Lessons Unit 1, lesson 42

ɹ as in red

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?

ˈriːdread Stressed part — say it louder & longer.

təto Weak word — say it quickly & softly.

∅e Silent letter — don’t pronounce it.

θth Underline — these letters spell one sound.

wa·ter Dot · — a syllable break.

go‿on Linked — blend the words together.

?↗︎↘︎ Arrows — voice rises ↗︎ or falls ↘︎.

ˈsɛvən7 Number — how to say it aloud.

read² ² mark — has a second pronunciation.

guess? ? mark — a best guess; double-check it.

Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.

ɹthe r in red

Curl your tongue tip up and slightly back — it touches nothing at all. Round your lips a little: red, run. No rolling, no tapping.

red

run

ray

row

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.

ring

grab

read

write

rain

very

Don't tap it, don't roll it

American ɹ is unusual: the tongue tip curls up and slightly back but touches nothing — no tap against the ridge, no trill, no contact at all. Say red or run and check that your tongue is floating, not touching anywhere in your mouth.

Adding a small lip round, as in row or ray, helps darken the sound and makes it easier to keep the tongue from drifting toward contact.

The classic partner: L

ɹ and l confuse many learners because both use the tongue tip lifted toward the front of the mouth — but l actually touches the ridge, and ɹ never does. red and its l-cousin led from the l-lesson make a clean test pair.

In the middle of a word, like very, keep the tongue floating and never let it tap down — that tap is what would turn it into l or even a fast d.