Ghunnah, the nasal sound of noon and meem

Ghunnah is a sound that comes from the nose (al-khayshum). It is part of the letters ن and م: hold your nose while saying “nnn” and the sound stops. In tajweed, ghunnah is held for about two counts in the places shown above, and is short everywhere else.

The levels of ghunnah

1. Fullest: noon and meem with shaddah, and full idgham into noon or meem.
2. Full: idgham into ya and waw, which is incomplete because a trace of the noon remains.
3. Medium: ikhfa, iqlab and ikhfa shafawi.
4. Short: a noon or meem with sukun read clearly (izhar).
5. Shortest: a noon or meem with a vowel.

Only the first three are held for two counts. In the last two, the ghunnah is there but is not lengthened.

Where there is no ghunnah

When a noon sakinah or tanween meets ل or ر, it disappears completely into them with no nasal sound (idgham without ghunnah). Before the six throat letters it is read clearly (izhar). The four rules of noon sakinah are on the tajweed rules page.

How long are two counts?

One count (harakah) is about the time it takes to fold or unfold a finger at a steady pace. Keep the ghunnah the same length each time, and match it to the speed of your recitation: a little shorter at a fast pace (hadr), a little longer at a slow one (tahqiq).

Common mistakes

• Cutting it short on نّ and مّ, especially in fast recitation.
• Adding ghunnah where there is none, such as before lam and ra.
• Ghunnah from the mouth: the sound must come through the nose.
• Making the following vowel nasal: the ghunnah ends with the noon or meem.

1. Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah, on ghunnah in noon and meem with shaddah.
2. The rules follow the standard tajweed manuals for Hafs from Asim, such as Hidayat al-Mustafid.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.