Lessons Unit 1, lesson 30
l as in law
One consonant, on its own page. Hear it, watch where it sits in each word's sheet, then say the words yourself.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
ll as in law
Tongue tip up behind your top teeth — and sing: lll. Air flows around the sides of your tongue.
Now say it yourself
Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — speaking clearly matters more than speaking fast. Tap a word's microphone to record yourself and see which sounds landed.
Check your pronunciation, on this device. The first use downloads a small AI listener (about 40 MB, one time, then it's cached). Your voice is analyzed here in your browser — it never leaves your device.
L versus R: the classic mix-up
For l, the tongue tip actually touches the ridge behind your top teeth, and sound flows around its sides. For its cousin r, the tongue never touches anything at all. That contact is the whole difference between law and its r-cousin raw.
If your l comes out sounding hollow or blurry, check that the tip is really landing on the ridge, not just hovering near it.
Light L and dark L
Notice how l feels different in leg or lap than it does in milk or little. Before a vowel it's light and clear; after a vowel or before a consonant, the back of the tongue lifts too, giving it a darker, heavier color.
Both are the same sound — don't strain to make them identical. Just keep the tongue-tip contact steady in each case.