How to Blow a Raspberry

Blowing a raspberry refers to the funny noise made when you stick out your tongue between your lips and blow. Blowing raspberries is a great way to make people laugh. Or, put your lips on a person’s arm or belly to blow a raspberry on their skin and tickle them. Anyone can blow a raspberry to make someone smile, though in particular, blowing raspberries can encourage babies to make sounds and eventually speak.

Blowing a Raspberry

To blow a raspberry, inhale, stick out your tongue, and blow the air out of your mouth. Make a funny face and wiggle your hands as you blow to get people laughing. Or, blow a raspberry on someone's skin to tickle them.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Blowing Raspberries with Your Mouth

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The amount of tongue you use varies the sound and intensity of the raspberry. You can stick your tongue out just a little for a subtle raspberry, or stick it out 1 in (2.5 cm) or so to make a loud noise.^{[1]XResearch source}
2
Blow with consistent force to make noise with your mouth. Take a deep breath in, and let it out in order to blow the raspberry with your mouth.^{[2]XResearch source}
- If you don't inhale before you blow, the raspberry will not make a sound.
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3
Wiggle your hands as you blow raspberries to make others laugh. To make blowing the raspberry extra silly, open your hands and place your thumbs by your ears. Then, move your fingertips around as you blow the raspberry.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Babies, in particular, may find this very funny.
4
Shake your head around while blowing the raspberry to vary the sound. If you want to change the sound of your raspberry, try moving your head back and forth from side-to-side or up and down. The change of your head placement can make the raspberry sound faster or change the overall pitch.^{[4]XResearch source}
- For example, move your head from left to right very quickly for a fast, funny sound.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Blowing Raspberries on Someone’s Skin

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If you are doing this to an older child or adult, be sure to get their consent. While it's silly and fun, some people may not want you to do this.
You can blow a raspberry on their tummy, arm, or somewhere else. Simply place your lips on their skin, and open your mouth slightly to make an “O” shape.^{[5]XResearch source}
When you want to give the raspberry, take a deep breath in through your nose and let out the air through your mouth to make the sound. Doing this while your lips are on someone's skin tickles the other person and makes a funny noise.^{[6]XResearch source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Encouraging Your Baby to Make Noise

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1
Play with your baby and act silly. You can easily add blowing raspberries to your normal playtime activities. Start off by playing with a toy or teething device to get the baby's attention.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Blowing raspberries may help your baby establish language and communication skills.
2
Stick out your tongue and blow to make a raspberry. While playing with your child, take a deep breath in, and exhale the air with your tongue out to blow the raspberry. This creates a funny noise that babies often find amusing.^{[8]XResearch source}
- You can blow a raspberry into the air, on their stomach, or on their arm, for example.
3
Make other mouth noises to encourage your baby to mimic you. In addition to raspberries, you can stick your tongue out and keep blowing air to make other silly sounds. Try pressing out your lower lip and moving your index finger over top repetitively to vary the noises.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Most babies begin blowing raspberries around 6-8 months old.^{[10]XResearch source}
- When your baby mimics you, you can also replicate the noise they make to mimic them back. This keeps the "dialogue" going, which encourages them to make more sounds.
- Babies often repeat sounds as they are learning to communicate. This helps them regulate their voice and change volume and pitch.
4
Continue doing this during playtime to encourage communication. Blow raspberries for a few minutes each time you play with your child. Over time, they may start to make more noises than before.^{[11]XResearch source}
- This, in turn, can improve their language development, which helps speed up the process of saying their first words.
- Once the baby can comfortably blow raspberries back at you, they likely will develop their language skills soon after.

Common Questions: All About Blowing Raspberries

Why is it called blowing a raspberry?

Blowing a raspberry is a type of rhyming slang. Because the noise sounds like flatulence, people would say someone was “blowing a raspberry tart” instead of “blowing a fart.”

Is blowing a raspberry rude?

Blowing a raspberry can be used as a childish or rude gesture. Someone might blow a raspberry at another person to mock or taunt them.

Does blowing raspberries come before babbling?

Babies typically start babbling and blowing raspberries around the same time. This usually starts when they’re around 4 to 6 months old.^{[12]XResearch source}

Tips

While blowing raspberries for your baby, it is also helpful to talk to them frequently and sing songs. This way, they get more auditory stimulation, which helps them develop their communication.^{[13]XResearch source}
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Don’t overthink blowing a raspberry. This is an easy action that is second-nature once you do it the first time.
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Warnings

Try to be mindful of how much spit you spray when blowing raspberries. If you have a lot of spit in your mouth, it may spray onto your friends or family members as you do this. They will think this is gross rather than funny!
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If your baby is not vocalizing with sound by about 8 months old, talk to your doctor. This could be an indication of delayed speech development, for instance, and your doctor can help you further.^{[14]XResearch source}
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