ミーム

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from English meme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mʲiːmɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

ミーム • (mīmu) 

1. meme (unit of cultural information)
2. (uncommon) Internet meme

Usage notes

• The Japanese do not seem to ever use ミーム in reference to Japanese internet memes. Instead, they are simply described using terms such as 流行(りゅうこう)する (ryūkō suru, “to be popular”), 流行(はや)る (hayaru, “to be popular”), 話題(わだい) (wadai, “subject of conversation”), and ネタ (neta) and noting where they are popular (the Internet, Twitter, etc.).