How do you say carisoprodol?

Welcome to episode 13 of my Pronunciation Series! Soma (carisoprodol) is a muscle relaxer. The generic name is famously difficult to pronounce and has several variations. Most people just call it by the brand name Soma, whether they’re talking about the brand-name drug or the generic. In this episode, I share a 30-second audio clip of carisoprodol pronunciations from YouTube (for educational purposes).

How do these pronunciation episodes work? After I say a drug name, I break it down into syllables, explain which syllable(s) have the emphasis, reveal the source of the information, and put the written pronunciation in the show notes so that you see it and use it right away.

The purpose of these pronunciation episodes is to provide the intended pronunciations of drug names from reliable sources so that you feel more confident saying them and less frustrated learning them.

Written pronunciation from the USP Dictionary Online = kar EYE soe PROE dol

Carisoprodol has five syllables. In my humble opinion, all five are slurred together, especially the first two.

Kar has a hard “K” sound, like “carrot.” The “A” is super short; it’s barely there, like the children’s toy K’Nex. The “R” slurs right into the second syllable: “EYE”

Eye, like eyeglasses (This syllable has the secondary emphasis.)

Soe, like you “sew” on a button.

Proe, like a pro football player (This syllable has the primary emphasis.)

Dol, like dollar

How did I know how to say carisoprodol? I found the written pronunciation in the USP Dictionary Online, but the spoken pronunciation is not provided. Comparing spoken pronunciations to the written one pointed me to a winner.

*Disclaimer: I do not work for USP, and I am not compensated in any way for mentioning the USP Dictionary Online. Thank you to the USP Legal Dept for permission to use their written pronunciations in my podcasts and YouTube videos!

As a reminder, generic drug names are not normal words, and you can’t count on saying them right by sounding them out. Therefore, the USP Dictionary is a handy resource for generic drug name pronunciations. Practice! You got this!

Subscribe to or Follow The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast!

Links from this episode

USP Dictionary Online (USAN)

USP Dictionary’s (USAN) pronunciation guide (Source: American Medical Association’s

website)

ConveyMED

Mike Donoghue, ConveyMED co-founder

The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast episode 194, pronunciation episode 12