How do I pronounce ri, re, rao, rang, etc?

[林彪]

I try really hard to pronounce these sounds, but I can never get the "r" sound to sound right. What kind of shape am I supposed to hold my mouth in?

[smithsgj]

This was on another thread but I can't find it. Maybe you'll have more luck!

[roddy]

And lots more . . .

Roddy

[Smoothie]

the tsk sound is hard too like cai, ceng, chen, cong...like for cai, i can say it but it's just i can't say it soft like the natives.

[LaoWai]

For the "ri" sound (as in Riben, Japan) it's close to the ur- sound in the English word urban

[HashiriKata]

What kind of shape am I supposed to hold my mouth in?

The "R" sound is often described as a "liquid" because it's only slightly different from one language to another (the tongue doesn't touch anything), so it'll be difficult to describe. Let's me try my best:

1. Start with a few words in Mandarin Chinese with the initial "SH". You will hear a very strong puff of air rushing out when pronouncing these "SH"s.

2. Keep everything (in your mouth) in the same shape but lower your tongue a bit so that when you try to pronounce the same words, you don't hear the rush of air any longer (make sure that the tongue doesn't touch anything). This should be the "R" you're looking for.

3. Ideally, you should later check the final result with a native speaker.

By the way, you hear some people say that the Chinese "R" sound is a voiced version of the Chinese "SH". In fact, they are not but you can still use the "SH" as a starting point to get to the "R" sound.

[junebee]

The closest I can get is to make my tongue into the shape of a bowl and make the sound come out of the back of my throat!