How to pronounce the Russian R ("Р")

[@myspacetomdotcom]

i'm russian but ive been living in england for half my life- ive literally forgotten how to pronounce the russian р due to a speech impediment and the english environment- thankyou so much!

[@sigvilmana3925]

Ты выписан из Русских.

[@myspacetomdotcom]

@@sigvilmana3925 я понимаю T_T

[@sigvilmana3925]

@@myspacetomdotcom наконец хоть кто-то из выписанных признал это

[@Stormcryo]

got the same issue except I moved to America when i was 7 and forgot how to pronounce the "p" as well

[@myspacetomdotcom]

@@Stormcryo yeah,, i get very envious of my peers who can roll their р's haha

[@Asteriykot]

I'm that russian guy, who has troubles with р

[@TheMelopeus]

I am romanian and I have trouble too. But i learn it slowly

[@allendeednella]

I could not pronounce it until 7. but speech therapist taught me

[@azerty_42]

Андрей Квасников Welcome to the club, man

[@poslasticenekadaisada5845]

im serbian and i didnt know it when i was 6 so i went to classes to learn it XD now i know i mean i leart it when i was 7

[@idaich]

bruh momentov numerov dosv

[@maxwellx1450]

GREAT! Now I sound like a machinegun

[@tinajones5641]

I wish I sounded anything other than severely disturbed. Machine gun would do!

[@anuggetoflen2383]

remember no russian

[@raumfahreturschutze]

"Так, так, так!" - говорит пулеметчик! "Так, так, так!" - говорит пулемет!

[@soljordal5218]

i'm trying to learn russian but I either don't roll the P at all or I sound like chewbacca

[@rosaochoa5893]

😂

[@jmalsam]

THANK YOU. I've been pronouncing "P" in the back of my throat, almost like a rolled French (or Danish) "R", and I've been constantly tripping over it.. leading me to bail and revert to English "R" most of the time. So fair warning, St. Petersburg: I'll be the guy walking down the street practicing my new "P". Just ignore me.

[@DenisFedorov]

You're welcome) Petersburg has been warned, now go get them)

[@AzukiReal]

You just taught me how to to it with this comment

[@smalls5001]

@@DenisFedorov what does ) mean

[@smalls5001]

@@c.a.9167 Спасибо)

[@FrozenMermaid666]

I cannot stand the sound of rolled or trilled Rs, so I’ve never rolled / trilled my Rs in my life, and I only use the soft Rs, such as the American R and the Americanized R (used in Dutch aka de gooise R) and the soft / ultra soft R that isn’t an American R! I use soft Rs in all languages I speak, so they always sound so pretty and refined! I recently started learning languages on my own, and, am learning multiple languages at the same time, so, I always use the soft Rs and the soft Gs in all those languages, including Dutch and Norwegian and Welsh etc!

[@zazr83]

As a french, this sound is biologically not possible to do for me

[@Yuqideqiko]

dude, the French R sound is the one biologically not possible for me 🥲 is it sounds like German R sounds though?

[@zazr83]

​@@Yuqideqiko Lol, we each can't pronounce each other's language 😭 And yeah, it's basically the same sound as in German

[@iskiiwizz536]

moi aussi mdr c'est un enfer leur langue

[@Lena-ck8ie]

Same for Germans

[@phillipferrell4067]

I been learning Russian about four years now, and I just learned how to roll the Russian р more than once last night. So far I'm finding it's easier for me if the р follows a д or a т because my tongue is already where it needs to be.

[@DenisFedorov]

A small note: Russian [д] and [т] are pronounced with the tip of the tongue at the upper front teeth.

[@1nestar]

Я русский, просто не знаю как произносить Р.

[@Proel-ep7qx]

Ты кагхтавись?)))

[@psydarks4761]

Я из румынии и я умею произносить "р" лмао

[@Gilb0matic]

Я американ и я могу почти. Рип

[@dinomoviesnstuff]

Не лесно, просто не звучи както трябва при мен.

[@Tommy23r10]

Thanks very much Denis! This to me is very similar to the Spanish and Italian R's, and as a native English speaker i have found rolling my R's to be difficult, however i know can do them very easily and the Russian roll is not too different from those too. Cheers again.

[@DenisFedorov]

You're welcome

[@dls20player72]

I agree, the way russian pronounces p is similar to the spanish r. This is also a reason why I love Russian and want to learn it

[@getauftekatze399]

As a russian guy who can't pronounce r in his own language, I can give you a tip, try to pronounce it like r in little bit ald english films. Or some scotish people. Say "moReover","gRegor". Somitimes it's close.

[@mihailonesic4930]

Hi, I'm just a serbian guy trying to learn his own language's letter P listening to russian guy explaining it in english. Спасибо :)

[@JamesConley999]

I legit sound like a dying walrus I cant

[@EsiJet]

I think we're twins😂

[@sumi90]

I'm dying 😂

[@Blitzscrank]

the part at 5:30 helped a lot. i just practiced those two for a while and was eventually able to roll the r!

[@DenisFedorov]

Well done!

[@Taz.K]

Wow!!! I’ve been able to do this sound for months with not knowing it while I’ve been trying to do the Spanish R

[@Sanietty1]

E'RRRRRR [I LAUGHING]

[@goatgamersurnameidonthavsu8388]

ΜΕ 2

[@brmm576]

Relatable 😂

[@petrovichiphoneovich7587]

Try to pronounce, E'RRRORRR

[@melaniebrinson2365]

I'm literally watching every Russian "P" video. I can get my tongue to the alveolar ridge, and I can get it to vibrate. If I move my tongue towards my teeth, I sound like a buzzing bee. If I move it to the roof of my mouth, my tongue will literally vibrate along the roof making a really fast "duh-duh-duh-duh" sound. I can hold both of those sounds. I cannot hold the "P" though. Sometimes I can get it to go for a second, but I end up making a "Lool" sound most of the time or a single "P" roll.

[@giorgieglass8287]

Thank you for teaching the Р (rr) for the Russian R. Thank goodness this pronunciation of "rr" will be very easy for me. Growing up learning Spanish, the Spanish language has a very similar R (rr) pronunciation. Thanks to my parents who inculcated the Spanish language in our household, we naturally roll the R in language. Our father taught us a song in Spanish that practiced the R rolling; 🎶 Ehrreh con ehrreh cigarro, ehrreh con ehrreh barril, rápido corren los carros, llenos de azucar en el ferro carril🎵 Ha,ha,ha! This was a very popular jig for pronouncing the R & RR in Spanish that both roll, one longer than the other. 😁 Great drawing by the way alone with the very concise explanation of this very difficult sound for those without Rrrr! training. Oh, another American "untrained tongue" exercise is repeating out loud the words "pot of tea" many times consecutively and feel the touch position pronounce the "rrr".

[@uhe3431]

American here the pronouncing Caro has helped me alot thank you

[@vysheslavuzumati1269]

Is it true that Vladimir Lenin could not pronounce this sound despite being native russian?

[@DenisFedorov]

Yes, it is true. He could not pronounce it because of a speech defect which in English is called something like lallation or lamdacism. So it was a medical problem.

[@eternakrokodilanto5263]

Vasiliy Uzumati yes

[@harshmnr]

So how did he pronounce it? ~:~

[@jonizulo]

@@eternakrokodilanto5263 why are you here? xd

[@felicvik9456]

@@DenisFedorov I think king George the IX of England had the same defect

[@suzhannegeorgetteescobidal7959]

I really want to learn russian, it is a beautiful language, but I cant pronounce their r sound :(

[@sizzlingzulu7880]

Well we’re you successful

[@johng479]

@@sizzlingzulu7880 I’m also curious of this

[@jess8120]

Same :(

[@dairyoo]

Im trying to learn it seeing at is is where im from but i was raised in London my whole life LMAO,,, im kinda rolling my rs its just confusing what sound im supposed to make

[@Prozelit_Alexandrian]

Just try roaring like car motor, or sleeping beast.

[@w3stipher]

I did it! Thank you! I have been practicing for an hour now and this video finally helped!

[@DenisFedorov]

Great job!

[@atrandom2792]

OMGOSH I did it, I been trying ages to do this. thank you so much

[@DenisFedorov]

Glad I could help!

[@CasulGAmer]

I'm from eastern europe just came here to flex

[@felicvik9456]

I'm a Lithuanian

[@fart7334]

i literally cant do it, honestly thinking abt giving up on russian now

[@Іапа]

same

[@mlatchii9395]

This seems downright impossible

[@blummel97]

The area on the alveolar ridge is tiny! I just try pronouncing the word трохи (from Ukrainian) since pronouncing a single phon is really awkward. You may ask google translator to read it out for you and just try to pronounce the word the way you hear it - you'll get it right with some practice )) The word "трохи" is very good to practice, because the first sound "t" is created at the alveolar ridge too, so you already have your tounge in the area to create the following "r" (p) sound!

[@RiotAncient]

@@blummel97 That's actually super helpful thanks. The r sound for трохи is the same as in the word τρώει in Greek if I'm not mistaken, so at least I know i'm in the right area >>

[@senorsiro3748]

The trick is putting your tongue up and keeping it super relaxed at the same time. To speakers that don’t pick up [r] as a kid, it’s basically like trying to bat your head and rub your belly at the same time. It IS POSSIBLE THOUGH. I only started to get it yesterday after years of wanting it.

[@poopoo2536]

@@senorsiro3748 i don’t know if this makes sense but what do i do throat wise when my tongue is in place

[@senorsiro3748]

@@poopoo2536 just exhale while voicing

[@russelljbriscoe]

That's easy for you to say .......!

[@victormontano7148]

In Spanish we use the rolling R so not difficulty at all to pronounce it!.

[@rip_knifeguy5485]

Im just now realizing how lucky i am to be a german speaker, that makes this sound a hell lot easier since we also have it in german

[@debeisenmann6162]

It would be great to have a video on using this letter in the context of normal speech, where it is sometimes very “rolled” and sometimes not. Thanks!

[@DenisFedorov]

You're welcome... and I'll think about it.

[@Lexi-fl5uc]

it’s like i can say it when i’m saying a word but i can’t roll it without the rest of the word

[@ruslanacutie]

yess

[@TannerTheBandKid]

*trying not to rage because I can’t do it*

[@AiAiTheMonkey]

I've been hardcore working on this sound for about 6 months and I'm so close. I'm at the step of implementing it into normal speech which has been the hardest part so far, especially when I have to speak with other people.

[@Polititraits]

My tongue deformed so is too short and I can’t make the correct sound :(

[@morph2406]

Alexander C Beaumont the tongue is a muscle and it can stretch to become longer, so just practice. Like when people touch there nose with their tongue, in enough time they will be able to because they stretch their tongue

[@galaxyphoenix3003]

This was really useful. :0 Trying to do this r roll thing was totally different from the beginning versus the end. Thank you!

[@DenisFedorov]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JohnSmith-tz7iy]

Здравствуйте Dennis, I have no problems pronouncing "Р" or rolling my R's but I have come across a problem. I have trouble with the word "разрушитель". I have trouble with the second "р", I think because of the "з" before it.

[@engcow1117]

I’m Indonesian and the russian’s “R” sound the same as our’s lmao 🤣🤣🤣

[@brendamadrigal5327]

Engcow same as Spanish one!

[@stefaniecallista5027]

Exactly the same!

[@Dash22212]

Ikr

[@lux_1223]

Well, As a Serb, It's very easy for me to pronounce it. I learn Russian at school anyways.

[@rodarollada]

Hello cousin! Let’s go bowling!

[@trakktor0]

I am slovak but we use the same R sound as you do. This video helped me, because my R sounds more like french r or like combination of R and the russian X. Thanks man...

[@Unwise]

That tractor gif tho hahaha

[@a_musical_mind]

Hi there, after watching your video and practicing for a while, I can produce the Russian R sound but most of the time it sounds like something starting with the H consonant (Hrrrr). I tried doing Trrrr and Drrrr like you mentioned in the video and can do them now to some extent. However the authentic Russian R sounds like Lrrrr, which I can't do at all. May I ask how you combine the L consonant with the rrrr sound naturally? Mine always sounds like A-Hrrrr-L.

[@denisl2760]

lol same problem for me, also doing "hrrrrrrr"

[@rodarollada]

Bro, Kenneth Online must watch this video, no cap.

[@Morbidmirage]

When I try it it sounds like I’m a freaking machine gun

[@qevian]

I can't even pronounce the English r. My r is produced in my throat. The rolling is impossible. If I follow the tips in the video it just sounds like I'm saying zzzzzzzz

[@moswaggy]

I guess I’m not the only one who uses the back of their throat and not being able to roll their Rs

[@DeathScorpi0]

Wait, so the "P" or rolled R sound is not pronounced with the back of the throat? I've been doing it all my life, and people says I have a strange R (I speak spanish btw) It's normal for me to pronounce it like this and I hear it normally, I don't know another way to do it

[@9battlefieldheroes9]

@@DeathScorpi0 its normally with the tip of your tongue. The other rolling R is used in different languages tho

[@Cr1ptlord]

U french ?

[@inspectregadget2856]

Dude don't give up, I couldn't do it for months, just figured it out today

[@yaelifembotnikova]

This video made me realize my tongue doesn't move when i say Rs. Them i started pronouncing random words and my tongue doesn'tgo outside of my teeth, even on th sounds. Still havent learned rr in Spanish either... Ive never been told i talk funny but this is bizarre too me.

[@vicmarnewick7357]

There is no difference to the russian "R" and the Afrikaans "R" (one of the languages in South Africa, spoken by descendents of Netherlands), both pronounce the R very strongly with a rolling sound, much more than the people in Netherland does.

[@brmm576]

That time when you are Brazilian and all of your Rrr's are actually H's so you never said an R in your life...

[@HugoSanchez-eb2pz]

Native Spanish speaker, this is easy for me

[@FalloutUrMum]

Thank you sir, this is probably the closest I've come to it. I can get the tongue vibrating but I can't do it while making the R sound. The Russian R is neat to me because it's like an English R with a roll added onto it. I still can't quite get it. Would Russians understand if I can't roll my R? I will continue to learn it, but I am wondering if I should practice my vocabulary without it in the meantime

[@denisl2760]

Yeah you can definitely understand it, it just sounds like you're speaking with an accent. And some native russian speakers can't even do it, especially little kids.

[@anonmouse-kill3r786]

i sound like im purring?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[@lilmonkmonk808]

I can’t do it. I’ve been trying for years now

[@Vexybotwtf]

I can occasionally accidentally produce this sound when talking but i dont know how to do it on command 😭😭 and i envy anyone who can pronounce it naturally without practicing (one of my friends can do this)

[@violinpracice6440]

Now my tone is so tired :( I managed to get the vibration sometimes but I cannot really control it :(

[@Yts6878]

Is the P pronounciation in Russian same as R in Polish?

[@rodarollada]

I think yes. Don’t remember Polish words with R, but it’s from the same language group.

[@thesovgc]

I can *kind of* do it after T and Д but I need to do it after Г to pronounce my favorite gymnast's name correctly and it's never gonna happen 😭

[@rodarollada]

Grrrrra! Listen to Desiigner, bro.

[@thesovgc]

@@rodarollada what's Designer?

[@zacknicley8150]

No one in America can roll their Rs but everyone can purr like a cat. I’ve always been frustrated when I hear people say they “can’t” roll their Rs. I’m not saying I can do it when I speak and my accent is great, but I hate when Americans say they can’t.

[@carterbee-x4s]

i have a question, what is a alveolar ridge and where is it?

[@Kamerad_Ernst]

SO glad I have the spanish tongue, makes this easier to pronounce

[@rodarollada]

Bro, Lenin on your profile pic. Lol, he couldn’t pronounce R properly. So you beat him at something.

[@CountDuckula1908]

It's the same as the Spanish r right?

[@DenisFedorov]

No, it's not the same but similar to the Spanish R.

[@newsaggregator4773]

Потрясающее объяснение! Спасибо! Поможет в моих уроках! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@christoveli0322]

I can pronounce this letter because I'm from Hungary :DD

[@DenisFedorov]

Good for you

[@bethaQUEENy]

i dont know if im doing it wrong but i think i can do the vibration though when i do it it sounds very high so is that just my voice or am i doing it wrong

[@Ethanbumhole]

I did it on my own without a speech therapist

[@allaboutbalkans2789]

I'm a bengali and this is super easy 😆

[@Kazzzy03]

I sound like an asthmatic mosquito FUCK SAKE

[@jeffsnider3588]

Thanks Denis, excellent video.

[@DenisFedorov]

My pleasure

[@Клаурил]

When I was young I had problems in pronouncing D.

[@maceylee7897]

Thanks for the video! It sounds like the rolled R in Spanish which is unfortunate for me considering in 4 years I still give myself away when trying to make that sound 😅

[@Nono_Power]

Is the sound the same if I make it differently than your technique? I mean I can do it by pushing my tongue far in the back of my mouth and the sound is coming from the beginning of my tongue and not the tip.

[@DenisFedorov]

The sound would be somewhat similar but, of course, not the same.

[@FalconFlurry]

That's more of a Hebrew or Arabic R.

[@celeckey]

/t/ and /d/ are alveolar in English so that's why it's a good place to start. put your tongue in position to say /r/ and the tip in position to say /d/. easier to try when followed by a vowel. try дрово!

[@epion660]

For some reason, this exact comment got me way closer than doing what the video said. Thank you!

[@yeontanseyebrows5588]

Ffs this is the exact sound I can't even make in my native language, I hate life

[@Tommy23r10]

What is your native language?

[@yeontanseyebrows5588]

@@Tommy23r10 I speak Finnish. I have a "French R" meaning it comes from the back of my tongue, like in French. I went to speech therapy things when I was 7 but then the speech therapist just kind of forgot about me, so I quit it. I mean it's not like it really affects my life that much as people don't usually even notice I say it differently (there was a boy I had been friends with for 5 years, one day he over heard me reminding my friend I can't pronounce R and he was like "Wait? You have rhotacism? I had no idea"). One of my best friends also has rhotacism (I actually just found out the English word for that), hers is kind of like the English R, and sometimes people make fun of her but I personally don't think it's noticeable at all. It's actually quite common

[@squiddop0p715]

I can't do it still :(

[@madelynt1615]

Shit, me neither.

[@jotadio608]

As an indonesian... It's pretty easy Infact Indonesian "R" also sounds like that

[@polymon1104]

My problem is difficult to do р when 'A' is on both side ex parramatta. I have to slightly close mouth to pronounce but doesn't sound natural

[@dmonkeyluffy62]

Am I mistaken or do Scottish people actually use this "RRRR" sound?

[@DenisFedorov]

Yes, they actually pronounce one of the variations of this sound.

[@depufull2]

Me when I use “Р”: SKРРРРРРРРРРРРРР *A*

[@ellenross6828]

It's me again.......the lady trying to learn how to say Saint Petersburg in Russian. How can I roll the R in the middle of Petersburg? Soooooo difficult!!!!!

[@heylooka]

how do i transition from vowel to P because whenever i do theres a very noticable pause

[@denisl2760]

Yeah, I'm having similar issues. First R in "tractor" is ok, second one is hopeless lol

[@mattwalshe.-_-6388]

Im really weird, I can make a similar noise but it comes from the back of my mouth, whenever I use your method I don't produce any noise or sound like a dying cat any tips?

[@annwatchman6885]

Thanks for this lesson Denis, very helpful "rrr" 💞

[@geschiedschrijver]

In the dutch language the R sound is in the back of the mouth up to the temple. We dont have a rolling R. A rolling R is virtually considered 'exgagerated' and 'unnatural' Guess I have a problem here. Dutch words as 'vroedvrouw' (midwife) and words like 'greta grijpgraag" are virtually impossible for foreigners to pronounce, a dutchman will recognize that you are a foreigner when you'd say that. Now I'm practicing my R rrrrrrrr try again LOL ! Fun to learn russian !!

[@alison4786]

Wait, do you use the back of your throat for your Rs?

[@alfonsmelenhorst9672]

I am also Dutch but we have a natural rolling R. Maybe you are from the south and I am from the North-East.

[@voidstardust]

with the Т - Д tip (5:29), i’m starting, at some moments, to get it right but not always. i’ll update after

[@Wurstchen88]

thanks now i can scare my veteran neighbor

[@pandapirate25yearsago33]

My mouth always says "errth"

[@willb.139]

I understand where the tip of the tongue goes but the back of my tongue hits the soft palate and vibrates there instead, when I try to lower the back of my tongue it becomes rigid and wont vibrate up front. I can't seem to find anything about this issue online. Do you have any suggestions?

[@DenisFedorov]

Try this more detailed video: denisfedorov.com/p/learning-to-roll-r

[@Yui9teen]

I almost got it! Thank you so much!

[@noobplayer_23]

As an Indonesian It’s Easy

[@alfarosiarsita]

awikwkowkowkaokkwoakwowkak 😂

[@goldensage2795]

Большое спасибо ☺️

[@Has4PetsMarie]

I have a speech impediment where I can’t even pronounce the English R, so I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get it

[@a123386]

I tried pronouncing встретиться several times with the rolling R for a few minutes, it worked, but sounds unnatural. Then when I said the English word "stressed", I messed up my tongue, and was worried for a few minutes until I fixed it back...

[@MercuryTheVexilliologyNerd]

I can roll it, but even as a Russian, idk how to tap it, idk how to roll it but only once or twice

[@marcelitacabrita]

As a native portuguese speaker I can pronounce it perfectly

[@lilrosieasmr5938]

i can roll my tongue but i can’t add the R to it i’ve been trying to

[@JayeshLimaye]

This is interesting, I mean the graphics detailing how the alphabets are pronounced. It will be very useful for non-Russians to understand the differences in pronouncing letters such as Ш and Щ. Thanks, Denis!

[@DenisFedorov]

Yes, the difference between Ш and Щ can be learned only this way, you're correct.

[@buzzbella]

this was so helpful omg thank u

[@DenisFedorov]

Glad it helped!

[@poslasticenekadaisada5845]

i ve already knew it but im not from Russia its just in my country is strange if u dont know how to say that, im from Serbia also Slavic country

[@gwennnnnnnnnnnn]

how do i pronounce the ERRR sound? i can roll my tongue, but i can only do that, i cant see to get the ER out.

[@mckennapartridge2268]

This is exactly my problem. I always make a trrr or drrr sound but never the errr sound

[@scottish785]

Actually I would suggest using your last name as a good example being it has an R mid way and it is rolled and the combination of sounds in the last name sort of make it easy to practice the Rolling R Using your last name it has me the closest I have been to pronouncing it mid word

[@olgakuznetsova_bass]

I'm Russian native speaker but I can't pronounce this sound!! So I use this video to teach myself

[@wendigo8204]

I can do it but I gotta collect spit and it's kinds gross

[@behappy5173]

I can't do it I sound like a choking parrot 😭

[@Tabarnak69562]

I can olny roll my r the French Canadian way, I’m struggling with this