# LとRのスペルミスを無くしたい

- Show: 英語で雑談！Kevin’s English Room Podcast
- Published: 2026-09-23
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1518322346_6fae165f880d.html
- Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/260e5c24/podcast/play/125802922/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-16%2F617dbe85-8b55-66e2-4dd2-9862af1a020d.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

A listener question about eliminating L and R spelling mistakes drives this episode of Kevin's English Room Podcast (英語で雑談！Kevin's English Room Podcast). Kevin walks through why katakana knowledge is actually an asset for Japanese learners, how root words and prefixes can serve as a spelling compass, and reveals that even native American English speakers struggle with spelling — just in different spots.

## What this episode answers

### Is there a trick to eliminating L and R spelling mistakes?

No specific trick exists in the article; instead, the key first step is actively listening to how words actually sound to connect sound to spelling.

### Can katakana knowledge help Japanese learners tell L from R?

Yes, knowing katakana is actually a benefit — it gives learners a built-in phonetic anchor (like the katakana rendering of "Rubik's Cube") as a starting point for connecting sound to spelling.

### Does knowing root words and prefixes give useful clues about whether a letter is L or R?

Yes, root words and prefixes can help — for example, the prefix re- meaning "again" is always spelled R-E, so words like "relocate" must start with R rather than L, though this method has its limits and isn't a universal solution.

### How completely distinct do L and R sound to a native American English speaker?

L and R sound completely and unambiguously distinct to a native American English speaker, just as ka and ga are completely different sounds to a native Japanese speaker.

### Do native American English speakers make spelling mistakes too?

Yes, native American English speakers also struggle with spelling, just not with L and R — Kevin's example is that he always gets a spell-check red squiggly line under "tomorrow."

## Article

## The Listener's Question: Swapping L and R and Still Being Understood

The episode opens with a listener question: they keep swapping L and R in their writing, and because the meaning often comes through anyway, the mistake never seems to go away. They asked whether any clever tricks exist — and closed their message with an apologetic "please forgive me for being like this."

## Katakana Knowledge Is Actually a Strength

Kevin's first point pushes back against the assumption that a Japanese background is a disadvantage. Knowing katakana and hiragana is, in his view, a **benefit** for English learners. He uses the Rubik's Cube as his example: because Japanese speakers already know the katakana rendering of the word, they have a built-in phonetic anchor — a starting point from which to connect sound to spelling. From there, he emphasized that actively listening to how words actually sound is the most important first step in learning to distinguish L from R.

## Using Root Words and Prefixes as a Spelling Guide

The second approach Kevin offers is leaning on root words. The prefix *re-* meaning "again" is spelled R-E, so any word that starts with *re-* — "relocate," "relo," and so on — automatically begins with R rather than L. Understanding what word parts mean gives learners a letter-level clue when they are unsure which consonant to use. Kevin did acknowledge, however, that this method has its limits: "ultimately, it's a little difficult," he admitted, stopping short of calling it a universal solution.

## "As Different as KA and GA": A Mirror-Image Challenge

To explain why L and R sound so similar to Japanese ears, Kevin flips the perspective. In Japanese, *ka* (か) and *ga* (が) differ by only a dakuten — a single diacritic mark — yet to any native Japanese speaker they are **completely different sounds**, with no risk of confusion. Someone with no background in Japanese, though, might easily mix them up. The parallel is exact: for an American English speaker, L and R are just as unambiguously distinct as *ka* and *ga* are for a Japanese speaker. The reason Japanese learners conflate L and R is simply that Japanese makes no phonemic distinction between them — not any personal failing.

## Native American English Speakers Struggle with Spelling Too

Kevin closes with a candid admission: Americans also wrestle with spelling all the time — just not with L and R. His personal example is "tomorrow." Every time he types it, he says, the red squiggly spell-check line appears underneath it. He laughed recounting it. The point is a genuine encouragement: spelling difficulty is universal, and even native speakers have their own blind spots. L and R happen to be the blind spot that comes with growing up speaking Japanese; tomorrow happens to be Kevin's.

## Takeaways

- Katakana knowledge is an asset, not a handicap — using it as a phonetic anchor and then carefully listening to the actual sounds is the first real step toward telling L from R.
- Learning prefixes and root words such as *re-* (spelled R-E) gives you a letter-level clue that can help you decide between L and R when spelling is uncertain.
- L and R are completely distinct sounds to American English speakers, just as *ka* and *ga* are to Japanese speakers — and even native speakers have their own spelling struggles, as Kevin's perpetual trouble with "tomorrow" shows.