Here are some fun letter X tongue twisters that can be used for pronunciation activities and practice.
The 3 main ways that the letter X is pronounced are /ks/, /gz/, and /z/.
Think of how you say the following words –
/ks/ – box, wax, matrix, explain.
/gz/ – exhaust, exam, exist.
/z/ xylophone, xerox, xenops.
Being the English language, there are of course some rare exceptions. For example, the words anxious and obnoxious can be pronounced with the /kʃ/ sound, which is a /k/ + /sh/ combination. There are also words of French origin such as faux that have a silent letter X.
The tongue twisters with X below use all of the sounds above. Some of them use several different X sounds together, while others focus on only one sound, and others on rhyming and rhythm.
1 – Mexicans in Oaxaca faxed text hoaxes to a Texan in Xanadu. The excited Texan indexed the faxed text hoaxes in onyx boxes with xeroxes.
2 – Expert expressions expressly expressed yet not explained.
3 – Roxie the expert explained Alexandria’s onyx ibexes exercise.
4 – An Oxford boxer unboxed a fox and fixed a mailbox paradox.
5 – A lynx and springboks exited Phoenix and experienced extreme anxiety.
6 – Rex and Baxter relaxed and exchanged expenses.
7 – Xmas wrecks perplex and vex.
8- A pixel prefix and a pixel suffix codex.
9 – Executive Xavier’s xylophones.
10- Exiled expats Trixie, Max, and Felix export mixed socks and luxury crucifixes.
11- A toxic sweatbox complex with locks in the docks.
Exotic waxen axe taxes. Exotic waxen axe taxes. Exotic waxen axe taxes.
12- Xena’s sixth xylophone exam exhausted Xena’s expressive exploits.
13- Exoplanets with oxygen explode and expand in complex galaxies.
14- Six clocks, six sticks, six trucks, six bricks, six ticks, six slicks, six tracks, six tricks.
15- Taxi fixer, wax mixer, axe fixer, box mixer.
16- An anxious ox expects to relax; an anxious ox leaves no tracks.
17- The ex-egg examiner.
18- Experienced extras exited the exit expecting excellent cheques.
19- X-ray checks clear chests.
20- Flexing exercise, expressive exercise, extensive exercise, excited exercise.
21- Examiners examining example exams exactly.
22- The next text exposed Alex.
