Pronunciation of the letter "R"?

Question

Proper pronunciation of r (ere). I habitually pronouce it like a hard d like the d sound in little, however sometimes when I listen to spanish speakers it sounds more like the r as in car. Are there times that it is supposed to sound like the r in car?

Answer 1

Take a look at what Lazarus says here in this article:

After a pause, “l”, “n”, or “s”, or in the combination “rr”, it has a trilled sound.....In all other situations, the sound of the “r” is very similar to the American “dd” in “caddy”.

Amor y Paz asked:

if I were to pronounce mi amor correctly would it be (me ah more) or (me ah mored)?

I would say it sort of (hard to describe in writing) like am-O-rd. Why not look it up in the dictionary and hit the little speaker icon to hear it pronounced?

Thank you for your answer, I will continue pronouncing it as I have been. - EL_MAG0, Dec 5, 2010

Answer 2

Hi and welcome to the forum.

This is a much-asked question, Amor. Next time, would you mind making a search before asking? Thanks!

Here's one from the past!

pronunciation of "R"

Ah, ok. Sometimes it's hard to make the search because people use different titles. However, you could still have added your question to that thread. :) - galsally, Dec 6, 2010

Answer 3

From my experience and from my teacher, the "r" in "amor" will be 'flicked' and not 'curled'. Not being familiar with how the American say "caddy" I can't comment; does it really sound like "ca-ry"? The best I can described it is like the R in Raspberry.

Ignore me if I don't make sense !!

I like that decription of 'flicked'. I don't know if I get it right, but that's more or less what I do for 'r' an 'amor' etc. - galsally, Dec 6, 2010