Skeleton Labeled in French

A human skeleton diagram in French: 35 bone names on one drawing, each with its article.

Skeleton Labeled in French

Name Date

Tap any bone to read or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
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Write the name of each numbered bone.Answer key

  1. l'os frontal
  2. l'os pariétal
  3. l'os temporal
  4. l'os occipital
  5. l'os nasal
  6. l'os zygomatique
  7. le maxillaire
  8. la mandibule
  9. les vertèbres cervicales
  10. les vertèbres dorsales
  11. les vertèbres lombaires
  12. le sacrum
  13. le coccyx
  14. le sternum
  15. les côtes
  16. la clavicule
  17. l'omoplate
  18. l'humérus
  19. le radius
  20. le cubitus
  21. le carpe
  22. le métacarpe
  23. les phalanges de la main
  24. l'ilion
  25. le pubis
  26. l'ischion
  27. le fémur
  28. la rotule
  29. le tibia
  30. le péroné
  31. l'astragale
  32. le tarse
  33. le calcanéum
  34. le métatarse
  35. les phalanges du pied

Drawn for this site, 2026-09-20. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a bone is answered.

Next step The same skeleton in EnglishMore French: the family on a family tree

All 35 bones on the diagram

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Skull 8

  1. l'os frontal Frontal bone (forehead) Frontal bone, the forehead. Also le frontal on its own.
  2. l'os pariétal Parietal bone Parietal bone. Also le pariétal on its own.
  3. l'os temporal Temporal bone Temporal bone. Also le temporal on its own.
  4. l'os occipital Occipital bone Occipital bone. Also l'occipital on its own.
  5. l'os nasal Nasal bone Nasal bone. Its older name is l'os propre du nez.
  6. l'os zygomatique Zygomatic bone (cheekbone) Zygomatic bone. The cheekbone of everyday speech is la pommette.
  7. le maxillaire Maxilla (upper jaw) Maxilla, the upper jaw: la mâchoire supérieure.
  8. la mandibule Mandible (lower jaw) Mandible, the lower jaw: la mâchoire inférieure.

Spine and rib cage 7

  1. les vertèbres cervicales Cervical vertebrae (neck) Cervical vertebrae, those of the neck. Short form: les cervicales.
  2. les vertèbres dorsales Thoracic vertebrae (upper back) Thoracic vertebrae. Anatomy now says les vertèbres thoraciques.
  3. les vertèbres lombaires Lumbar vertebrae (lower back) Lumbar vertebrae, those of the lower back. Short form: les lombaires.
  4. le sacrum Sacrum Sacrum.
  5. le coccyx Coccyx (tailbone) Coccyx, the tailbone.
  6. le sternum Sternum (breastbone) Sternum, the breastbone.
  7. les côtes Ribs Ribs. Une côte is also a coast or a hill.

Shoulder and arm 8

  1. la clavicule Clavicle (collarbone) Clavicle, the collarbone.
  2. l'omoplate Scapula (shoulder blade) Scapula, the shoulder blade. Feminine. Anatomy now says la scapula.
  3. l'humérus Humerus (upper arm bone) Humerus, the bone of the upper arm. Masculine: un humérus.
  4. le radius Radius Radius.
  5. le cubitus Ulna Ulna. Anatomy now says l'ulna.
  6. le carpe Carpals (wrist bones) Carpals, the wrist bones. La carpe, feminine, is a fish.
  7. le métacarpe Metacarpals (palm bones) Metacarpals, the bones of the palm, called les métacarpiens.
  8. les phalanges de la main Phalanges of the hand (finger bones) Phalanges of the hand, the finger bones.

Hip and leg 12

  1. l'ilion Ilium Ilium, the upper part of the hip bone. Masculine: un ilion.
  2. le pubis Pubis Pubis.
  3. l'ischion Ischium Ischium. Masculine: un ischion.
  4. le fémur Femur (thigh bone) Femur, the thigh bone.
  5. la rotule Patella (kneecap) Patella, the kneecap. Anatomy now says la patella.
  6. le tibia Tibia (shinbone) Tibia, the shinbone. Masculine in French.
  7. le péroné Fibula (calf bone) Fibula. Anatomy now says la fibula.
  8. l'astragale Talus (ankle bone) Talus, the ankle bone. Masculine. Anatomy now says le talus.
  9. le tarse Tarsals Tarsals. Le tarse names the group; the bones are les os du tarse.
  10. le calcanéum Calcaneus (heel bone) Calcaneus, the heel bone: l'os du talon.
  11. le métatarse Metatarsals Metatarsals, the bones called les métatarsiens.
  12. les phalanges du pied Phalanges of the foot (toe bones) Phalanges of the foot, the toe bones.

How this list was compiled: Every French name, its gender and its meaning was read on 2026-10-12, and each stands in at least two of the four sources below. (1) WordReference, French-English (https://www.wordreference.com/fren/ followed by the word): os (with its note on the plural), frontal, pariétal, os temporal, occipital, nasal, malaire, pommette, maxillaire, mâchoire and mâchoire inférieure, vertèbre, vertèbre cervicale, vertèbre dorsale, lombaire, sacrum, coccyx, sternum, côte, clavicule, omoplate, humérus, radius, cubitus, carpe, métacarpe, phalange, os iliaque, pubis, fémur, rotule, tibia, péroné, astragale, talus, tarse, métatarse, squelette, crâne and colonne vertébrale; and English-French (https://www.wordreference.com/enfr/ followed by the word): scapula, ulna, fibula, calcaneus, heel bone (calcanéum, os du talon), ischium (ischion), mandible (mandibule), maxilla (maxillaire), cheekbone (pommette), kneecap (rotule), collarbone, tailbone, breastbone, skeleton, skull and spine. (2) Le Robert, Dico en ligne (https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/ followed by the word): os, frontal (os frontal), pariétal (os pariétal, or le pariétal), temporal (os temporal, or le temporal), occipital (os occipital, or l'occipital), nasal, zygomatique, pommette, maxillaire (le maxillaire supérieur), mandibule (maxillaire inférieur), mâchoire, vertèbre, cervical (vertèbres cervicales), lombaire (les cinq vertèbres lombaires), sacrum, coccyx, sternum, côte, clavicule, omoplate, scapula, humérus, radius, cubitus, ulna, carpe, métacarpe, phalange, ilion, pubis, ischion, fémur, rotule, patella, tibia, péroné, fibula, astragale, tarse, calcanéum, métatarse, squelette and crâne. (3) Larousse, dictionnaire de français (https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/ followed by the word): os (how the singular and the plural are said), frontal (os frontal), maxillaire, mandibule, malaire (os malaire), vertèbre (7 cervicales, 12 dorsales, 5 lombaires), sacrum, coccyx, omoplate, scapula, cubitus, ulna, métacarpe, ilion, ischion, rotule, péroné, fibula, astragale, tarse, calcanéum and métatarse. (4) Dictionnaire médical de l'Académie nationale de médecine, 2020 version (https://www.academie-medecine.fr/le-dictionnaire/index.php?q= followed by the term): os frontal, os pariétal, os temporal, os occipital, os nasal (older synonym os propre du nez), os zygomatique (older synonym os malaire), maxillaire, mandibule (older synonyms maxillaire inférieur, mâchoire inférieure), vertèbres thoraciques, scapula (older synonym omoplate), ulna (older synonym cubitus), carpe, métacarpe, ilion, pubis, ischion, patella (older synonym rotule), fibula (older synonym péroné), talus (older synonym astragale), tarse, calcanéum and métatarse. Os nasal and os zygomatique stand as whole names in source 4 only; the other three give the adjectives nasal and zygomatique. The gender of ulna differs: masculine in Le Robert and source 4, feminine in Larousse and WordReference. The wording of every line is our own. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site, 2026-09-20. Proportions and bone shapes were checked by eye against three public-domain pictures on Wikimedia Commons: Gray188.png (side view of the skull from Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 1918), Human_skeleton_front_-_no_labels.svg and Human_skeleton_back_en.svg (Mariana Ruiz Villarreal, released into the public domain), and against the descriptions of the wrist and ankle bones in the English Wikipedia articles Carpal bones and Tarsus (skeleton). Nothing was traced or copied, and the numbers and labels are our own. Licence: own work

How it works

Thirty-five bones of the skeleton are named in French here, from l'os frontal on the skull to les phalanges du pied. Twenty-five names are masculine and ten feminine.

Read the full guide

Two names for one bone

For six of these bones French has an everyday name and a newer anatomical one, such as l'omoplate and la scapula for the shoulder blade. The drawing shows the everyday name, the one WordReference and Larousse use, and the newer name counts when typed.

What l' hides

L' does not show the gender. L'os, l'humérus, l'ilion, l'ischion and l'astragale are masculine; l'omoplate is feminine.

  • A whole hip bone is l'os iliaque. L'ilion, le pubis and l'ischion are its three parts.

Questions and answers

How do you say skeleton in French?

Le squelette, masculine. The skull is le crâne, the spine la colonne vertébrale, and one bone is un os.

How do you pronounce os in French?

In the singular the s is heard: Larousse says un os sounds like the French word cosse. In the plural the s is silent, and des os sounds like eau. WordReference notes the plural too.

What are the bones of the body in French?

Among the best known: le crâne (skull), la clavicule (collarbone), les côtes (ribs), l'humérus, le radius, le fémur, la rotule (kneecap) and le tibia. The English name stands beside every French one in the list under the drawing.

Is tibia masculine or feminine in French?

Masculine: le tibia, un tibia, in WordReference and Le Robert. Spanish and Italian make the same bone feminine, la tibia.

Where were the French names checked?

In WordReference, Le Robert and Larousse, and for the anatomical names in the medical dictionary of the Académie nationale de médecine. Each name stands in at least two of the four.

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