R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ar (pronounced /ˈɑːr/), plural ars,[1] or in Ireland or /ˈɔːr/.[2]
R
R r
(See below)
Writing cursive forms of R
Usage
Writing system
Latin script
Type
Alphabetic and Logographic
Language of origin
Latin language
Phonetic usage
[r]
[ɾ]
[ɹ]
[ɻ]
[ʀ]
[ʁ]
(Table)
(English variations)
/ɑːr/
Unicode codepoint
U+0052, U+0072
Alphabetical position
18
History
Development
D1
Resh
Res
Ρ ρ
𐌓 Early Greek Rho
Greek Rho 01.svg
Greek Rho 03.svg
Greek Rho 03.svg Cursive R-rotunda
R r
Time period
~50 to present
Descendants
• ℟ • ℞ • ® • Ɍ • ᚱ • 𐍂
• Ꭱ
Sisters
• Р • ר • ر • ܪ • ࠓ • 𐎗 • 𐡓 • ረ • Ռ • ռ • Ր • ր • ર • र
Variations
(See below)
Other
Other letters commonly used with
r(x), rh
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
The letter ⟨r⟩ is the eighth most common letter in English and the fourth-most common consonant (after ⟨t⟩, ⟨n⟩, and ⟨s⟩).[3]
The letter ⟨r⟩ is used to form the ending "-re", which is used in certain words such as centre in some varieties of English spelling, such as British English. Canadian English also uses the "-re" ending, unlike American English, where the ending is usually replaced by "-er" (center). This does not affect pronunciation.
