/r/
The R sound
English /r/ is the sound learners struggle with most. It is not tapped, not rolled, and not made with the lips alone — the tongue bunches or curls without ever touching the roof of the mouth.
Who this is for: Speakers of Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic and French, plus children working on rhotacism.
40 words with IPA · minimal pairs · sentence ladders · free, no signup
Where to put your tongue
- 1Pull the tongue back so the tip points up but touches nothing.
- 2Bunch the middle of the tongue up toward the hard palate, or curl the tip back — both work.
- 3Press the sides of the tongue against the upper back teeth. That side contact is what makes it sound American.
- 4Round the lips slightly, as if starting a small 'w'.
- 5Turn the voice on and hold: rrrrrr. There should be no tap and no vibration at the tip.
Common mistakes
- Tapping the tongue on the ridge behind the teeth — that gives a Spanish 'r' (pero, not 'perro').
- Trilling the tongue, which turns 'red' into a rolled 'rrred'.
- Substituting /l/ or /w/ — 'rice' becomes 'lice' or 'wice'.
- Dropping /r/ after a vowel: 'car' becoming 'cah'. In American English the /r/ colours the vowel and must be heard.
Word list
IPA plus a plain respelling — capitals mark the stressed syllable. Read each column slowly first, then at speaking pace.
R at the start of a word
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| red | /rɛd/ | RED |
| right | /raɪt/ | RITE |
| rural | /ˈrʊr.əl/ | ROOR-uhl |
| really | /ˈriː.ə.li/ | REE-uh-lee |
| rhythm | /ˈrɪð.əm/ | RITH-uhm |
| robbery | /ˈrɑː.bə.ri/ | RAH-buh-ree |
| reservoir | /ˈrɛz.ɚ.vwɑːr/ | REZ-ur-vwar |
| ridiculous | /rɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/ | rih-DIK-yuh-luhs |
| recipe | /ˈrɛs.ə.pi/ | RESS-uh-pee |
| refrigerator | /rɪˈfrɪdʒ.ə.reɪ.tɚ/ | rih-FRIJ-uh-ray-tur |
R in the middle
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| February | /ˈfɛb.ju.ɛr.i/ | FEB-yoo-air-ee |
| library | /ˈlaɪ.brɛr.i/ | LY-brair-ee |
| mirror | /ˈmɪr.ɚ/ | MEER-ur |
| horrible | /ˈhɔːr.ə.bəl/ | HOR-uh-buhl |
| temporary | /ˈtɛm.pə.rɛr.i/ | TEM-puh-rair-ee |
| particularly | /pɚˈtɪk.jə.lɚ.li/ | pur-TIK-yuh-lur-lee |
| deteriorate | /dɪˈtɪr.i.ə.reɪt/ | dih-TEER-ee-uh-rate |
| hierarchy | /ˈhaɪ.ə.rɑːr.ki/ | HY-uh-rar-kee |
| brewery | /ˈbruː.ə.ri/ | BROO-uh-ree |
| secretary | /ˈsɛk.rə.tɛr.i/ | SEK-ruh-tair-ee |
R after a vowel (r-coloured)
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| world | /wɜːrld/ | WURLD |
| were | /wɜːr/ | WUR |
| girl | /ɡɜːrl/ | GURL |
| first | /fɜːrst/ | FURST |
| water | /ˈwɑː.tɚ/ | WAH-tur |
| computer | /kəmˈpjuː.tɚ/ | kuhm-PYOO-tur |
| northern | /ˈnɔːr.ðɚn/ | NOR-thurn |
| murmur | /ˈmɜːr.mɚ/ | MUR-mur |
| further | /ˈfɜːr.ðɚ/ | FUR-thur |
| surprise | /sɚˈpraɪz/ | sur-PRIZE |
R in a cluster
| Word | IPA | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| street | /striːt/ | STREET |
| through | /θruː/ | THROO |
| thrown | /θroʊn/ | THRONE |
| scream | /skriːm/ | SKREEM |
| strength | /strɛŋkθ/ | STRENGKTH |
| groceries | /ˈɡroʊ.sə.riz/ | GROH-suh-reez |
| prescription | /prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən/ | prih-SKRIP-shuhn |
| crisps | /krɪsps/ | KRISPS |
| drawer | /drɔːr/ | DROR |
| squirrel | /ˈskwɜːr.əl/ | SKWUR-uhl |
Minimal pairs
Say each pair out loud, three times. If the two words sound identical, the sound is not landing yet.
right vs light
/r/ tongue floats free · /l/ tip touches the ridge
rice vs lice
the classic /r/–/l/ swap
red vs led
listen for the tap that should not be there
correct vs collect
mid-word contrast
rake vs wake
/r/ has tongue bunching, /w/ is lips only
grass vs glass
cluster contrast
Sentence ladders
Start with the single word, then add length. Never move up a rung until the one below is clean.
rural
the rural road
The rural road runs right by the river.
library
a library card
Rebecca borrowed a rare library book on February the third.
world
around the world
World-weary travellers wandered around the whole wide world.
squirrel
a grey squirrel
A grey squirrel scurried across the surprisingly narrow street.
Tongue twisters for this sound
Practise these with your microphone and get an instant accuracy score.
Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.
hard · practise with the mic →
Truly rural. Truly rural. Truly rural.
hard · practise with the mic →
Rolling red wagons run rapidly round rugged rocks.
medium · practise with the mic →
Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.
medium · practise with the mic →
Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather.
hard · practise with the mic →
Upper roller, lower roller, upper roller, lower roller.
hard · practise with the mic →
A ten-minute daily routine
- 1. Two minutes on the mouth position, in front of a mirror.
- 2. Three minutes reading the word list aloud, slowly.
- 3. Two minutes on minimal pairs, three times each.
- 4. Two minutes climbing one sentence ladder.
- 5. One minute on a tongue twister — slow first, fast last.
- 6. Record yourself once a week and compare.