Ghunnah

What does Ghunnah mean?

Ghunnah (غنّة): the sound through the nose

Ghunnah is a nasal sound held for two counts when nūn (ن) or mīm (م) carries a shaddah. The sound resonates in the nasal passage.

Ghunnah: the 2 letters

How to pronounce Ghunnah

Stay on the letter and let the sound flow through the nose, two counts.

The gesture

Hold the nūn with the tongue or the mīm with the lips, and let the ghunnah resonate naturally through the nose for two counts.

Avoid

Do not turn the ghunnah into a long vowel, exaggerate its vibration, or add it to unrelated letters.

The condition

This full ghunnah applies to doubled nūn and mīm. Other nūn and mīm positions have their own degree.

Two counts is the measure of al-Marsafi (Hidayat al-Qari) and of most textbooks. Other teachers do not count the ghunnah in beats: its length is learned by ear, by listening to a reciter.

Ghunnah: common mistakes

What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.

1. Rushing over the doubled nūn or mīm: the nasal sound is held two counts, without being cut.

   The right model · Al-Masad 111:4

2. Lengthening the vowel before it (“ii…”, “aa…”): the nasal sound is what is held; the vowel stays short.

   The right model · Al-Kawthar 108:1

3. Stretching the nasal sound beyond two counts, or making it waver: it is held steady, no more, no less.

   The right model · An-Nasr 110:2

4. Leaving the sound to the nose and letting go of the letter: the tongue stays at the nūn’s point, the lips stay closed for the mīm.

   The right model · An-Nasr 110:3

Ghunnah in numbers

Counted on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading).