How to pronounce 日?

Question

I've tried listening to forvo and the first doesn't sound like any distinct sound. The others sound like the letter j with the rest of a word cut off and google sounds like the pinyin spelling "ree". Phonetically could someone spell out what sound is made in mainland china?

日 or Pinyin=rì

Answer 1

Pronounce "round". To pronounce 日, hold the "r" sound, i.e. hold the position of your tongue when you pronounce the "r" in "round". Additionally add the intonation of 去声. To get a clear sound, you could let your mouth open a little bit.

In Pinyin like zi/zhi, ci/chi, si/shi ri, we use "i" to stand for continuation of the consonant in the front [although in mainland China we do not actually use words vowels and consonants when teaching pronunciation to kids]. So likely, for "zi, ci, si", try to hold the position of /dz/, /ts/, /s/, and vibrate your voice box while you are sending air out.

Answer 2

rì is correct,not like the letter j,they're different pronunciation.