/r/

consonant · voiced

The R Sound

as in red

How to make the /r/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Curl the tongue tip up and back — touching nothing.
  2. 2Round the lips slightly.
  3. 3Never trill or tap it in English; W in "wrist" is silent.

⚠ The most common mistake

Rolling/trilling it (Spanish, Russian) or replacing with L (Japanese, Korean).

Especially tricky for speakers of: Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, French, German.

Train your ear: /r/ vs /l/

These two words differ by exactly one sound. Tap both — can you hear it?

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying red, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /r/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →