3 syllables: lo, sar, tan. Stress on sar.
loh-SAHR-tuhn
/loʊˈsɑɹtən/
losartan is pronounced loh-SAHR-tuhn (/loʊˈsɑɹtən/). It has three syllables (lo-sar-tan), with the stress on "sar". Losartan is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure and protect kidney function in people with diabetes. It belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and works by relaxing blood vessels. The term itself is a pharmacological compound name, not a common vocabulary word, so precise pronunciation is important in clinical communication.
Losartan is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure and protect kidney function in people with diabetes. It belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and works by relaxing blood vessels. The term itself is a pharmacological compound name, not a common vocabulary word, so precise pronunciation is important in clinical communication.
"The prescribing information specifies losartan 50 mg daily for hypertension."
"She was started on losartan after her kidney function tests indicated elevated blood pressure."
"The pharmacist explained that losartan can interact with certain NSAIDs and should be taken consistently."
Phonetically, losartan is pronounced /ləˈsɑːr.tən/ (US: /ləˈsɑːr.tən/, UK/AU may drop an a in the second syllable). Stress falls on the second syllable: lo-SAR-tan. Begin with a light schwa in the first syllable, then a strong open back vowel for /ɑː/ in /ˈsɑːr/, followed by a clear /tən/. Tip: keep the tongue elevated for /s/ and avoid a tense /s/; let the /r/ be a light, rhotic approximant. Audio reference: [standard dictionary audio for losartan].
Common errors include misplacing the stress (say lo-SAR-tan with stress on the second syllable); conflating the final -tan with -dan or -ten; and mispronouncing /ˈsɑːr/ as /ˈsare/ or /ˈsɒr/. Correct by emphasizing the open back vowel /ɑː/ in the second syllable and a clean, not overly aspirated /t/ before the final schwa. Practice with: /ləˈsɑːr.tən/ and compare to similar ARBs like valsartan to ensure you’re using /-rˌtən/ rather than another ending.
In US English, you typically hear /ləˈsɑːr.tən/ with a rhotic /r/ and a final schwa-like /ən/. UK English often presents /ləˈsɑː.tən/ with a slightly shorter second syllable and a less pronounced /r/ in non-rhotic accents. Australian English tends to maintain rhoticity similar to US, with a broad /ɑː/ and a clearer /t/ before the final syllable. Focus on the second syllable vowel length and rhotacization differences; IPA comparisons help anchor listeners in each variety.
Two main challenges: the /ˈsɑːr/ cluster where the /r/ follows a long back vowel can be tricky for non-native speakers, and the final /ən/ sequence can elide in rapid speech to a syllabic /n/ or a reduced /ən/. To master it, practice the two-consonant boundary between /r/ and /t/ with a light flap or release, and drill the transition from /ɑːr/ to /tən/ in slow tempo, then speed up.
No silent letters in losartan. All letters k, q, z-like elements do not appear; the challenge is producing the /ˈsɑːr/ sequence and the unstressed first syllable. Ensure you articulate each phoneme: /l/ then schwa /ə/ or /ə/ in fast speech, /ˈsɑːr/ with a clear /ɑː/ vowel and /r/ rhotic, and finalize with /tən/.
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Losartan is a coined pharmaceutical name formed through a common pattern in drug naming that combines stem-like elements with truncation to produce a pronounceable, non-existent term. The root concept is to signal a mechanism (Angiotensin II receptor blockade) while sounding distinctive in medical usage. The “los-” prefix does not correspond to a standalone English morpheme here, but resembles names like losos from Latin roots, though no direct lineage to a single ancestor word exists. The suffix “-artan” evokes the Greek -artanos meaning ‘covenant’ or ‘binding’ in some pharmaceutical narratives, but in modern drug naming it functions primarily as an phonotactic convenience to create a stable brand-style term. First uses of losartan as a drug name date to the late 1990s with the development of ARB classes, and it has since become a standard generic term in pharmacology and medicine, appearing in international labeling and clinical texts. Overall, the etymology reflects intentional naming conventions in cardiology pharmacotherapy, prioritizing distinctiveness, ease of pronunciation, and cross-lacustrine lexical compatibility for global medical communities.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "losartan" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "losartan" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "losartan"
-ton sounds
-tin sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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