Hard sounds: r and l, f and p, v and b, z
Coffee and copy differ by one sound: f uses the teeth, p uses both lips.
Every language has its own set of sounds, and learners find the new ones hard. A paper by Young-Ja Paik at Seoul National University compared English and Korean and listed seven English sounds with no matching sound in Korean: l, r, the two th sounds, f, v and z. Unit 4 covered th. This unit is about the other five. The same sounds are hard for speakers of many other languages too, so the advice here works for everyone.
r and l
For l, touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge just behind your top teeth and let the voice flow around the sides of the tongue. For r in American English, the tongue tip does not touch anything. Pull the tongue back a little, curl or bunch it, and round your lips slightly. A simple test: say light and right. For light, your tongue touches the top of the mouth. For right, it floats.
Korean has one sound that English speakers hear sometimes as l and sometimes as a quick tap. That is why Korean speakers often mix r and l, and why rice can sound like lice. Practise with pairs: right and light, road and load, rock and lock, pray and play. Start the r with rounded lips, like a short oo, and it becomes much clearer.
f and p, v and b
F and v are made with the upper teeth resting lightly on the lower lip. Air rubs through the small gap. For f the voice is off, for v the voice is on. P and b are made with both lips closed, then opened with a small pop of air. Because Korean has no f or v, learners often say p for f and b for v, so coffee sounds like copy and very sounds like berry. Look in a mirror: if your top teeth do not touch your lip, it is not an f or a v.
z
Z is the voiced partner of s. Make an s, keep the tongue in the same place, and add voice: zzz, like a bee. Korean speakers sometimes use a j sound instead, so zoo sounds like ju. At the end of words, many learners lose the voice and say s, so peas sounds like peace. Hold the z a little longer and feel the buzz in your throat.
- right, light · correct; not heavy or not dark
- rice, lice · a grain; small insects
- coffee, copy · a hot drink; to make the same thing
- very, berry · a lot; a small fruit
- zoo, Sue · a park with animals; a name
- I love fresh fruit. · a sentence with l, v, f and r
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. · a classic r and l tongue twister
| right | r: tongue does not touch |
| light | l: tongue tip up |
| fan | f: top teeth on lower lip |
| pan | p: both lips close |
| vest | v: like f with voice |
| best | b: both lips, with voice |
| zoo | z: like s with voice |
| peas | ends in z, not s |
| play | l after p |
| pray | r after p |
Red lorry, yellow lorry. Five fat vans. Very fresh fruit. Lazy zebras in the zoo.
- How many English sounds without a Korean match does the Seoul National University paper list?
- 7
- 3
- 12
- For which sound does the tongue NOT touch the top of the mouth?
- r
- l
- t
- Where do the upper teeth go for f?
- On the lower lip
- On the tongue
- Behind the lower teeth
- Very and berry differ in…
- the first sound, v and b
- the vowel
- the last sound
- What is the difference between s and z?
- Z has voice, s does not
- Z uses the lips
- S is longer
- A learner says copy but means the drink. Which sound is wrong?
- p instead of f
- k instead of g
- o instead of a
- Which pair practises r and l?
- road, load
- fan, van
- sip, zip
- Peas can sound like peace if…
- the final z loses its voice
- the vowel is too long
- the p is too strong
- Type the word for a park with animals. It starts with z.
- How should you treat an English word that is also a Korean loanword?
- As a new word with English sounds
- Say it like the loanword
- Avoid it
- L: tongue tip up. R: tongue floats, lips round.
- F and v: top teeth on lower lip. P and b: both lips.
- Z is s with voice.
- Practise in pairs: right and light, coffee and copy, very and berry.
Sources for this course (7)
- Cambridge Dictionary, entries zed, zee, schwa (dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/...)
- British Council TeachingEnglish, The phonemic chart for English teachers (teachingenglish.org.uk) and LearnEnglish Sounds Right (learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/apps/learnenglish-sounds-right)
- Greg Brooks, Dictionary of the British English Spelling System, ch. 2 The phonemes of spoken English, Open Book Publishers 2015 (books.openedition.org/obp/2184): 44 phonemes in RP, 24 consonants and 20 vowels
- Merriam-Webster, entries record (noun and verb)
- hello (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/...)
- Young-Ja Paik, Pronunciation Difficulties of Korean Students Learning English as a Second Language, Seoul National University (s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/85585/3/7.%202236296.pdf)
- Reading Rockets, The 44 Sounds (Phonemes) of English (readingrockets.org).
Checked: 2026-10-17