doble erre
/doble ere/from spelling rules
The English phrase "double rr" is translated into Spanish as doble erre.
doble erre is the name used for the letter rr in the Spanish alphabet.
Which one should you use?
The doble erre (rr) refers to a trilled sound, which is distinct from the single erre (r) that is typically pronounced as a single tap or flap.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Rioplatense Spanish, the sound produced by the doble erre is pronounced as a voiced fricative or a voiced retroflex approximant.
How do you pronounce it?
/doble ere/
Did you know?
- The word doble in the name doble erre might have reached Spanish through Catalan or Provençal rather than directly from Latin, which explains why it ends in '-e' instead of the more common '-o' found in 'doble'.
- While the name is doble erre, the trilled sound it represents is often jokingly referred to as the 'motor' of the Spanish language because of its vibrating nature.
- Spanish uses the doble erre to create minimal pairs, where a single vibration changes the meaning of a word, such as caro meaning 'expensive' and carro meaning 'cart'.
Examples in context
- Esa palabra tiene una doble erre.That word has a double rr.
- ¿Se escribe con doble erre?Is it written with a double rr?
- La doble erre suena muy fuerte.The double rr sounds very strong.
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are studying Spanish spelling together.
- Javier¿Cómo se escribe perro?How do you spell perro?
- SofíaLleva una doble erre en medio.It has a double rr in the middle.
- JavierAh, entiendo la regla de la doble erre.Ah, I understand the double rr rule.
- SofíaSí, es muy importante para la pronunciación.Yes, it is very important for pronunciation.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries doble, CC BY-SA 4.0.
