---
title: "r vs l: 12 Mandarin Minimal Pairs with Audio | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Hear the difference between r or l in Mandarin: 12 minimal pairs (rú/lú, rè/lè, ráo/láo, róu/lóu, rán/lán) to hear in a female or male voice, a ten-question listening quiz and how to say each. Free, no sign-up."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-minimal-pairs/r-l"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Mandarin minimal pairs](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-minimal-pairs) · r / l

# r vs l

12 pairs to hear, from 入 rù and 路 lù on. Take the quiz, then tap any pair below to hear both.

Voice

Hear

## How to tell them apart

**r** is said with the tongue tip curled up toward the roof of the mouth, the same place as _sh_, but with a buzz, close to the _s_ of English “pleasure”. **l** is a clear _l_: the tongue tip presses the ridge behind the top teeth and the air goes out past its sides.

Listen for the buzz: 入 rù hums, 路 lù doesn’t. In _ri_ the _i_ is the same buzz held on (日 rì), never the clear _ee_ of 力 lì.

## All 12 pairs

- 如 rú 炉 lú
- 热 rè 乐 lè
- 饶 ráo 牢 láo
- 揉 róu 楼 lóu
- 然 rán 蓝 lán
- 嚷 rāng 啷 lāng
- 扔 rēng 棱 lēng
- 容 róng 龙 lóng
- 日 rì 力 lì
- 若 ruò 落 luò
- 软 ruǎn 卵 luǎn
- 润 rùn 论 lùn

## Questions

### What is the difference between r or l in pinyin?

r is said with the tongue tip curled up toward the roof of the mouth, the same place as sh, but with a buzz, close to the s of English “pleasure”.

### What is a minimal pair in Mandarin?

Two syllables that differ by one sound and nothing else, such as zhī and zī, or fàn and fàng. Hearing them apart is the first step to saying them apart, and to understanding fast speech.

## Practise the tones too

[Tone pair chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-pairs): all 20 tone pairs, each a word to hear. [Pinyin trainer](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-trainer): hear a word and name its tones. [Tone practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-practice): say a word and see your pitch over a native speaker’s. [Pinyin chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-chart): every syllable in all four tones.

Voices by ElevenLabs, the same two as the app’s word cards.