How to Roll your R's in Spanish - The Secret Natives Use

How to Roll Your R’s in Spanish – Struggling with rolling your R’s in Spanish? You’re not alone! Many learners find it nearly impossible to get that perfect trill—but with the right technique, you can do it!

In this video, I’ll show you a simple trick that makes it easier to trill your R’s and pronounce them correctly. Plus, I’ll guide you through practical exercises to help you train your tongue and finally master rolling R’s in Spanish like a pro.

If you've been trying to learn how to trill your R’s without success, this lesson will help you unlock the secret. Let’s get rolling! 🔥

📥 Download your free practice exercises below:

[kaylehman]

I've been speaking Spanish for years now, but after about year 5, when I was studying in Spain, I decided I needed to get serious about rolling my "r"s. What finally helped me was concentrating on the word "burro." I found that the sound following the "u" vowel got my tongue in the right position. I later got the hang of it. The hardest one for me to pronounce still is the "r" following an "s", such as in "Israel." I love your channel, and especially how you move effortlessly from one language to the other.

[n_schlies]

Thank you! I’m a Russian native speaker and we have a similar R placement to Spanish. However since I’ve never been able to pronounce the Russian one my whole life I couldn’t even hope to get the Spanish one right. Your exercise is amazing!

[BigShooterUnaimed]

I found a new joy in life, roll your R's videos lol. I'm going to have to make an edit. This is some of the best ASMR ever.

[Revv]

That's interesting! I noticed that the rr is more like a rolled d than an English r. If you make an English r, and try to roll it, your tongue is stiff on the end and kind of in the wrong place. Just roll an English d, which has the tongue relaxed and in the right place.

[Steveyyyidk]

Excelente video. Creo que tu personalidad y tu estilo de enseñanza son perfectos para enfocarte en un tema importante a la vez, y este video lleva tu juego a un nuevo nivel. Gran trabajo.

[colleenorourke]

omg one watch-through and I got it 🤩 I grew up taking German as my secondary language and thus can accent my R's in the *back* of my throat, but have never been able to figure out how to bring the sound out to the front of the mouth. Now that I'm self-studying Spanish, my German-R's were definitely NOT working. But the trick with the tongue works perfectly, and the pencil definitely helps train the positioning.

[EstherHermida]

I'm a native speaker and don't need the lesson, but I tried doing this with a pencil to see if it works and it doesn't work for me. I can only do the soft R. It works only if you hold the pencil between your teeth toward the front and not the back because the tongue needs freedom to move, so you don't need to touch the pencil. What it does do is to force you to open your mouth wide which is needed for Spanish.

[SCUAnimations]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this for weeks and I think I may have fixed the problem 😂

[horsefamily]

I am almost 50 and finally gave up, but this literally worked! Thank you so much for sharing!

[Elizabeth-uwxn]

Estoy agradecida de que nunca he tenido un problema, rodando mis r. El español es mi segundo idioma y el inglés es mi primero.

[sonny_v_mtb]

Creo que soy una causa perdida pero vamos a ver. Voy a practicar. Muchas gracias desde San Francisco, California.

[SydMountaineer]

I can roll my R’s in Spanish & Hindi except for when an A or O comes before the R, like in “carro”. I can’t transition between the 2 sounds. I CAN transition between L’s & T’s and R’s, as long as I pronounce the Ls & T’s the way Spanish speakers do (with a lighter touch & placement on my teeth, but I can’t with words that end in “ar” and “or”.

[tdm-uosc]

lol the thumbnail you chose is great

Thank you for teaching us quality material! I learn more from you than most

[alanstancliff]

I have always been able to roll my Rs ever since I was a small child. I grew up in a Mexican neighborhood and got the sound down quite early. But when I put the pencil in my mouth, I can't roll my Rs there at all. I suspect my anatomy must be a bit different than most people's, but if this trick doesn't work for you, it doesn't mean it doesn't work for a lot of people. When I was about 5 or 6, my cousin from Mexico came to stay with us. We had a little toy boat, and we would imitate the sound of the motor with a double R. This might be where I really got into doing it.

[taramurray]

Gracias por your videos! Mi gusta watching you!

[theatrefilmgailee]

I can actually roll my R's, but with the pencil in my mouth, I can't. But, I loved the lesson to learn about soft and hard.

[jazmarz]

Super examples to practice with an easy accessible lápiz. Going to give this a try. I may finally be able to do it as a native English speaker.

[ckubitscespaol]

Something like this for the soft R would be wonderful.

[astrovicis]

I keep feeling like I’m rolling my R’s in the back of my throat and not with my tongue. Any tips?

[lasaterjames]

Great video!! Excellent practice drills. Uh…I practiced too long now I have a blister on my tongue!?