Pronounce the Spanish R

Pronounce the Spanish R The Spanish letter R is easy to pronounce but is often mispronounced by English speakers. Here are some tips for getting it right. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10 minutes Heres How: Keep in mind that there are two R sounds in Spanish: the single R sound and the double R (or RR) sound.Keep in mind that the single R sound is used whenever the single R appears in a word, except when its at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S, when the RR sound is used.Keep in mind that the Spanish R doesnt have the distinctive R sound of English. Think of it as a separate letter entirely.Remember that the single R is pronounced with a single flap of the tongue against the roof of mouth.Say these words rapidly as you would if they were English words, and with the accent on the first syllable: peddo, pahdah, cahdah.Congratulate yourself. You have approximately pronounced the Spanish words pero (but), para (for) and cara (face).Note similarly that in English many words that have T or TT between vowels have the same sound, which is different than the T in today. Examples are cattle, bitter and attic.Practice using the same sound in other positions. For example, to say primo ( cousin), rapidly say pdee-mo, but pronounce the d by hitting your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Again congratulate yourself. Youre on your way to learning this sound.You can hear the r pronounced by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the r . Words spoken in that lesson are pero (but), caro (expensive), primo (cousin), tres (three), seà ±or (Mr.) and hablar (to speak).You can also get advice from About.com readers on pronouncing the r. Tips: Try to imitate the sound of the R as it is pronounced by native speakers.Dont even be tempted to pronounce the R as it is pronounced in English.