How to pronounce /r/

approximant · voiced · Both British & American

Practice target: RP — Received Pronunciation

Simplified illustration, not measured anatomy. Use the written cue and recorded examples together.

How to make it

American R: tongue tip curled back (or bunched up), lips slightly rounded. Don't trill.

Common slip: Don't roll/trill the R. American R is smooth — like the start of a /w/.

English /r/ may share an L1 category with /l/ or a tap; avoid a full tongue contact.

Use this repeatable synthesized model for the controlled word set. It is a practice reference, not a universal answer key for every speaker.

“red, car. red, car.”

No R sound in “car”? That’s correct: RP (Received Pronunciation)drops an R that isn’t followed by a vowel (“car” sounds like “cah”).

Record the controlled word set and receive automated practice feedback. Scores are estimates, not expert or clinical diagnoses.

Reference audio only: this sound is accent-sensitive, so compare it with the named target variety rather than treating TTS as a universal answer key.

Choose a scene, then try one example word in a natural reply. This focus is self-directed, not a sound-specific assessment.