# Uvular stop

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In [phonetics](/source/Phonetics) and [phonology](/source/Phonology), a **uvular stop** is a type of consonantal sound, made with the back of the tongue in contact with the [uvula](/source/Uvula), which hangs down in front of the throat (hence [uvular](/source/Uvular_consonant)), held tightly enough to block the passage of air (hence a [stop consonant](/source/Stop_consonant)).

Uvular stops are acoustically similar to but less common than the [velar stops](/source/Velar_stop) (e.g. [k] and [ɡ]), and do not occur in English. Uvular stops are common in certain parts of the world, e.g. the [Caucasian languages](/source/Caucasian_languages) and the [Pacific Northwest languages](/source/Pacific_Northwest_languages) of [North America](/source/North_America). However, they are unattested in the European languages (outside of a few peripheral areas such as the Caucasus).

The most common sound is the [voiceless stop](/source/Voiceless_uvular_plosive) [q]. This sound is well known in [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language), and occurs (at least in [Standard Arabic](/source/Standard_Arabic)) in words such as *[Quran](/source/Quran)* (Koran), *[Qatar](/source/Qatar)*, and *[al-Qāhirah](/source/Cairo)* (Arabic for Cairo). More generally, several kinds are distinguished:

- [q], [voiceless uvular plosive](/source/Voiceless_uvular_plosive)
- [ɢ], [voiced uvular plosive](/source/Voiced_uvular_plosive)
- [ɴ], [uvular nasal](/source/Uvular_nasal)
- [qʼ], [uvular ejective](/source/Uvular_ejective)
- [ʛ ], [voiced uvular implosive](/source/Voiced_uvular_implosive) (very rare)
- [ʛ̊ ] or [qʼ↓] [voiceless uvular implosive](/source/Voiceless_uvular_implosive) (claimed to exist in [Kaqchikel](/source/Kaqchikel_language))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Uvular stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvular_stop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvular_stop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.