Pinyin initial: "ru"

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Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start from a relaxed “r” shape, but pull it back.
   Make the tongue feel slightly “bunched” and draw the tongue tip backward (so it’s not pointing at your teeth).

2. Keep the tongue tip off the teeth and off the roof.
   The tip should hover—do not press it against the ridge behind your top front teeth.

3. Narrow the tongue channel slightly.
   You want a tight, focused “r” resonance, but still voiced (your throat is “on,” like in red).

4. Round the lips for the “u” right away.
   As soon as the “r” starts, round and push the lips forward into “oo” (like goose).
   For ru-, the sound should feel like one smooth glide from “r” into “oo,” not “r + uh + oo.”

5. Keep airflow steady and smooth.
   No burst of air. No stopping the sound. Just a continuous voiced sound.

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English Approximation (what to copy and how)

English does not have this sound exactly, but you can get close:

• “r” in red / right / rose (use the r part)
  Copy the voiced, tight r quality, but pull the tongue farther back than typical American “r.”

• “roo-” in room / roof (use the roo part)
  Say room, then make the “r” darker/backer and more “Chinese-sounding,” while keeping the oo pure.

• To modify English “r” correctly:
  Many English speakers make “r” with strong lip involvement and a very “American” color. For Mandarin r-, aim for a more back-of-mouth, tongue-driven sound. The lips should mainly be busy with the u rounding, not with making an extra “w” before it.

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Common Mistakes (English speakers)

• Mistake 1: Saying “zh” or “jr” instead of r-
  Some learners turn ru into something like “joo” or “zh-oo.” Keep it an r-like sound, not a “j/zh” stop-and-release.

• Mistake 2: Adding an extra vowel: “ruh-oo”
  Avoid inserting a little uh between r and u. It should be ru, not rəu.

• Mistake 3: Using a fully American “r”
  An overly American r can sound too fronted or too “wide.” Pull it back and keep it tight.

• Mistake 4: Over-rounding into a “w”
  Don’t start with “wru” or “woo”. The consonant must be clearly r- first, then into u.

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Practice Pairs (visualizing the sound)

Pinyin syllable	Closest English “helper”	What to match
ru (as in rú / rù / rǔ)	“roo-” in room	Keep roo smooth; make the r darker/backer than English
ruo (as in ruó / ruò)	“ro-” in road (approx.)	Start with a back/tight r, then open toward an “o/wo”-like vowel (no “d” ending)
rui (as in ruí / ruì / ruǐ)	“ray” in ray (approx.)	Use the r onset; then glide toward an “ay/wei” feeling (smooth, no extra consonant)
ruan (as in ruán / ruǎn)	“rwan” in “Rwanda” (first syllable, approx.)	Back/tight r, then wa, then finish with -n (tongue ends up for n)
run (as in rún / rùn)	“run” in run (only as a memory hook)	Do not copy the English vowel; keep Chinese -un as a smoother, more rounded ending
rong (as in róng / rǒng)	“wrong” (approx.)	Start with back/tight r; keep a rounded, back vowel quality before -ng

Note: The English words are only “helpers.” The goal is the Mandarin r- quality plus the correct Mandarin vowel and ending.

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Comparisons & Caveats (nearby Mandarin sounds)

• r- vs l- (ru vs lu):
  l- is made with the tongue tip touching the ridge behind the top teeth (a clear “l” contact).
  r- in ru keeps the tongue tip pulled back and not touching; it’s more like a tight, back “r” resonance.

• r- vs zh-/ch-/sh- (ru vs zhu / chu / shu):
  zh/ch/sh have a stronger “hushing” or “ch” quality and often feel more like a pronounced friction in front.
  r- is smoother and more voiced—less “hush,” more “r.” If you hear yourself making something like “joo/zh-oo”, you’ve drifted toward zh-.

• ru vs yu (rù vs yù):
  yu starts with a front, tight rounded vowel (like saying “ee” while rounding lips), and there is no r-like consonant.
  ru starts with a clear r- consonant quality first, and the vowel is a more back “oo”-type target.

• Watch the hidden glide in some “r-” syllables:
  In syllables like ruo, rui, ruan, run, rong, the vowel part often begins with a subtle w-like rounding after r- (a natural transition), but you should still hear the r- clearly at the start. The syllable should not collapse into a simple w sound.

• Tone doesn’t change the consonant:
  Whether rú, rù, rǔ (or ruó/ruò, etc.), keep the same r- mouth shape; only the pitch contour changes.