How to pronounce the R sound /ɹ/

1. 1Round your lips a little, as if starting a small W.
2. 2Curl the tongue tip back toward the roof of the mouth, or bunch the middle of the tongue upward — either works.
3. 3Make sure nothing touches: the English R is the only English consonant where the tongue floats.
4. 4Turn the voice on and glide straight into the vowel.
5. 5Never tap or trill; a single tap turns it into a D-like sound to an English ear.

• The red car arrived around four in the morning.

• Robert really wants to run every Friday.

Each of these is two words separated by exactly one sound. If a listener hears the wrong one, the problem is the contrast, not the effort.

Nothing here is about ability. Every one of these is a sound system doing exactly what it was built to do, applied to a language that asks for something else.

• HindiUrdu

  Hindi and Urdu use a tapped r, so English R can come out as a quick flick of the tongue instead of a glide.

• Punjabi

  Punjabi r is tapped as well, so the tongue touches where English needs it to float.

• Tamil

  Tamil has a tap and a trill, both with contact, so the English no-contact R is a new gesture.

• Mandarin

  Mandarin has a retroflex sound close to English R, so the start is easier, though it is often more buzzy than the English glide.

• Japanese

  Japanese has a single quick tap for both English liquids, so 'right' and 'light' merge and R often sounds like a fast D.

• Korean

  Korean has one liquid — a tap between vowels — so the floating English R has to be built and the L/R contrast learned.

• Vietnamese

  Vietnamese r varies by region — a z in the north, a tap in the south — so which substitution appears depends on the variety.

• Thai

  Thai r is tapped and is commonly replaced by l in everyday speech, so English R often becomes L.

• Spanish

  Spanish has a tap and a trill, so English R is usually produced with contact and 'red' can sound like 'ded' or a rolled r.

• Portuguese

  In Brazilian Portuguese an initial r sounds like English H, so 'red' can begin like 'head'.

• French

  French r is made at the back of the throat, so English R can sound gargled; the English one is made at the front with no contact.

• German

  German r is also uvular at the back, and a final r becomes a vowel, so 'car' and 'water' need attention at both ends.

• Italian

  Italian r is a trill, so English R arrives rolled, which is very audible to an English ear.

• Russian

  Russian r is trilled too, so the English glide has to replace a habit of vibration.