How Do You Pronounce Ra (ر)?
A rolled r, like Spanish r.
The sound, and why English cannot spell it
A tapped or lightly rolled r, closer to Spanish or Scottish r than the English one. The tip of the tongue flicks against the ridge behind the top teeth.
The English r, made without the tongue touching anything, is the sound to unlearn here. Even a single clean tap is enough, رَبِّ (rabbi) should never sound like the English "rub".
The four written forms
Arabic letters change shape by position, alone, at the start, in the middle, and at the end of a word.
Ra is one of the six letters (ا د ذ ر ز و) that never connect to the letter after them. It joins from the right only, so its initial form looks like its isolated form, and the letter following it starts fresh.
Ra with harakat
The three short vowels: fatha says "a", kasra says "i", damma says "u".
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