Do you have any tips on how to properly pronounce a 'r' sound?

The ‘r’ sound in Japanese is a little tricky since it sounds like ‘l’ and ‘r’ combined together. I’ve also heard some people say it sounds like a ‘d.’

I usually tell people to visualize starting with an ‘r’ sound and end with an ‘l’ sound. As an example, let’s try pronouncing “ra” correctly in Japanese.

Start by saying “raw” in English. Then say “law.” Switch back and forth between “raw” and “law” a few times to get a feel for your tongue placement and how you’re creating those two sounds.

Now pretending you’re going to say “raw” and once you start make the ‘r’ sound switch to making the “law” sound.

It’ll feel a little strange, and it probably won’t sound exactly right at first. But keep practicing that and speeding up the transition and you should get very close to the accurate pronunciation of ‘ra.’