Every English speaker learning Japanese hits the same wall: the R sound. You have been told it is “somewhere between R and L,” but that explanation does not tell you what to actually do with your tongue. You try to say ありがとう and it comes out sounding like “aligato” or “arigato” with a strong English R that makes native speakers pause for a second.
This article is different. Instead of just explaining the sound, it gives you a step-by-step system to actually fix it — with tongue position details, individual mora practice for ら, り, る, れ, ろ, real vocabulary drills, a list of the six most common mistakes, and a 5-minute daily routine with a recording check. By the end, you will know exactly what to do and how to hear whether you are doing it right.
| Topic | Key Point |
|---|---|
| What is Japanese R? | A quick tongue tap — not held, not curled |
| English R vs Japanese R | English R is long and curled; Japanese R is short and light |
| English L vs Japanese R | Different tongue position; Japanese R is faster |
| Tongue position | Lightly tap the ridge just behind upper front teeth |
| Common mistakes | Curling the tongue, holding too long, adding stress |
| Practice method | 5-minute daily routine + recording check |
What Makes Japanese R Different from English R and L
Japanese R is a tap, not a hold
The Japanese R — used in ら, り, る, れ, ろ — is called an alveolar tap or flap in linguistics. The tongue briefly touches the alveolar ridge (the bony bump just behind your upper front teeth) and bounces off immediately. The contact lasts only a fraction of a second. This is the single most important thing to understand: the sound is quick.
Do not curl the tongue like English R
English R (as in “red,” “right,” “run”) is a retroflex or bunched sound. You either curl the tongue tip backward toward the roof of the mouth or bunch the back of the tongue upward. Either way, the tongue never actually touches anything — it just shapes the airflow. Japanese R is the opposite: the tongue tip does touch, and it touches briefly and cleanly. If you curl your tongue for Japanese R, the sound will immediately sound foreign to Japanese ears.
Do not hold the sound like English L
English L (as in “love,” “light,” “learn”) also involves touching the alveolar ridge with the tongue tip. However, the difference is duration and airflow. For English L, the tongue stays in contact while air flows around the sides. For Japanese R, contact is instantaneous — no air flows around the sides because the tongue has already left. Holding the contact longer turns the Japanese R into something that sounds like an L, which is also wrong.
Keep the vowel clean after the tap
One thing that goes unmentioned in most guides: the vowel that comes after the tap matters. Japanese vowels are pure and short.
After you tap for ら, the “a” sound should be clean Japanese /a/ — open, front, and unrounded. Do not let the vowel slide into an English drawl. If the mora sounds off even when the tap is right, the vowel is likely the cause.
YukaI used to say “ali-ga-to” instead of ありがとう. Once I understood it is a tap — not an L — everything clicked. The tongue just bounces, it does not stay.
Japanese R vs English R vs English L
English R is held longer
English R is one of the longest and most complex consonants in the language. Think about how long you hold the R in “really” or “around.” The tongue shape is maintained for the full duration of the consonant. Japanese R is roughly one-fifth of that duration — a quick tap that is over before you can think about it.
English L uses a different tongue position
Both English L and Japanese R involve the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge, so it is natural to confuse them. But the key difference is the sides of the tongue. For English L, the sides of the tongue drop, allowing air to flow around them — this is called a lateral consonant. For Japanese R, there is no lateral airflow. The tap is central and instantaneous. Try saying the English word “butter” at natural speed — the middle “tt” in American English is actually a tap very close to the Japanese R. That quick flap is what you are aiming for.
Japanese R is shorter and lighter
If English R is a closed fist, Japanese R is a finger snap. The whole point is brevity. Native Japanese speakers do not think about the R sound consciously — it just happens quickly between vowels. When you slow it down and try to make it “correct,” you almost always add too much pressure or duration.
Why “somewhere between R and L” is not enough
This is the description you hear in almost every beginner guide: “the Japanese R is somewhere between English R and L.” It is technically true as a description of acoustic output — to English ears, Japanese R can sound like either — but it is useless as a production instruction. It does not tell you where to put your tongue, how long to hold contact, or how much pressure to use. The correct instruction is: tap the alveolar ridge with the tongue tip, briefly, with light pressure, and release immediately.
How to test whether you are overdoing it
Say the English word “ladder” at natural conversational speed. The middle consonant — the “dd” — is an alveolar tap in American English. It sounds similar to the Japanese R. Now try to isolate that tap and use it to say ら. If your ら sounds close to the “la” in “ladder” said quickly, you are in the right territory. If it sounds like the R in “ramen” said with a full English R, you are curling too much.
| Sound | Tongue contacts ridge? | Duration | Tongue curled? | Lateral airflow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese R (ら) | Yes — briefly | Very short (tap) | No | No |
| English R (red) | No | Long | Yes | No |
| English L (love) | Yes — sustained | Longer | No | Yes |
The Tongue Position for Japanese R
Where the tongue should touch
Place your tongue tip on the alveolar ridge — the small bump you can feel just behind your upper front teeth. This is the same spot used for English T, D, N, and L. The target is the front part of this ridge, not the middle of the palate. Many learners aim too far back, which produces a retroflex sound closer to English R.
How much pressure to use
The pressure should be very light — lighter than for English T or D. For T and D, you build up air pressure behind the tongue and then release it (a stop consonant). For Japanese R, you are not building pressure. The tongue simply flicks the ridge. Think of brushing a fly off your arm rather than slapping it.
Why the sound should be quick
Speed is not optional. The alveolar tap is defined by its brevity. If you hold the contact even slightly longer than intended, the sound becomes an approximant (English L territory) or a stop (D territory). Practice making the contact as brief as physically possible. At first it may feel like you are not saying anything — that is actually the right direction.
What happens if you curl your tongue
Curling the tongue tip backward — the retroflex position — produces the classic English R sound. For Japanese, this is an error. To check yourself, say ら and ask: did my tongue tip point forward (toward my front teeth) or backward (toward the roof of my mouth)? It should always point forward. Keep the tongue flat and the tip aimed at the ridge behind the teeth.
What happens if you press too hard
If you press the tongue too firmly against the ridge, you produce a D sound instead of a tap. ら becomes “da.” This happens when learners are being too deliberate. The fix is to relax the tongue and let the contact be incidental — the tongue passes through the ridge position on its way to the vowel position, rather than stopping there.
ReiI always tell students: pretend your tongue is just passing through the ridge on the way to the vowel. Do not stop there. Just graze it and move on to ア.
Practice ら, り, る, れ, ろ One by One
Each mora in the R row has the same tap consonant but a different vowel. Practice them individually before combining into words. Go slowly at first — once the tap is correct at slow speed, gradually bring the pace up to natural speed.
ら pronunciation practice
ら = tap + /a/ (as in “father,” but short). The vowel should be open, central, and unrounded. Do not round the lips or drawl the vowel. Practice steps:
- Say “la” in English. Notice your tongue stays on the ridge.
- Now say it faster, so the tongue barely touches. That is closer to ら.
- Repeat: ら ら ら ら ら — with a short, clean /a/ each time.
- Target words: ラーメン (ra-a-me-n), らく (ra-ku, “easy”), 楽しい（たのしい）(ta-no-shi-i, “fun”) — note the た uses a stop, not a tap; focus on contrast with ら
り pronunciation practice
り = tap + /i/ (as in “see,” but short and unrounded). The vowel is high and front. In some speech styles, the /i/ in り is devoiced (whispered), especially between voiceless consonants, but begin with a fully voiced /i/.
- Say “lee” in English, then speed it up to the point where the L barely registers.
- Repeat: り り り り り — keep the /i/ short.
- Target words: ありがとう (a-ri-ga-to-u), わかりました (wa-ka-ri-ma-shi-ta), 料理（りょうり）(ryo-u-ri, “cooking”)
る pronunciation practice
る = tap + /u/ (Japanese /u/ is unrounded, unlike English “oo”). English speakers tend to round their lips for /u/. Japanese /u/ is produced with the lips spread or neutral. Keep the lips flat.
- Say English “roo” — notice your lips round forward. Relax them completely.
- Say る with lips spread. It should sound slightly like “rr” without the rounding.
- Repeat: る る る る る — lips flat each time.
- Target words: 食べる (ta-be-ru, “to eat”), 見る (mi-ru, “to see”), いる (i-ru, “to be/exist”)
れ pronunciation practice
れ = tap + /e/ (as in “bed,” but short and pure — no diphthong). English speakers often turn /e/ into a diphthong (“eh-i”), especially at the end of syllables. Japanese /e/ is a pure monophthong — it does not move.
- Say “ray” — notice how it becomes “ray-ee.” Stop before the glide: just “re.”
- Repeat: れ れ れ れ れ — the /e/ stays flat.
- Target words: これ (ko-re, “this”), それ (so-re, “that”), 誰（だれ）(da-re, “who”)
ろ pronunciation practice
ろ = tap + /o/ (as in “orange,” but short and without the English /u/ glide at the end). English speakers often add a glide, turning “ro” into “ro-w.” Japanese /o/ is pure.
- Say “row” — notice the glide at the end. Stop before it: just “ro.”
- Repeat: ろ ろ ろ ろ ろ — no glide at the end.
- Target words: 色（いろ）(i-ro, “color”), 六（ろく）(ro-ku, “six”), ろうか (ro-u-ka, “hallway”)
Common vowel mistakes after R sounds
Even when the tap itself is correct, vowel errors can make the mora sound wrong. Watch for these:
| Mora | Common Error | Correct Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ら | Drawling the vowel — making it too long | Short, open (a) |
| り | Holding the vowel too long | Short (i) |
| る | Rounding the lips — English oo shape | Flat lips, unrounded (u) |
| れ | Diphthong — gliding into ee at end | Pure (e) — no glide |
| ろ | Glide at end — English row ending | Pure (o) — no glide |
Practice the R Sound in Useful Words
Now apply the tap to real vocabulary you will use constantly. For each word, the R mora is marked in bold. Say each word five times slowly, then five times at natural speed.
ありがとう
Meaning: Thank you
Pronunciation: a-ri-ga-to-u
Focus: The り is the tap. It is not “ali-gato” (English L) and not “a-ree-gato” (long /i/ with English R). It is a quick tap followed by a short /i/.
Practice sentence: ありがとうございます。(Thank you very much.)
これ
Meaning: This (thing)
Pronunciation: ko-re
Focus: The れ ends the word. Keep the /e/ pure — no glide into /i/. The word should feel complete and short: “ko-re” not “ko-ray.”
Practice sentence: これは何ですか？ (What is this?)
それ
Meaning: That (thing near you)
Pronunciation: so-re
Focus: Same /e/ issue as これ. Also check that the /o/ in “so” is clean — no diphthong.
Practice sentence: それはペンですか？ (Is that a pen?)
ラーメン
Meaning: Ramen (noodle dish)
Pronunciation: ra-a-me-n (the ー extends the /a/)
Focus: This is actually one of the easiest words for English speakers because you will not confuse ラーメン with a Japanese word. The ら tap here is at the start of the word. Keep it light and do not stress it the English way (“RAY-men”).
Practice sentence: ラーメンが食べたいです。(I want to eat ramen.)
料理（りょうり）
Meaning: Cooking, cuisine
Pronunciation: ryo-u-ri
Focus: Two R sounds in one word — りょ and り. The りょ combines the tap with the /yo/ glide. Do not add an extra vowel: it is not “ri-yo-u-ri.” The りょ is one mora with the /y/ glide built in.
Practice sentence: 日本料理が好きです。(I like Japanese cuisine.)
わかりました
Meaning: I understood / Got it
Pronunciation: wa-ka-ri-ma-shi-ta
Focus: The り is surrounded by /ka/ and /ma/ — voiceless and voiced environments. Keep the tap light even in this flowing context. Many learners insert an English R between /ka/ and /ma/ — listen for it in your recordings.
Practice sentence: はい、わかりました。(Yes, I understood.)
いらっしゃいませ
Meaning: Welcome (greeting used in shops and restaurants)
Pronunciation: i-ra-ssha-i-ma-se
Focus: The ら is followed by っ (a geminate/double consonant), which means the /sh/ in っしゃ is held for an extra mora. Focus on the ら first — tap lightly — then the っしゃ holds slightly longer than a regular しゃ.
Practice sentence: いらっしゃいませ！(Welcome to our store!)
もう一度お願いします
Meaning: Please say that one more time
Pronunciation: mo-u i-chi-do o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su
Focus: No R mora in this phrase — useful to contrast. Note ね (ne), which uses the same alveolar ridge as Japanese R but is a nasal. Practice alternating: ら-ね-ら-ね to feel the difference between a tap and a nasal. Then say the full phrase smoothly.
Practice sentence: すみません、もう一度お願いします。(Excuse me, could you please repeat that?)
Yukaわかりました was the word I practiced most. I recorded myself saying it every day for a week. By day four, the り finally sounded clean — not like an L or an English R.
Common Japanese R Mistakes English Speakers Make
Pronouncing it like English R
What it sounds like: “arigato” with a curled, retroflex English R
Why it happens: English R is your default setting. Any time you see the letter R, your brain triggers the English motor pattern.
Fix: Consciously untrain the association. When you see ら, り, る, れ, ろ, do not think “R” — think “tap.” Visualize the tongue tip lightly touching the ridge and bouncing off.
Pronouncing it like a strong English L
What it sounds like: “aligato” with a clear English L
Why it happens: Some learners overcorrect away from English R and land on English L, which at least has the right contact point.
Fix: Shorten the contact time. English L holds the ridge — Japanese R does not. Practice rapid-fire ら ら ら ら ら and focus on getting the tongue off the ridge as fast as possible after each tap.
Holding the sound too long
What it sounds like: A heavier, longer consonant that sounds like D or L
Why it happens: Being careful and deliberate causes you to slow down and hold the contact.
Fix: Practice at slightly faster-than-comfortable speed. The sound is supposed to feel almost too quick. If you can hear a distinct consonant when you say ら slowly, try to make it disappear a bit more — the tap should be subtle.
Adding English stress
What it sounds like: “a-RI-ga-to” with emphasis on the RI
Why it happens: English has lexical stress (words have a “stressed syllable”). Japanese has pitch accent, not stress. You do not make a syllable louder to emphasize it in Japanese.
Fix: Keep all mora in a word at roughly the same volume. If anything, the mora with a tap is slightly softer than surrounding mora because the tap itself is brief. Flatten your volume across the whole word.
Changing the vowel after the R sound
What it sounds like: “koreh” instead of これ, or “rahmen” instead of ラーメン
Why it happens: English vowels are strongly influenced by surrounding consonants. After an English R, vowels often color and shift.
Fix: Treat the vowel as completely independent of the tap. After the tap, immediately move to the target vowel position without any transition. れ = tap → /e/. ら = tap → /a/. No glide in between.
Overcorrecting and sounding unnatural
What it sounds like: An exaggerated flap that is technically correct but sounds robotic or overly careful
Why it happens: When learners first “get” the tap, they sometimes apply it too forcefully.
Fix: Listen to how casual and light the tap is in native speech. In phrases like ありがとうございます said naturally, the り is almost imperceptible. Aim for that lightness. Your goal is to disappear into natural-sounding speech, not to demonstrate the technique.
How to Hear the Japanese R Sound
Production improves when your ear improves. Train yourself to hear what you are trying to produce.
Listen for a quick tap
When you listen to native Japanese, the R mora should register as a brief flicker — not a consonant you can hold on to. If you are trying to catch the consonant in ありがとう and it feels like it goes by before you can hear it, that is exactly right. Practice listening to the syllable だ (da) and ら (ra) side by side — both are quick, but the tap in ら is even lighter than the stop in だ.
Compare ら and だ lightly
だ uses the same alveolar ridge but is a voiced stop (air builds up, then releases). ら is a tap (no air buildup). Finding audio of minimal pairs like だって vs. らって, or words beginning with だ and ら, trains your ear to hear the difference. The だ has a tiny moment of silence before the vowel (the stop closure); ら has none.
Compare ら and English “la”
Record yourself saying English “la” slowly, then saying ら. Listen back. The English “la” should sound heavier and have a longer consonant. The Japanese ら should sound lighter and faster. If they sound identical, your ら is still too much English L. If ら sounds heavier, you are probably adding too much pressure.
Listen in native-speed phrases
Look up recordings of ありがとうございます, わかりました, いらっしゃいませ on Forvo or YouTube. Listen specifically for the R mora in each word. Notice that at natural speed, you cannot isolate the consonant — it blends seamlessly with the surrounding vowels. Your goal is to produce that same seamless quality.
Why listening helps speaking
Phonologists call this “perceptual learning” — once your ear can reliably distinguish Japanese R from English R and L, your own production self-corrects faster because you can hear your own mistakes. The ear-mouth loop is more powerful than any written description. Prioritize active listening alongside active speaking practice.
5-Minute Japanese R Practice Routine
Use this routine once a day — ideally at the same time so it becomes a habit. You will need: a quiet room, your phone or computer for recording, and a mirror (optional, for watching tongue position).
1 minute: tongue tap practice
Place your tongue tip on the alveolar ridge and release it rapidly, without voicing. It sounds like a very soft “d” click. Do this 10 times. Then add voicing and tap into the vowel /a/ to produce ら. Do this 10 times. Then do the same for /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/ — producing り, る, れ, ろ. Do not rush; focus on the brevity of each tap.
1 minute: らりるれろ slowly
Say the full R row in order: ら り る れ ろ. Pause slightly between each mora. Listen for clean vowels after each tap. Then say them in reverse: ろ れ る り ら. Repeat this cycle three times at a comfortable pace. Do not speed up yet — accuracy matters more than speed at this stage.
1 minute: useful words
Say each of the following five words three times at a slow but natural pace: ありがとう, わかりました, これ, 料理（りょうり）, ラーメン. Focus on each R mora as it comes. Do not pause before the R; let the tap fall naturally in the flow of the word.
1 minute: short phrases
Say these two phrases three times each at a comfortable pace:
- ありがとうございました。(Thank you very much — past tense)
- わかりましたが、もう一度お願いします。(I understood, but please say it one more time.)
These phrases have multiple R mora. The goal is to produce all of them cleanly without pausing or over-thinking each one.
1 minute: recording check
Record yourself saying ら り る れ ろ and then ありがとうございます. Listen back and ask yourself: Does the tap sound brief? Does it sound lighter than English L? Does it sound less curled than English R? If you answer yes to all three, your R is improving. Save the recording with the date for before-and-after comparison.
ReiThe recording check is the most important part. Students who listen back to themselves improve 3 to 4 times faster than those who just practice without checking. It is uncomfortable at first, but stick with it.
How to Record and Check Your Japanese R
Record one row
Start by recording just ら り る れ ろ in one breath. Say each mora clearly with a brief pause between. Then listen back immediately. This is your baseline for the day. Notice which mora sounds least accurate — that is where to focus your remaining practice time.
Record five words
Record: ありがとう, わかりました, ラーメン, これ, 料理（りょうり）. Listen back one word at a time. Do not try to evaluate everything at once. For each word, ask: was the R mora a quick tap? Was the vowel clean? Did I add English stress? Take brief notes if helpful.
Compare with native audio
Find a native recording of ありがとうございます (easy to find on YouTube or Forvo). Play the native recording, then your own recording, then the native again. The contrast will be immediately obvious. You are not comparing to be discouraged — you are training your ear to set the right target.
Listen for English R habits
Play your recording and specifically ask: do any R sounds feel heavy, curled, or sustained? A curled English R has a recognizable “growling” quality in the vowel that follows. If you hear any color change in the vowel after the R mora — if the /a/ sounds like “ar” or the /i/ sounds like “er” — your tongue is still curling. Note the word and re-record it five more times focusing only on keeping the tongue flat.
Listen for over-held L habits
Overcorrecting from English R sometimes produces English L. Play your recording and listen for consonants that feel heavier or longer than they should. If ありがとう sounds like “ali-ga-to,” the り is too L-like. If you can hear a clear consonant that you feel you could hold, it is too long. The tap should be so brief that you almost doubt whether you said a consonant at all.
Save before-and-after samples
Create a folder on your phone or computer titled “Japanese R Practice” and save your first recording. Record again after one week of the 5-minute daily routine and save that recording too. Play them side by side. The improvement will likely surprise you. Having evidence of progress is a powerful motivator for continuing.
Japanese R Practice by Goal
For travel phrases
If your goal is to use Japanese during travel in Japan, focus on high-frequency service phrases: ありがとうございます, すみません, よろしくお願いします, いらっしゃいませ (to recognize it), わかりました, もう一度お願いします. These phrases contain ら, り, and れ sounds and will come up multiple times a day. Nail the R in these seven phrases and you will cover 80% of real-world R usage in tourist contexts.
For self-introduction
Self-introductions in Japanese frequently require phrases like: 〜から来ました (came from ~), 〜が好きです (like ~), よろしくお願いします (nice to meet you / thank you in advance). These contain both ら and り. Practice your full self-introduction script as a unit, then identify every R mora in the script. Record the introduction, listen back, and mark which R mora still needs work. Fix one at a time over successive recordings.
For shadowing practice
Shadowing — repeating audio immediately after or alongside a native speaker — is one of the fastest ways to improve pronunciation. For R sounds specifically, find audio with frequent ら, り, る, れ, ろ. Good sources: NHK Web Easy news broadcasts, drama scenes with everyday dialogue, or the app Speechling which uses native audio with feedback. When shadowing, do not lag behind — the pressure of keeping up forces your mouth to produce the tap quickly rather than holding it.
For anime and drama listening
Anime and drama are full of R sounds. Focus on casual speech patterns where R appears frequently: 〜られる (potential/passive form), 〜てる (te-form + iru contracted), ありがとう, そうだろう (probably so), わかった vs. わかりました. Anime characters often speak at fast, exaggerated pace — the taps will be especially brief. Train your ear on these sources before trying to imitate them, then gradually shadow specific lines you find difficult.
YukaI used drama dialogue for shadowing every day. After two weeks of 5-minute sessions, my host family in Tokyo started saying my Japanese sounded much more natural. I could tell the R sound was the biggest factor.
Quick Quiz: Japanese R Sound
Test yourself on what you have learned. Answers are below each question.
- True or False: The Japanese R is produced by curling the tongue tip backward toward the roof of the mouth.
Answer: False. The tongue tip taps the alveolar ridge (just behind the upper front teeth) and releases immediately. Curling produces English R, not Japanese R. - Fill in the blank: _______ is a quick alveolar tap; English L uses _______ airflow around the sides of the tongue.
Answer: Japanese R; lateral. - Which word correctly uses the Japanese R? (a) “aligato” (b) “arigato” with a curled R (c) a quick tap for the り followed by a clean /i/
Answer: (c). A quick tap followed by a pure, short /i/ is the correct production of the り in ありがとう. - What is the difference between ら and だ at the level of tongue contact?
Answer: Both touch the alveolar ridge, but だ is a voiced stop (air builds up behind the tongue before release), while ら is a tap (instantaneous contact, no air buildup). - You record yourself saying ありがとう and the り sounds like “lee.” What is the likely mistake?
Answer: The tongue contact is too long — you are producing English L (lateral, sustained) instead of a quick tap. Focus on shortening the contact time so the tongue barely grazes the ridge.
Recommended Next Articles
Your Japanese R is getting stronger. Keep building your pronunciation and listening skills with these articles:
📖 Want real-time pronunciation feedback? Practice speaking with a native Japanese tutor on italki — a 1-on-1 lesson is the fastest way to spot your own mistakes before they become habits.
Which mora gives you the most trouble — ら, り, る, れ, or ろ? Share your experience in the comments below. If you found the 5-minute routine helpful, let us know how many days it took before the tap started to feel natural.
About the Author
Daisuke is the creator of JP YoKoSo — a Japanese learning site for English speakers. Every article is written to explain Japanese clearly, with real examples, grammar notes, and practical tips for learners at every level.
💬 Found a mistake or have a question? Contact us here — we review and update articles regularly.