Master the pronunciation for the liquids: ら, り, る, れ, ろ
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| This is らりるれろ. |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell the difference between the Japanese r sound and the English r sound and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Risa, and this is Japanese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| ら (ra), り (ri), る (ru), れ (re), ろ (ro) |
| The Japanese "ra-row" sounds are called "tap or flap," which is a sound made by quickly tapping your tongue against the roof of your mouth. |
| While they're romanized as r, their pronunciation is quite different from the English r sound. |
| Think of the Japanese r as a softer, quicker d sound. For example, to pronounce the Japanese name Eri, imagine saying "Eddy" very quickly, with a light touch of the tongue on the roof of your mouth. |
| Repeat after me. |
| えり (Eri) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| えり (Eri) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| えり (Eri) |
| Keep this in mind and repeat after me. |
| ら (ra), り (ri), る (ru), れ (re), ろ (ro) |
| (3 seconds) |
| ら (ra), り (ri), る (ru), れ (re), ろ (ro) |
| Let's practice some words now! |
| らく (raku) |
| "easy" |
| (space for repetition) |
| らく (raku) |
| ろく (roku) |
| "six" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ろく (roku) |
| りく (riku) |
| "land" |
| (space for repetition) |
| りく(riku) |
| れい (rei) |
| "example" |
| (space for repetition) |
| れい (rei) |
| るす (rusu) |
| "absence" |
| (space for repetition) |
| るす (rusu) |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| らく/りく |
| "easy"/"land" |
| (space for repetition) |
| らく/りく |
| ラフ/るふ |
| "rough"/"dissemination" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ラフ/るふ |
| らん/ろん |
| "orchid"/"theory" |
| (space for repetition) |
| らん/ろん |
| Because of the similar tongue position, learners often misperceive ら (ra), れ (re), ろ (ro) as た (ta), て (te), と (to). |
| Pay attention to how I pronounce the following pairs. |
| らく/たく |
| "easy"/"cook" |
| (1) |
| らく/たく |
| (1) |
| あれる/あてる |
| "become rough"/"guess" |
| (1) |
| あれる/あてる |
| (1) |
| ろく/とく |
| "six"/"virtue" |
| (1) |
| ろく/とく |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds of these minimal pairs. |
| らく/りく |
| (1) |
| らく/りく |
| (1) |
| らく means "easy," and りく means "land." |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| らく/ろく |
| (1) |
| らく/ろく |
| (1) |
| らく means "easy," and ろく means "six." |
| Now listen to the following sentence, focusing on different minimal pairs. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| らんよりすいれんの方が好きです。 |
| (Ran yori suiren no hō ga suki desu.) |
| "I prefer lotus flowers to orchids." |
| (1) |
| らん/れん |
| Let's try another one. |
| 楽な仕事で、給料は月に六万円です。 |
| (Raku na shigoto de, kyūryō wa tsuki ni roku-man-en desu.) |
| "It's an easy job, and the salary is 60,000 yen monthly." |
| (1) |
| らく/ろく |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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| Just click the link in the comments section. |
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