How do you say Suboxone? (Pronunciation Series Episode 59)

In this episode, I divide Suboxone, buprenorphine, and naloxone into syllables, tell you which syllables to emphasize, and share my sources. As a bonus, I share my Suboxone mispronunciation from ~2002. The written pronunciations are below and in the show notes on https://www.thepharmacistsvoice.com/podcast.

 

Note: we don’t cover pharmacology in this series. Just pronunciations. The FULL show notes are available at https://www.thepharmacistsvoice.com/podcast. 

 

Suboxone = sub-OX-own

• Emphasize the second syllable, OX (which sounds like “BOX” when you say Suboxone fast)
• Sources: For the written pronunciation, read the medication guide for Suboxone https://www.suboxone.com/pdfs/medication-guide.pdf. Spoken pronunciations - google.com, m-w.com, or drugs.com.

 

buprenorphine = byoo pre NOR feen

• Emphasize NOR 
• Sources: Written - medlineplus.gov. Spoken - google.com, m-w.com, or drugs.com 

 

naloxone = nal-OX-one 

• Emphasize OX (which sounds like “LOX” when you say naloxone fast)
• Sources: Written - medlineplus.gov. Spoken - google.com, m-w.com, or drugs.com 

 

Thank for listening to the 59th episode in my drug pronunciation series!

 

If you’d like to recommend a drug name for this series, please reach out through the contact form on my website, thepharmacistsvoice.com.

 

If you know someone who would like to learn how to say Suboxone, buprenorphine, or naloxone, please share this episode with them. Subscribe for all future episodes. This podcast is on all major podcast players and YouTube. Popular links are below. ⬇️

 

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Host Background: Kim Newlove has been an Ohio pharmacist since 2001 (BS Pharm, Chem Minor). Her experience includes hospital, retail, compounding, and behavioral health. She is also an author, voice actor (medical narrator and audiobook narrator), podcast host, and consultant (audio production and podcasting). 

 

Links for this episode

• Suboxone written pronunciation (accessed July 17, 2025) https://www.suboxone.com/pdfs/medication-guide.pdf 
• Buprenorphine written pronunciation (accessed July 17, 2025) https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a605002.html
• Naloxone written pronunciation (accessed July 17, 2025) https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a616003.html 
• Spoken pronunciations for all three drug names today: google.com, m-w.com, and drugs.com
• Note: I was unable to find the written pronunciations for buprenorphine and naloxone in the USP Dictionary Online. The USP Dictionary Online is my go-to resource for written generic