R vs. L in English: What's the Difference?

If your first language is Japanese, Korean, or Mandarin, you might have some trouble with the English R sound and English L sound. English words like “right” and “light,” or “read” and “lead” sound basically the same to you. It might be hard to distinguish between R vs. L in English. 

Why Can’t I Hear R vs. L in English?

This isn’t because you’re not listening carefully! It’s actually because your brain was trained as a baby to not recognize the difference between R and L. Your native language likely has a sound that’s somewhere between R and L, and that’s what your growing brain focused on. 

Now, you’re learning English, and that difference between R and L is actually important! Your brain is still getting used to the differences in these distinct liquid consonants: it hears both R and L, but files them into the same mental category. So, it’s not a hearing problem with R vs. L words; it’s a matter of re-training your ears, brain, and mouth. 

Improving R and L Pronunciation

The solution comes in two stages: first, you need to train your ears to hear the difference between R and L. Then, you need to train your mouth to produce the correct sounds for the R and L pronunciation.

Listening For Liquid Consonants

Even though these liquid consonants may sound similar, The English R sound and the English L sound use very different mouth positions. Let’s see how to pronounce R and L. 

For the English L sound articulation, your tongue tip touches the little bumpy area right behind your top teeth. When you make the clear L sound in English, your tongue tip makes firm contact with that ridge, and air flows around the sides of your tongue.

The R sound for ESL students can be a bit more difficult. With the English R sound, your tongue tip touches absolutely nothing. Pull your tongue back into your mouth. Curl the tip up slightly, but don’t let it touch your teeth or the roof of your mouth. Add a little lip rounding, and that’s the American R pronunciation. 

Here’s the big difference: The tongue position for L features contact between the tongue and back of teeth. With the tongue position for R, the tongue touches nothing. These are the secrets to a clear L sound in English and a solid American R pronunciation. 

Listening for Consonant Contrast English

Before you can say these two letters perfectly, you need to hear it correctly. Listen carefully to these R and L minimal pairs, and focus on what’s different. Can you hear the nuance of R vs. L in English?

Don’t try to speak yet! Just focus on listening to the R and L minimal pairs at this step.

• light / right

  🔊

• long / wrong

  🔊

• alive / arrive

  🔊

• lead / read

  🔊

• glass / grass

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Don’t give up listening to R and L minimal pairs! It’s the first step to solid and consistent pronunciation. 

How to Pronounce R and L in English

Now it’s time for R and L practice exercises. Check out these examples of popular English words that include L and R. Read through them, and check your tongue placement for each example of these R vs. L words. 

Advanced R and L Practice Exercises

Things get a bit trickier with words that have both R and L. For example, “girl,” “world,” “rural,” and “regularly” are the next level of R vs. L in English! 

Master these words by starting slowly and feeling each sound separately. For example, in “world,” start with a W (lips rounded), then hit the R (tongue pulled back, no contact), then the L (tongue tip to ridge), then D. Each sound has its own position, and there’s a clear difference between R and L. Don’t blur them together!

Syranto can track your pronunciation mistakes, offer R / L feedback, and set up targeted practice on how to pronounce R and L for long-term accent improvement!