I can tell ř from r and from ž by ear, recognize voiced and voiceless ř, read words where r or l carries the syllable itself (trh, čtvrtek), and say “Moře a řeka” aloud.
Ř is one sound
Ř is one sound, not r and zh
ř is a sound of its own. The tongue tip trills as for r, and at the same time you hear a buzz, like the s of “vision”. It is one sound: not r and zh in a row, and not just zh.
How to make it: start from a trilled r (like a Spanish r), press the tongue tip a little harder behind the upper teeth, and add the buzz without stopping the trill. Start from r, not from ž.
At the start of a word, between vowels, and after a voiced consonant, ř is voiced: řeka “river”, moře “sea”, Ondřej (a name). After p, t, k it has no voice and is closer to the sh of “shoe”: tři “three”, při “at, during”.
Words can differ by this sound alone: rada “advice” — řada “row”. ř and ž are different sounds too: řeka “river” — žena “woman”.
The checker doesn't see the háček: for it, r and ř are one letter. That is why ř is practiced by ear, by choice, and aloud.
A long syllable isn't always stressed: in pořádek “order” the stress is on po-, and -řá- is just long.
Common mistakes:
• × r + zh as two sounds in řeka.
• × “može” for moře — ř doesn't turn into ž.
• × ř as a plain English r: “reka”.
r, ř, and ž
ř is one sound: a trill like r and a buzz like ž, at the same time.
| Sound | How to pronounce it | Word | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| r | the tongue tip trills, as in a Spanish r | rada | advice |
| voiced ř | a trill and a buzz at once, closer to the s of “vision” | řeka | river |
| voiceless ř | after p, t, k: a trill and a hiss, closer to the sh of “shoe” | tři | three |
| ž | a buzz with no trill, like the s of “vision” | žena | woman |
Lesson notes
Ř is one sound, not r and zh
ř is a sound of its own. The tongue tip trills as for r, and at the same time you hear a buzz, like the s of “vision”. It is one sound: not r and zh in a row, and not just zh.
How to make it: start from a trilled r (like a Spanish r), press the tongue tip a little harder behind the upper teeth, and add the buzz without stopping the trill. Start from r, not from ž.
At the start of a word, between vowels, and after a voiced consonant, ř is voiced: řeka “river”, moře “sea”, Ondřej (a name). After p, t, k it has no voice and is closer to the sh of “shoe”: tři “three”, při “at, during”.
Words can differ by this sound alone: rada “advice” — řada “row”. ř and ž are different sounds too: řeka “river” — žena “woman”.
The checker doesn't see the háček: for it, r and ř are one letter. That is why ř is practiced by ear, by choice, and aloud.
A long syllable isn't always stressed: in pořádek “order” the stress is on po-, and -řá- is just long.
Common mistakes:
• × r + zh as two sounds in řeka.
• × “može” for moře — ř doesn't turn into ž.
• × ř as a plain English r: “reka”.
A syllable with no vowel: r and l
Between consonants, r and l carry the syllable themselves and need no vowel: krk “neck”, prst “finger”, vlk “wolf”, Brno (a city). The word krk has one syllable, čtvrtek “Thursday” has two: čtvr-tek.
At the end of a word, after a consonant, r also carries a syllable: svetr “sweater” has two syllables, sve-tr.
A syllable is a vowel, or r, l with no vowel next to it: between consonants or at the end after a consonant. Count the syllables and you know the rhythm of the word. The stress, as always, is on the first syllable: in čtvrtek it's on čtvr-.
Don't add a vowel: the r stays a trilled r, never the American “er”.
Common mistakes:
• × “kirk”, “chi-TVUR-tek” — an extra vowel.
• × a vowel before the final r in svetr — r carries the syllable itself.