Makharij Chart: Free Printable Guide to Where Arabic Letters Are Made

The 5 areas and 17 points of the Arabic letters on 2 printable pages. Each point has its letters, a plain-English hint and a tick box, and there is a week of practice.

Download PDF (A4)Download PDF (US Letter)

A makharij chart is a sheet that shows where each Arabic letter is made: in the mouth, the throat, the lips or the nose. Makharij (the exit points of the letters) come first in many Tajweed plans. A rule cannot help if a letter comes from the wrong place. This free chart has 2 pages. Page 1 is a table of the 5 areas and 17 points with their letters. Page 2 is a practice week with tick boxes. It is a chart, not a lesson.

The chart follows the count taught from the classic Tajweed poem al-Jazariyya. It has 17 points in 5 areas: the empty space, the throat, the tongue, the lips and the nose. Other counts exist. Some classical books count 16 or 14, so your teacher may use a different one. Every letter, hint and count matches our guide to makharij al-huroof. The guide also has a 5-day plan and the mix-ups English speakers make.

The references are Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah and M. S. Gaibie, Murshid al-Qari, Part 1 and Part 3. The hints are rough, because English has no letters for some Arabic sounds. A chart cannot hear you, so ask a qualified teacher to check each letter. Our Quran reading with Tajweed course starts with makharij. Your tutor checks every letter as you say it.

What Is in the Printable

Page 1, the 5 areas and 17 points. The empty space has 1, the throat 3, the tongue 10, the lips 2 and the nose 1. Each point shows its letters in Arabic with English names, a plain-English hint and a box for your teacher to tick.
Page 2, practice week: 28 letters in the order of page 1, each written with a sukoon after a hamza with a fatha, such as 'ab'. Every letter has 7 boxes, one for each day of the week.
Page 2, mix-ups: 4 boxes for the slips English speakers make. They are haa and Haa, 'ayn and hamza, thaa and seen, and heavy letters said light.

Who It Is For

Learners who can read the Arabic letters and are starting Tajweed
Parents who help with practice at home, even if they do not read Arabic
Students in a Tajweed class who want a place to tick each letter
Teachers in a masjid, weekend school, home school or class

How to Use It in 4 Steps

1Print the 2 pages. Keep page 1 in your Quran or your folder, and keep a small mirror near you for the lips and the tongue tip.
2Read page 1 one area at a time. Say each letter with a sukoon after a hamza with a fatha, such as 'ab'. Hold the end of the sound and notice where it stops. That place is the makhraj.
3On page 2, say each letter in the Say it column and tick one box for each day you practise. Work on one mix-up box at a time.
4When your teacher hears a letter come from the right place, tick its box on page 1. If it is not right yet, leave the box empty and try again.

Want a tutor to fill in the teacher's side? Book a free 30-minute trial class. No card is needed.

Book Your Free Class

Meet a qualified male or female tutor in a live 1-on-1 class. Pick a time that suits you. No card details are needed, and you do not have to sign up.

Book a Free Trial

Talk to Us Any Time

Message us on WhatsApp, email us or send the form. We will reply with a trial time, most often within 24 hours.

info@salamcampus.com +44 7450 626106 +92 315 5715159 +92 370 5078009 Contact Us

Makharij Chart 1: The 5 Areas and 17 Points

Name:

Teacher:

Makharij means the places where the Arabic letters are made. To find a letter's place, say it with a sukoon after a hamza with a fatha, such as 'ab', and notice where the sound stops. Tick Done when your teacher hears the letter come from the right place. The hints are rough, because English has no letters for some Arabic sounds.

Area	Point	Where	Letters	Plain-English hint
A. Empty space1 point	1	Empty space of the mouth and throat	اalifوwaawيyaa	The long sounds 'aa', 'oo' and 'ee'. Waaw comes after a damma, yaa after a kasra. The mouth stays open and the air carries them out.
B. Throat3 points	2	Deepest part	ءhamzaهhaa	Hamza is a quick catch in the throat. The light haa is a soft sigh.
	3	Middle	ع'aynحHaa	'Ayn is a deep, squeezed sound. The strong Haa is like breathing on a mirror to fog it.
	4	Nearest the mouth	غghaynخkhaa	Ghayn is a gargle-like sound. Khaa is a rough sound, like clearing the throat.
C. Tongue10 points	5	Very back	قqaaf	The back of the tongue meets the roof of the mouth far back. The sound is deep and heavy.
	6	Back, a little forward	كkaaf	A light k, made a little further forward than qaaf.
	7	Middle	جjeemشsheenيyaa	The middle of the tongue rises to the roof of the mouth. This yaa has its own vowel.
	8	Side edge	ضdaad	The side of the tongue meets the upper back teeth. The sound is heavy.
	9 to 11	Tip: on the gums	لlaamنnoonرraa	The tip of the tongue touches the gums of the top teeth. These are 3 close points, one after the other.
	12	Tip: gum line of the top front teeth	طTaaدdaalتtaa	The tip of the tongue meets the root of the top front teeth.
	13	Tip: edge of the top front teeth	ظZaaذdhaalثthaa	The tip of the tongue meets the edge of the top front teeth. Thaa is like the 'th' in 'think'.
	14	Tip: close to both front teeth	صsaadسseenزzay	The tip sits close to the front teeth, with a small gap. The sound is a thin, hissing whistle.
D. Lips2 points	15	Lower lip and top teeth	فfaa	The inside of the lower lip touches the top front teeth.
D. Lips2 points	16	Both lips	بbaaمmeemوwaaw	For baa and meem the lips close fully. For waaw, which has its own vowel, they round with a small gap.
E. Nose1 point	17	Nose	The hum on noon and meem (ghunnah)	A sound that goes through the nose. It is a hum, not a letter.
The count is 1 + 3 + 10 + 2 + 1 = 17, as taught from the classic poem al-Jazariyya. Other counts exist: some classical books count 16, because they do not count the empty space as its own point, and one count is 14, which also joins laam, noon and raa into one point. Your teacher may use any of them. Letters in one point share a place but can differ in other ways: Taa (ط), daal (د) and taa (ت) share a place, but Taa is heavy.

References: Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah; M. S. Gaibie, Murshid al-Qari, Parts 1 and 3.

salamcampus.com - free to print for home, class and masjid use

Makharij Chart 2: Practice Week

Name:

Week starting:

Say each letter with a sukoon after a hamza with a fatha, as in the Say it column. Hold the end of the sound and feel where it stops. Use a mirror for the lips and the tongue tip. Tick one box for each day you practise. The letters follow page 1: throat, then tongue, then lips. The long sounds of the empty space (alif, waaw and yaa) are not here: say them 'aa', 'oo' and 'ee' with the mouth open.

Name	Letter	Say it
hamzathroat	ء	أَءْ
haathroat	ه	أَهْ
'aynthroat	ع	أَعْ
Haathroat	ح	أَحْ
ghaynthroat	غ	أَغْ
khaathroat	خ	أَخْ
qaaftongue	ق	أَقْ
kaaftongue	ك	أَكْ
jeemtongue	ج	أَجْ
sheentongue	ش	أَشْ
yaatongue	ي	أَيْ
daadtongue	ض	أَضْ
laamtongue	ل	أَلْ
noontongue	ن	أَنْ

Name	Letter	Say it
raatongue	ر	أَرْ
Taatongue	ط	أَطْ
daaltongue	د	أَدْ
taatongue	ت	أَتْ
Zaatongue	ظ	أَظْ
dhaaltongue	ذ	أَذْ
thaatongue	ث	أَثْ
saadtongue	ص	أَصْ
seentongue	س	أَسْ
zaytongue	ز	أَزْ
faalips	ف	أَفْ
baalips	ب	أَبْ
meemlips	م	أَمْ
waawlips	و	أَوْ

Mix-up 1: haa and HaaDone

Many learners say both like the 'h' in 'hat'. The light haa is made low in the throat, as a soft sigh. The strong Haa is made higher up, in the middle of the throat, with more squeeze.

هhaadeep throat

حHaamid throat

Mix-up 2: 'ayn and hamzaDone

'Ayn is often said as a plain 'a'. Hamza is a quick catch in the deepest part of the throat. 'Ayn is made a little higher, in the middle of the throat, with a tight squeeze.

ءhamzadeep throat

ع'aynmid throat

Mix-up 3: thaa and seenDone

Thaa is often said like seen. Thaa is made with the tongue tip at the edge of the top front teeth, like the 'th' in 'think'. Seen is like the 's' in 'sink'.

ثthaateeth edge

سseennear teeth

Mix-up 4: heavy letters said lightDone

Saad (ص) said too thin sounds like seen (س). Taa (ط) can slip to taa (ت), and qaaf (ق) to kaaf (ك). Saad and seen share a place, so only the heavy sound is different. Qaaf and kaaf have different places. The 7 always-heavy letters:

خkhaaصsaadضdaadطTaaظZaaغghaynقqaaf

Our guide at salamcampus.com/blog/makharij-al-huroof/ has a 5-day plan and more on each mix-up. This chart does not replace a teacher: ask a qualified teacher to hear you read.