How to pronounce the Arabic letter Rāʾ (ر)?

There are some easy tips and techniques through which pronouncing Arabic letters becomes an easy task to do. In this article, will do the same. At the end of this article, you will be able to pronounce the letter ر {rāʾ} easily with the different harakat (Vowel movements):

Fat̊ḥa   فَتْحَة   َ
Kasrah  كسرة  ِ
Dammah   ضمة ُ
Jazm / Sokoun    جزم  ْ
Shadda  شدة ّ

Here it is important to understand some parts of the mouth through which we will be pronouncing the letter ر {rāʾ}.

• طرف اللسان ( ṭarafu ạllĩsān): The round edge in front of the tongue that can touch all twelve teeth (six upper front and six lower front).
• Molars of upper teeth.

Now, let’s pronounce ر {rāʾ}: Touch the (ṭarafu ạllĩsān) at upper molars to pronounce ر {rāʾ}. Just like the English letter “R”. Practice this sound again and again. 

Practice ر {rāʾ} with vowel movements.

• Fat̊ḥa   فتحة: It is a small diagonal line on the top of the letter and sounds as ‘AA’. For example: 

رَ      =  RA, Read as;  R fatah RA

• Kasrah  كسرة: It is a small diagonal line below a letter and sounds like ‘EE’. For example: 

   رِ = RE, Read as; R kasrah RE

• Dammah ضمة: It is a small comma like symbol on the top of the letter and sounds like ‘UU’. For example:

 رُ   = RU, Read as; R dammah RU

• Jazm / Sokoun جزم: Jazm is also called sokoun, a letter with Jazm is called Sakin. It is a small round symbol above the letter. It means that this letter is joint with the letter before it. For example: 

 رْ  =  R   sakin,  حُرْ = H Dammah + R sakin = ḥur̊                      

• Shadda شدة: When a letter having symbol ّ , it is called Mushadad. It is pronounced by saying the letter twice with one movement of the tongue. It is read by joining two letters and also read with harakat.

دَرَّ = darã   –  دَرِّ = dariⁿ̃  – دَرُّ = darũ

To learn more about the Arabic Harakat, here you can find the easiest way to practice Tashkeel:

Practice the letter ر {rāʾ} by saying these words: 

رُمَّان ( rumãạn – Pomegranate)
رِيشَةٌ (rīsẖa – Feather)
فأْرُن ( fạ̊̊̉run – Mouse)
وَرْدَةٌ (war̊da – A rose)
طَرِيقٌ ( ṭarīq – Road)
رَمْلٌ ( ram̊l – Sand)
رَجُلٌ ( rajul – man)

Listen to some Arabic Words starting with the letter ر {rāʾ}

Learn how to write the letter ر {rāʾ}

For more explanation about how Arabic letters are written, please check out this article:

How Arabic letters are written in their different positions?

Practice makes perfect. Hence, keep practicing and keep improving.