How to pronounce Polish letter «l» [l]

How to shape the sound

Hard alveolar: the tip and front of the tongue touch the upper alveoli; the middle of the tongue does not rise toward the palate.

Common trap

Russians and Belarusians often produce an overly soft “ly”: [l'as] instead of [las], [kal'endaš] instead of [kalendaš]. Ukrainian l before e and i is harder, so this error is rare there.

How to fix it

Curl the tongue into a tube, touch the alveoli with the underside of the tip, and say l — a soft “ly” is physically hard in that position. Words: las, lalka, pole, latać.