Lesson 9 of 16
R row
The Japanese r is a quick tap of the tongue, somewhere between r, l, and d. Think of the "tt" in butter.
Pronunciation
How it sounds
The Japanese r is one quick tap of the tongue tip on the ridge behind your upper teeth, the same movement as the tt in American butter. Don't roll it, and don't pull your tongue back as in English r.
Reading tips
Easy to mix up
る and ろ differ only by the loop: る has one at the bottom, ろ doesn't.
ら and ち (lesson 4): ら starts with a small tick; ち starts with a full bar.
れ, ね, and わ share a long left stroke. れ ends in an open flick, ね in a loop.
Rod and reel: a fishing rod. Say "ra" with a quick tap of the tongue.
Reach high with both arms up. Say "ree".
A Rooster with a spiky comb. Say "roo".
A Wrench. Say "re".
I wrote the number "3" and it looks like ろ. Say "ro".
Real vocabulary
Words you can read now
さくら
sakura
cherry blossom
そら
sora
sky
いろ
iro
colour
くるま
kuruma
car
ひかり
hikari
light
あるく
aruku
to walk