Pronunciation

How to pronounce “meme

“meme” is pronounced /mim/ (MEEM) in American English and /miːm/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “meme” in one beat

Say it like this

meme

/mim/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /miːm/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. mememim
IPA (American)
/mim/
IPA (British)
/miːm/
Respelling
MEEM
Syllables
1 — meme
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /mim/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/mim/

British

/miːm/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “meme” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    MAY-may

    one syllable rhyming with team

Meaning

What “meme” means

  1. noun

    a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)

    memes are the cultural counterpart of genes

Say it in a sentence

The joke spread as a meme long before the news reported it.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

2 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

meme”, answered

How do you pronounce “meme”?

“meme” is pronounced /mim/ (MEEM) in American English and /miːm/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /mim/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “meme” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /mim/ — a single beat.

Is “meme” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /mim/ (MEEM); British English says /miːm/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “meme” mean?

As a noun: a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation) For example: “memes are the cultural counterpart of genes”

Where is the stress in “meme”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /mim/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “meme” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.