How to pronounce the ‘R’ in Japanese

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The struggle is real

Just as R’s in English are hard to pronounce for the Japanese natives, the ‘R’s in Japanese are hard to pronounce for those who learned English as the first language. As matter of fact, the L’s are also hard to pronounce for the Japanese natives because phonetically, R and L equivalent don’t exist in the Japanese language (actually, neither does V or F!). You’ll never see an ‘L’ in Japanese but you will see R’s when the Japanese words are spelled out in English alphabet. But if you use the ‘R’ sound that you’ve been using all your life, you’d be pronouncing it wrong.

If you are planning to visit Japan, you probably would want to know how to properly pronounce the R’s that you see in Japanese. It helps you with your listening comprehension as well because when they pronounce the words with R’s in them, it may initially sound like they are saying something else to you.

Some Japanese words with R’s

R’s appear in Japanese quite a bit but some of the more common words you might be familiar with are:

• Sayonara (goodbye)
• Arigato (thank you)
• Sakura (cherry blossom)
• Nara (city, tourist attraction)
• Ramen

Simple trick to use

Here is the simple trick to pronouncing it as authentically as possible:

• Say the word ‘Butter’ or ‘Matter.’ The two T’s in the American English actually sounds like a soft ‘D.’ (I think this is technically called the ‘flap-t’.)
• Repeat how you pronounced just those two T’s a couple of times.
• Use this soft D sound where you see the R’s in Japanese.

Try saying these words again

So, the above set of words sound more like the following using soft D’s:

• Sayonada
• Adigato
• Sakuda
• Nada
• Damen

Yeah, have fun with that! You will have to say and hear this multiple times to get the hang of it. Or maybe you decide that you don’t give a cdap about it and move on! 😉

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