The articulation points of the letters (makharij)

The seventeen points in the mouth, throat and nose from which the twenty-nine Arabic letters are pronounced, and how to find a letter's own makhraj.

Every letter in Arabic comes from a particular spot in your mouth or throat: that spot is called its makhraj. There are 17 spots in total for the 29 Arabic letters.

Where each letter's sound comes from.

For example, the letters ب م و come from your two lips together. The letters ق and ک come from near the back of your tongue. And the letters ء and ھ come from deep in your throat.

Makhraj is the point of articulation from which a letter is pronounced. There are 17 articulation points in total, covering the 29 letters of Arabic.

The 17 articulation points (makharij)
#	Point of articulation	Letters
1	The empty space between mouth and throat (al-jawf): the letters of madd	و sakin after pesh, ا sakin after zabar, ی sakin after zer
2	The far part of the throat, near the chest	ء ھ
3	The middle of the throat	ع ح
4	The front of the throat, nearer the mouth	غ خ
5	The root of the tongue against the hard palate	ق
6	Just in front of qaf's point, toward the mouth	ک
7	The middle of the tongue against the hard palate opposite it	ج ش ی (non-madd)
8	The edge of the tongue (left or right) against the upper molars	ض
9	The far edge of the tongue against the gums by the upper molars	ل
10	The tip of the tongue against the gums behind the upper front teeth	ن
11	The tip of the tongue against the roof behind the upper front teeth	ر
12	The tip of the tongue against the root of the upper front teeth	ط د ت
13	The tip of the tongue against the edges of the upper front teeth	ص ز س
14	The tip of the tongue against the edges of the upper front teeth (a finer distinction from #13)	ظ ذ ث
15	The lower lip against the upper front teeth	ف
16	Both lips together	ب م و (non-madd)
17	The nasal passage	Ghunnah, and the hidden ن and م

The makhraj is the precise point from which a letter's sound is articulated. The 29 letters of Arabic are distributed across 17 such points.

The 17 makhārij
#	Point of articulation	Letters
1	Al-jawf: the empty space of mouth and throat; source of the ḥurūf al-madd	و sākinah preceded by pesh; ا sākinah preceded by zabar; ی sākinah preceded by zer
2	Aqṣā al-ḥalq: the far throat, nearest the chest	ء ھ
3	Wasaṭ al-ḥalq: the mid throat	ع ح
4	Adnā al-ḥalq: the near throat, nearest the mouth	غ خ
5	Aqṣā al-lisān against the soft palate	ق
6	Slightly forward of qāf's point, toward the mouth	ک
7	Wasaṭ al-lisān against the hard palate opposite it	ج ش ی (ghayr madd)
8	The edge of the tongue (either side) against the upper molars	ض
9	The tongue's edge, just short of the molars, against the gum	ل
10	The tongue-tip against the gum behind the upper incisors	ن
11	The tongue-tip against the palate behind the upper incisors	ر
12	The tongue-tip against the root of the upper incisors	ط د ت
13	The tongue-tip against the edges of the upper incisors	ص ز س
14	The tongue-tip against the edges of the upper incisors, a distinct point from #13	ظ ذ ث
15	The inside of the lower lip against the upper incisors	ف
16	Ash-shafatān: both lips together	ب م و (ghayr madd)
17	Al-khayshūm: the nasal passage	Ghunnah, and the concealed ن and م of idghām/ikhfā

The source notes that merely reading this description is not sufficient to secure correct pronunciation; it must be learned from a qualified teacher and perfected through practice.

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makhraj

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