 
16. Brother starling is watching a company of crows, chirp starling chirp crows 
17. The toughest running boy often runs tough on Thursdays to Brèko. 
18. Who buried the priest's broadbeans? 
19. (I'll hit you) with a little (rakija) bottle, (you'll hit me) with a little (rakija) bottle. The hitting action is implicit; "čokanjčić" is a small tear-shaped bottle used for rakija, a spirit of the brandy family. 
20. I love (my) sweetheart and the violett and I'm swinging. 
21. Did you soil your opanci? "Opanci" are old-fashioned shoes with points that curl upwards. 
22. Mountains burn more/harder up there than down there. 
23. There is a cute/small skirt hanging on the dryer. German: Ein kleiner Rock wird auf dem Strick getrocknet. 
29. The priest is digging in his bean garden. Who is digging in the priest's bean garden? The priest is digging in the priest's bean garden. 
30. Belt buckles, and beneath the belt buckles that which belongs beneath belt buckles, and beneath that which belongs beneath belt buckles, more of what belongs beneath belt buckles. 
 


Hvala

Mira Brown, Ivana Bubica, Maja Devlin, Dalibor Dvorny, Alan Futterman, Andre Gouvea, Siegfried Hajszan, Ljerka Hrzenjak-Sego, Milivoj Ilic, Cvijeta Jakwiq, Jasenka Kljaic, Milica Licina, Renata Lucic, Blazenka Martinovic, Muhamed Mesic, Mirjan Milovanovic, Thomas Moller, Marc Moreau, Mima Nelson Dedaic, Alen Skugor, Aleksandar Stosich, Jelena Terzibasic, Bané Young

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