El que poco coco come, poco coco compra.
el ke PO-co CO-co CO-me, PO-co CO-co COM-pra
He who eats little coconut, buys little coconut.
🔊 Listen & Practice
Start with slow speed to master pronunciation, then gradually increase to challenge yourself.
🎨 Visualization
If you only eat a little coconut, you only buy a little coconut! Makes sense, right?
🎯 Pronunciation Focus
The Crisp 'k' Sound ('c' and 'qu')
/k/The main challenge is repeating the sharp, clear /k/ sound found in 'que', 'poco', and 'coco'. Make the sound at the back of your throat, like the 'k' in the English word 'sky', without any puff of air.
Clear Vowel Sounds ('o' and 'e')
/o/, /e/This twister trains you to keep your vowel sounds pure and distinct, even at high speed. The Spanish 'o' is a pure 'oh' (like in 'boat') and 'e' is a pure 'eh' (like in 'get'). Avoid letting them get lazy and turning into an 'uh' sound.
The 'p' Sound
/p/Practice the Spanish 'p' in 'poco' and 'compra'. Unlike the English 'p', there's no puff of air. Press your lips together firmly and release the sound cleanly.
📝 Practice Breakdown
Start with the first half. Focus on the rhythm and making each 'co' sound sharp and identical. Don't rush.
Now for the second half. The rhythm is nearly the same. The key is a clean switch from 'come' to 'compra' at the end.
Put it all together. Think of it like a drumbeat. The steady repetition is what makes it tricky, and what makes it great practice!
📚 Background
This is a classic and very popular tongue twister for beginners. It's not designed to be complex, but to build muscle memory for some of the most common sounds in Spanish through simple, fun repetition. It's a perfect first step into the world of 'trabalenguas'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Using an Airy 'p' or 'c'
Mistake: "Pronouncing 'poco' or 'coco' with a puff of air, like the English words 'pot' and 'cot'."
Correction: The Spanish 'p' and 'c' (as a 'k' sound) are 'unaspirated', meaning no puff of air. To test this, hold your hand in front of your mouth. When you say 'pot' in English, you'll feel a puff of air. When you say 'poco' correctly in Spanish, you should feel almost nothing.
Blurring the Syllables
Mistake: "When speeding up, the words can blend together into something like 'pococcocome'."
Correction: Practice slowly with exaggerated mouth movements. Open your mouth for each 'o'. Make sure there's a tiny, clean break between each syllable: PO-CO-CO-CO-CO-ME. Speed will come naturally once the clarity is there.
🌎 Where It's Used
General Spanish
This tongue twister is universally known and used across the entire Spanish-speaking world as a tool for children and learners.
🔗 Related Tongue Twisters
The Coconut Challenge
Can you say it three times in a row, getting faster each time, without your 'cocos' getting mixed up? Record yourself and listen back to see if each syllable is clear!
🏷️ Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a common phrase in real life?
No, you wouldn't use this exact sentence in a normal conversation. It's a 'trabalenguas' (tongue twister), which is a linguistic game created specifically to be a fun challenge for your mouth muscles.
Why is it good for beginners?
It's perfect for beginners because it uses very common, simple sounds ('p', 'k', 'o', 'e') and doesn't have difficult sounds like the rolled 'rr'. The challenge comes from repetition and rhythm, which helps build a strong foundation for clear Spanish pronunciation.