Pointed tongue

How it works

A pointed tongue has a tip that narrows to a point instead of a rounded edge. It looks like a lizard’s tongue or the point of a paintbrush.

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat. It has no bone and its volume stays constant, so squeezing it in one direction makes it grow in another². To make a point, the crosswise muscles inside the tongue squeeze the tip from the sides, and the up-and-down muscles flatten it¹. The tip gets narrower and longer at the same time. The octopus arm and the elephant trunk work the same way².

Not everyone can make a clear point on command³. Many people can narrow the tip a little but not to a sharp point. Practice helps. Singers and people who play wind instruments often report that tongue control improves with training.

How common it is

The 55% figure comes from one survey of 429 Han Chinese people in Shaanxi, China³. It is one sample from one region, so the true global figure could differ. No study has tracked how many more people can learn a point with practice.

Try it

1. Push your tongue out about a centimetre.
2. Squeeze the tip from the sides, as if pinching it with the tongue’s own muscles. Do not use your lips.
3. Push the tip forward at the same time. It should narrow and lengthen.
4. Look in a mirror. A clear point is the target. A slight taper is normal for people who cannot do it.
5. Try holding the point for five seconds. Most people find the tip trembles.

Is it a problem?

No. There is no known link between pointing your tongue and speech or eating. It is a simple muscle-control trick, not a medical trait, and there is no downside to lacking it. There is nothing here worth mentioning to a doctor. A tongue that is genuinely painful, or one that cannot move normally rather than one that just cannot form a point, is a separate and unrelated issue worth checking.