How to Pronounce Metatarsals

Say it like this: met-ah-TAR-sulz. Break it into four syllables, and put the stress (say it louder) on the third syllable: TAR. The first syllable "met" sounds like the past tense of "meet," and the last syllable "sulz" rhymes with "gulls."

Many people accidentally stress the first syllable and say MET-ah-tarsals instead of met-ah-TAR-sulz. Remember: the emphasis goes on TAR, not on MET at the beginning.

The prefix 'meta-' comes from Greek and means 'after' or 'beyond.' The word 'tarsal' comes from the Greek word 'tarsos,' which means 'flat surface' or 'ankle.' Put together, metatarsals are the bones that come after (beyond) the tarsal bones of the ankle.

Metatarsals has four syllables: met-ah-TAR-sulz. Each syllable is short and easy to say if you break the word into these chunks.

Metatarsals are the long bones in the middle part of your foot—right before your toes begin. They form the structure you feel when you press on the top of your foot, between your ankle and your toes.

Yes! 'Tarsal' by itself refers to the ankle bones, and 'tarsus' is the Latin word for ankle. You might also hear 'metatarsal' used as a singular form—for example, "one metatarsal bone" instead of "metatarsals."

You might say: "The doctor examined her metatarsals to check the bones in her midfoot" or "He felt pain in his metatarsals after the long run." The word is typically used in plural form since there are five of these bones in each foot.

Sometimes doctors use the abbreviation 'MT' for metatarsal, or they say 'metatarsal' in the singular form when talking about just one bone. You might hear phrases like "the fifth metatarsal" to refer to one specific bone.