How to Pronounce Sjögren's Syndrome

Sjögren's Syndrome is pronounced "SHOW-grenz SIN-drome." The first part rhymes with "show," and the stress falls on that first syllable: SHOW-grenz. The second word, syndrome, is said like "SIN-drome," with the stress on the first syllable there too.

The umlaut over the "o" is a Swedish letter, since Sjögren's is named after a Swedish doctor. In English, we usually just say "SHOW" and don't worry about the special spelling—the pronunciation stays the same. You might see it written as "Sjogren's" without the umlaut in some places, and that's okay.

Sjögren's breaks into two syllables: SHOW-grenz. Syndrome breaks into two syllables: SIN-drome. Together, the full term is four syllables: SHOW-grenz SIN-drome.

Many people stress the second syllable and say "shuh-GREN'Z," but that's incorrect. The correct stress is on the first syllable: SHOW-grenz. Another common mistake is pronouncing the "ö" like a regular "o," but it still sounds like "oh," so the mispronunciation doesn't change the sound much.

Yes, doctors often abbreviate it as "SS" in writing, though "SS" can mean other things in medicine too. In conversation, people usually just say the full name "Sjögren's Syndrome" or sometimes shorten it to just "Sjögren's."

It's named after Henrik Sjögren, a Swedish eye doctor who described the condition. In Swedish, "Sjö" means "lake" and "gren" means "branch," but the syndrome isn't named for those word meanings—it's simply the doctor's last name.

Here's an example: "My grandmother was diagnosed with Sjögren's Syndrome, so her doctor explained how the condition affects moisture-producing glands." Notice that "Sjögren's" is possessive (it belongs to a person's name), and both words are capitalized because it's a named medical condition.

Syndrome comes from Greek and means a group of signs or symptoms that happen together. So Sjögren's Syndrome is a named collection of related health signs that doctors recognize as one condition.