11993
![Example for りぃ and リィ](https://i.stack.imgur.com/IrcNd.png)

I'm confused about `リィ`. (That's big `リ` followed by little `ィ`.)

Although this combination isn't part of the official orthography (as far as I
know), it seems to be fairly common. I asked a Japanese friend, and she said
it's pronounced similar to like English -ry, but I'm afraid I don't trust my
ear enough to hear exactly what she means by that. I think I might do better
with a more technical explanation. My guess is that it's something like /rji/,
but I'm having trouble pronouncing that.

Here are my questions:

  1. **How do I pronounce`りぃ`?** Is it the same as a "normal" kana or pair of kana, like `リ` or `リー`?

  2. Is `りぃ` one mora or two? I think one is plausible, like `りゃ`・`りゅ`・`りょ`, but I also think two is plausible, like `よぉ` or `ねぇ`. (I hope I'm not wrong about these last two being two moras long!)

I made a list of similar kana pairs, just in case it made more sense to answer
generally about all of them. (If it doesn't make sense, please ignore this
list!)

> `イィ`・`キィ`・`ギィ`・`シィ`・`ジィ`・`チィ`・`ニィ`・`ヒィ`・`ビィ`・`ピィ`・`ミィ`・`リィ`
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-28T08:34:12.190
11991
2013-05-30T06:18:24.403
question
pronunciation phonetics
How is リィ pronounced?
From my experience, it's no different than `リー` as you mentioned. My name has
a `シ` in it, although it has been incorrectly guessed to be an elongated sound
by people who don't know me that well. As such, there have been occasions when
my former Japanese teacher (older woman) and 事務員's have written it as both
`シー` and `シィ`.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-28T14:20:15.163
11993
2013-05-29T03:31:54.137
2013-05-29T03:31:54.137
78
78
11991
answer
In my opinion, it is pronounced as (Rii---) and then the coming characters
next to it. It's pronunciation may change depending upon where it is attached.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-30T05:09:59.883
12008
2013-05-30T05:09:59.883
3550
11991
answer