Forum Rocket Spanish Spanish - Vocab The spanish R - Level 1- How to pronounce spanish words

The spanish R - Level 1- How to pronounce spanish words

Segun17

Segun17

Hello all, I'm new to the spanish world and I'm having difficulties with the strong R. Why is the r in dar (to give) a strong R in the pronoucniation. It does not follow any of the following rules:

  • when there are two Rs in a row;
  • when there is an R at the start of a word;
  • when there is an R after the letters L, N or S; and
  • when there is an R after the prefix sub-

 

I also checked online and it was pronounced with a strong R as well. Thank for your help

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

¡Hola Segun17 y Alme!

An R at the end of a word (as in dar “to give”) is most often pronounced as a soft R (or “flap R”). You can hear this quite well on the second R in the word subrayar “to underline”: 

subrayar

to underline



But, that doesn't mean that Spanish speakers won't also sometimes pronounce the final R in a word as a strong R (or “rolled R”)! This might happen because they're really emphasizing the word or their pronunciation, or because it happens to work better for their cadence in a particular sentence. And, as Alme mentions, you may notice that people from one region roll their Rs more freely than people from another.

When you're first learning your Spanish Rs, I would recommend focusing on those places that you listed where you know that you always have to roll your Rs, and at the same time simply keeping an ear out for what you hear native speakers actually say. Over time, as you get exposed to more and more Spanish, you'll find yourself replicating what the native speakers do without even thinking about it!

I hope that this was helpful. If you still have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Saludos,

Liss

LlimaB

LlimaB

Thank You this helps me too, as I am learning also.

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

Glad to hear it, LlimaB! :)

Yogajoe

Yogajoe

this was very helpful, thank you

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