Tajweed Quran Color Code Chart: What Each Color Means
A color-coded Tajweed Quran prints letters in colors that tell you how to recite them: shades of red for how long to hold a vowel, green for the nasal sound, blue for the echo and for heavy letters, and grey for letters you do not pronounce.
The QuranMakkah reader does not color the text. It gives you the Arabic with Latin transliteration and verse-by-verse audio, which you can use alongside a printed Tajweed Mushaf.
Learn the Tajweed rules →What is a Tajweed Quran?
The word Tajweed (تجويد) comes from the Arabic root j-w-d, meaning "to make excellent." Tajweed is the science of reciting the Quran correctly, giving every letter its proper sound and characteristics.
A Tajweed Quran (often called a color-coded Quran) marks the places where a rule applies, so you can see the rules while you read instead of having to remember every one first. The best-known key comes from the Tajweed Mushaf published by Dar al-Ma'rifah, and many apps follow it closely.
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: "The one who is proficient in the Quran will be with the noble scribes (angels), and the one who reads it and struggles with it will have a double reward." (Sahih al-Bukhari 4937, Sahih Muslim 798)
Tajweed Color Code Chart
The colors below follow the most widely printed key. Exact shades differ between editions and apps, so always check the key printed in your own copy.
Dark red: Necessary prolongation (Madd Lazim)
Held for 6 counts. It occurs where a long vowel is followed by a letter with a fixed sukun or shadda.
Red: Obligatory prolongation (Madd Wajib Muttasil)
Held for 4 or 5 counts. A long vowel followed by a Hamza in the same word.
Orange: Permissible prolongation (Madd Ja'iz)
Held for 2, 4 or 6 counts. The most common case is the long vowel before the last letter of a verse when you stop on it (Madd 'Arid lis-Sukun).
Light red or yellow: Normal prolongation (Madd Tabi'i)
Held for 2 counts. Editions differ here: some print it in a light red, some in yellow, and some leave it uncolored.
Green: Nasal sound (Ghunnah)
A nasal sound of about 2 counts on Noon and Meem. It covers Ikhfa (hiding), Idgham with Ghunnah (merging), Iqlab (Noon turning into Meem before Ba) and the doubled Noon and Meem.
Light blue: Echo (Qalqalah)
A light bounce on the letters ق ط ب ج د when they carry a sukun, strongest when you stop on them at the end of a verse.
Dark blue: Heavy letter (Tafkheem)
A full, heavy pronunciation, used above all for a heavy Ra. Some editions mark the other heavy letters as well.
Grey: Silent letter
Written but not pronounced, such as the Lam of "al" before a sun letter, or a joining Alif in the middle of a sentence.
Clear pronunciation (Izhar) has no color of its own: it is the normal way of reading, so the letter stays black.
Reading the Colors: Four Examples
The Arabic, transliteration and translation below come from the same verse data as the reader. The notes point out what a color-coded Mushaf marks in each verse.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Tajweed note: The Lam of "al" before Rahmaan and Raheem is silent (Lam Shamsiyyah), which is why the transliteration doubles the R instead: "hir Rahmaanir Raheem". In a color-coded Mushaf the silent Lam is grey. Stopping at the end of the verse lengthens the ee of Raheem for 2, 4 or 6 counts.
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
Alhamdu lillaahi Rabbil 'aalameen
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -
Tajweed note: The Lam of Alhamdu is pronounced (Lam Qamariyyah), so it is not grey. The aa of 'aalameen is a normal prolongation of 2 counts, and stopping on the last word lengthens its final ee for 2, 4 or 6 counts.
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Qul huwal laahu ahad
Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
Tajweed note: The Lam in the name Allah is heavy here because the word before it ends in a fatha. When you stop on the last word, its final Dal gets Qalqalah, a light echo.
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ
Wa lam yakul-lahu kufuwan ahad
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Tajweed note: The Noon at the end of the second word merges into the Lam after it with no nasal sound (Idgham without Ghunnah), which is why the transliteration reads "yakul-lahu". The tanween before the Hamza of the last word is pronounced clearly (Izhar), and the final Dal gets Qalqalah when you stop.
Why Tajweed Matters
Tajweed is not only about a beautiful recitation: it protects the meaning of the Quran. In Arabic, changing how a single letter is pronounced can change the word itself.
قَلْب (qalb) means heart, while كَلْب (kalb) means dog. The difference is one letter: Qaf against Kaf.
A short vowel stretched, or a long vowel cut short, can turn one word into another. That is why the red shades in a Tajweed Quran tell you exactly how long to hold each sound.
Many scholars hold that reciting with correct Tajweed is a duty for everyone who recites the Quran, while studying the detailed rules in theory is a duty the community fulfils through its teachers. Every effort to improve is rewarded, and the one who struggles gets a double reward.
Practise Tajweed on QuranMakkah
Audio-synced verses
Each verse highlights as the reciter reads it, so you can follow along and train your ear at the same time.
Try it with Al-Fatihah →Latin transliteration
Every verse has Latin transliteration, so you can follow the pronunciation before you read Arabic script.
How to read it →4 reciters
Listen to Raad Al Kurdi, Muhammad Al Luhaidan, Yasser Al Dossari and Hazza Al Balushi, each in their own style.
Choose a reciter →Tajweed rules guide
Qalqalah, Ghunnah, Ikhfa, Idgham, Iqlab and Madd explained with transliterated examples, plus a listen-along Qalqalah lesson.
Learn the rules →Pronunciation guide
Where each Arabic letter comes from in the mouth and throat (Makharij), the foundation for every Tajweed rule.
Learn the letters →Practice mode
Type a verse from memory, in Arabic or Latin letters, and see how closely it matches.
Try Practice mode →Best Surahs to Practise Tajweed
Al-Fatihah (1)
Recited in every unit of prayer, at least 17 times a day. Perfect your Tajweed here first.
Al-Ikhlas (112)
Only 4 verses, every one ending on a Qalqalah letter, with a heavy Lam in the name Allah and Madd.
Al-Falaq (113)
Every verse ends on a Qalqalah letter, and the phrase repeated in verses 2 to 5 gives you Ikhfa four times.
An-Nas (114)
All six verses end on a word with a doubled Noon, so you practise Ghunnah again and again.
Ar-Rahman (55)
Its refrain comes back 31 times, steady practice for the obligatory and the pause prolongations.
Al-Mulk (67)
Thirty verses: the step up in length once the short surahs feel natural.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Tajweed Quran?
Why is there no color for Izhar?
Are the colors the same in every Tajweed Quran?
Can I learn Tajweed online for free?
Is transliteration enough to learn Quran recitation?
Put the Colors into Practice
Listen to a reciter verse by verse with transliteration beside every verse, and follow the rules in your Tajweed Mushaf as you go. Free, with no account.