The 5 Main Makharij - Exit Point of a Letter

Makharij are where the letters are pronounced from. For us to be able to pronounce the Arabic letters correctly to help us with our tajweed, it is important to know what the 5 main makarij of the letters. The 5 main makharij are as follows:  

The throat (الحلق)

There are six letters which exit from the throat which are غ خ ع ح ء ه.  In English we don’t use our throat very much for any of the letters, so many of us struggle to pronounce the letters from the throat. It took me a very long time to pronounce  ع correctly.  To practice the letters I would highly recommend watching the Wisam Sharieff’s Arabic letters series.

The Lips (الشفتان)

The four letters which are pronounced from the lips are ف ب م و.

The empty space (الجوف)

The empty space is the open area in your mouth. If a doctor asks you to open your mouth and say aaaa have you ever wondered where the sound comes from? The sound comes from the empty space in your mouth. There are three letters which exit from empty space which are alif madd, wow madd and ya madd. Now try saying aaaa, eeeee and oooo and take a moment to notice where sound comes from.

The tongue (السان)

Most of the ِArabic letters exit from the tongue. There are eighteen letters which exit from the tongue which are ق ك ش ج ي ض ل ن ر ط د ت ص ز س ظ ذ ث. These letter are further divided into specific makharij which will help you understand wich part of the tongue help us pronounce each letter. InshaAllah this will be covered in more detail in another blog post.   

The nose (الخيشوم)

I never knew that the nose is an integral part for two of the letters م  and ن. When the sound of these two letters go in the nose we call it ghunna. Did you notice م  is pronounced from the lips but the sound also goes into the nose. Try saying mmmmmmm.

Learn the 5 main makahrij using our FREE main makahrij matching game.