{"id":142793,"date":"2023-08-29T17:30:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T21:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-rr\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T03:44:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:44:47","slug":"spanish-rr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-rr\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Roll Your Rs in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

For lots of Spanish learners, the language\u2019s trickiest challenge can be boiled down into two simple little letters:\u00a0rr. Though it may not feel like it, with the right kind of practice, anybody can learn to make the Spanish rolled rr sound.<\/p>\n

This article contains some tried-and-true tips that’ll have you mastering those tricky rr <\/em>sounds in no time at all.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is the Spanish Trilled RR<\/em> Sound?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The letter r <\/em>can make two different sounds in Spanish. Both of these sounds can be difficult for native English speakers who are learning Spanish, since neither sound exists in English.<\/p>\n

The trilled r <\/em>sound (also called a hard r\u00a0<\/em>or a rolled r,\u00a0<\/em>as previously mentioned)\u00a0is the subject of this article. In fancy linguistics terms, it\u2019s called an alveolar trill<\/a> and it’s produced by a vibration of the tongue against the roof of the mouth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Spanish, you\u2019ll find a trilled r <\/em>sound in two situations:<\/p>\n

1. The first and most common place you’ll encounter the sound is in the form of a double-r in the middle of a word.<\/strong> Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English Translation<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Cerro <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Hill<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arroz <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zorro <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Fox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Torre <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Tower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perro <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Dog<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Terrible <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Terrible<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carrera <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Career, race (sports)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garrapata <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Tick (insect)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aburrir <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>To bore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Corregir <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>To correct, to mark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

For more examples of this sound in the middle of a word, check out this website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. You\u2019ll also find the rolled\u00a0r<\/em>\u00a0sound in Spanish any time a word begins with the letter\u00a0r<\/em>. <\/strong>Again, here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English Translation<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Reto <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Challenge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rabia <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Anger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rosa <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Rose, pink<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rojo <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Red<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rat\u00f3n <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Mouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rayo <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Lightning, a ray of light<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ropa <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Clothes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rotonda <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Traffic circle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rutina <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Routine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robar <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>To rob, to steal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

How to Make the Spanish RR<\/em> Sound<\/h2>\n

1. Start with a soft (un-rolled)\u00a0R<\/em> sound and work from there<\/h3>\n

As I mentioned earlier, Spanish contains two r <\/em>sounds. We\u2019ve already talked about the hard r,<\/em> but what about the soft r?<\/em> That\u2019s the sound that you\u2019ll encounter when there\u2019s a single r <\/em>anywhere in the middle or at the end of a word.<\/p>\n

So, how do you make the soft r sound?<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, it\u2019s the same sound as the tt <\/em>sound in the English word \u201cbutter\u201d (pronounced with an American accent).<\/strong> Practice saying the word \u201cbutter\u201d and pay attention to where your tongue lands in your mouth on the tt<\/em> sound.<\/p>\n

Another easy way to learn to make the soft r <\/em>sound is to pronounce an English d<\/em>, but with a slightly different tongue placement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you notice that when you say d,<\/em>\u00a0the broad middle part of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth? Try to say d<\/em>\u00a0again, but instead, touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Congrats\u2014you\u2019re basically making a soft r <\/em>sound.<\/p>\n

So, how will this help you with the trilled r?<\/em> First of all, it\u2019ll help you get the tongue placement down, since it\u2019s the same for both. Second, it\u2019s the building block for the next tip:<\/p>\n

2. Make the unrolled r <\/em>sound twice in a row<\/h3>\n

So now you can make a soft r <\/em>sound. Next, try to make it twice in a row. Then three times, then four times\u2014as quickly as you can.<\/p>\n

The actual rolled r <\/em>sound involves using your breath to create a vibration between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.<\/strong> If you make the soft r <\/em>sound many times in a row as fast as you can, you’re very likely to roll your r <\/em>without even realizing it.<\/p>\n

3. Work on your tongue placement<\/h3>\n

Many English speakers get tripped up trying to roll their r\u2019s<\/em> because they’re too hung up on how they pronounce an English r, <\/em>in which the tongue doesn’t touch the roof of the mouth at all. Since, as we\u2019ve mentioned, the rolled r <\/em>requires vibration between the tongue and the roof of the mouth, this won’t do at all!<\/p>\n

So, try to get English pronunciation out of your head<\/strong> and make sure your tongue is in the right place.<\/p>\n

To find the right tongue placement, put your tongue directly behind your top front teeth. Then, start moving your tongue toward the back of your mouth.<\/p>\n

Eventually, you’ll feel where the roof of your mouth stops being smooth and starts having ridges.<\/strong> This ridged area is where your tongue needs to be when making the rolled r <\/em>sound.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Listen to people making the trilled RR <\/em>sound<\/h3>\n

Babies learn language sounds intuitively<\/a> by listening to and watching native speakers make them.<\/p>\n

Think about it this way: You probably don\u2019t remember anybody teaching you to pronounce an s<\/em>\u00a0or f<\/em>\u00a0sound (or an r<\/em> sound, for that matter!) in English. You just learned by listening and observing.<\/p>\n

Doing the same in Spanish can help your brain make sense of how to produce the Spanish rr<\/em> sound. So, seek out some video and audio resources of native Spanish speakers\u00a0in movies<\/a>, podcasts<\/a> or on a language learning platform like FluentU<\/a> and follow along.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p> \r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

\r\n