The present study illustrates the insufficiency of traditional definitions of retroflexes as segments with a bent-backwards tongue tip. Instead, four articulatory characteristics are proposed, namely apicality, posteriority, a sublingual cavity, and retraction of the tongue back, the latter being highly controversial. Furthermore, retroflexes are shown to be perceptually characterized by a low third formant, and this perceptual criterion is argued to be the basis for the phonological representation of the retroflex class.