Liquids & glides
How to pronounce /r/ R as in red
redaroundcar
How to make it
Curl your tongue back so it touches nothing, lips slightly rounded.
- Tongue
- Curled back, touching nothing
- Lips
- Slightly rounded
- Voice
- Buzzing on
Watch the mouth
Curl the tongue back and keep it floating — it touches nothing.
Where learners slip
- Vietnamese speakersOften trilled or turned into /z/ instead of curled back.
- Japanese speakersR and L blur together — right and light sound the same.
- Korean speakersR and L blur together — right and light sound the same.
- Thai speakersOften trilled or turned into /l/.
- French speakersMade in the throat instead of curled back.
Say it on real English. See if it lands.
Lang Shadow scores /r/ every time you say it — in Shorts, in role plays and in your own words — and colours it next to the other 40 sounds.