Recognise ら り る れ ろ in Hiragana, then read them in useful words and sentences. Each kana has a sound; the table links the written form to its reading.

The idea

ら り る れ ろ are ra, ri, ru, re and ro. The Japanese r is usually a brief tap of the tongue near the ridge behind the upper teeth. In ろうか (rōka), う extends the o sound. Some words are written in kana here for practice; everyday Japanese often writes them with kanji.

Patterns to compare
KanaReading (romaji)
らra
りri
るru
れre
ろro

Examples

  • らいねん行いきます。I will go next year.
  • りんごを買かいます。I buy an apple.
  • くるまを見みます。I look at a car.
  • れいぞうこを開あけます。I open the refrigerator.
  • ろうかを歩あるきます。I walk down the corridor.
  • これは桜さくらです。This is a cherry tree.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not confuse る with ろ: る ends in a small loop, while ろ does not. The sound is not a long rolled r; keep the tongue movement brief.

Try it yourself

  1. Fill the blank with one Hiragana character: ＿いねん (rainen).

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    ら

    ら represents ra; らいねん is read rainen.

  2. Fill the blank with one Hiragana character: ＿んご (ringo).

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    り

    り represents ri; りんご is read ringo.

  3. Fill the blank with one Hiragana character: く＿ま (kuruma).

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    る

    る represents ru; くるま is read kuruma.

  4. Write rōka in Hiragana.

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    ろうか

    ろうか is read rōka: ろ = ro; う = lengthens o; か = ka.

Use it today

Cover the table and read two example sentences aloud. Write one word from memory, then check each target kana against the table.