Voiced retroflex approximant
ɻ
IPA Number	152
Audio sample
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Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ɻ
Unicode (hex)	U+027B
X-SAMPA	r\`
Braille
Image

The voiced retroflex approximant is a type of consonant used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɻ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\`. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase letter r with a rightward hook protruding from the lower right of the letter.

The velar bunched approximant found in some varieties of Dutch and American English sounds similar to the retroflex approximant but it has a very different articulation.

Features

A schematic mid-sagittal section of an articulation of a voiced retroflex approximant [ɻ]

Features of the voiced retroflex approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
• Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated subapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue contact can be apical (pointed) or laminal (flat).
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Chinese	Mandarin	肉 ròu	[ɻ̺oʊ̯˥˩]	'meat'	Apical.[1] Can be transcribed as fricative [ʐ]. See Standard Chinese phonology
Derung		Tvrung	[tə˧˩ɻuŋ˥˧]	'Derung'
English	Some American dialects	red	[ɻ(ʷ)ɛd]	'red'	Labialized (pronounced with lips rounded). See Pronunciation of English /r/
	Some Hiberno-English dialects
	Some West Country English
Enindhilyagwa		angwura	[aŋwuɻa]	'fire'
Faroese[2]		hoyrdi	[hɔiɻʈɛ]	'heard'	Allophone of /ɹ/.[2] Sometimes voiceless [ɻ̊].[2] See Faroese phonology
Greek	Cretan (Sfakia and Mylopotamos variations) region[3]	γάλα gála	[ˈɣaɻa]	'milk'	Intervocalic allophone of /l/ before /a o u/. Recessive. See Modern Greek phonology
Old Kannada		ಕೊೞೆ	[kɒɻe]	'to rot'
Malayalam		ആഴം	[aːɻɐm]	'Depth'
Mapudungun[4]		rayen	[ɻɜˈjën]	'flower'	Possible realization of /ʐ/; may be [ʐ] or [ɭ] instead.[4]
Pashto		سوړ‎	[soɻ]	'cold'	Allophone of retroflex lateral flap /ɭ̆/. See Pashto phonology
Portuguese	Many Centro-Sul registers	cartas	[ˈkaɻtə̥̆s]	'letters'	Allophone of rhotic consonants (and sometimes /l/) in the syllable coda. Mainly[5] found in rural São Paulo, Paraná, south of Minas Gerais and surrounding areas, with the more common and prestigious realization in metropolitan areas being [ɹ] and/or rhotic vowel instead. As with [ɽ], it appeared as a mutation of [ɾ].[6][7][8] See Portuguese phonology.
	Caipira	temporal	[tẽɪ̯̃pʊˈɾaɻ]	'rainstorm'
	Conservative Piracicabano	grato	[ˈgɻatʊ̥]	'thankful' (m.)
Sanskrit		कृपया	[ˈkɻ̍pɐjaː]	'please'
Tamil[9]		தமிழ்	[t̪əˈmɨɻ] (help·info)	'Tamil'	See Tamil phonology. May be merged with [ɭ] for many modern speakers.
Telugu		తమిఴ్	[t̪əˈmɨɻ]	'Tamil'	Might be rarely used to transliterate Tamil or Malayalam or to write proper nouns of Tamil or Malayalam. Usage is practically non existent and almost always merged with [ɭ], in both written and spoken forms, by modern speakers.
Western Desert	Pitjantjatjara dialect	Uluṟu	[ʊlʊɻʊ]	'Uluru'
Yaghan		wárho	[ˈwaɻo]	'cave'