Erre

Erre is the conventional name for the letter R in several Romance languages, notably Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French. As a written symbol, R represents a rhotic consonant, and its exact pronunciation varies by language and dialect: Spanish typically uses a tapped or trilled R, Italian favors a rolled R, and French commonly realises R as a uvular fricative or approximant. The name er­re is used when spelling out letters, such as during dictation or language instruction, to distinguish R from other letters.

In Spanish orthography, er­re denotes the single R, while doble erre designates the RR sequence, which represents a stronger trill. In Italian and Portuguese, er­re is simply the name of the letter R; the sound depends on phonetic context and neighboring sounds. The term er­re itself has no independent meaning beyond naming the letter, but the letter R functions widely in notation and symbolism across disciplines.

Beyond its role as a letter name, the symbol R is used in many domains—for example to denote radius or resistance in science, or as the name of the R programming language in computing. The concept of er­re thus sits at the intersection of orthography, phonology, and linguistic education, rather than as a separate lexical entry with a distinct meaning. See also alphabet, rhotic consonant, doble erre.