ミーム

みーむ
noun
meme
1. meme; internet meme
A piece of media — typically an image, video, or phrase — that spreads rapidly online, often with humorous variations. Borrowed from English 'meme,' originally coined by Richard Dawkins.
このミームは面白(おもしろ)い。
This meme is funny.
SNSで(あたら)しいミームが流行(はや)っている。
A new meme is going viral on social media.
友達(ともだち)がミームを(つく)って(おく)ってきたので、(おも)わず(わら)ってしまった。
A friend made a meme and sent it to me, and I couldn't help laughing.

USAGE:
ミーム is used primarily to refer to internet memes — humorous images, videos, or text that spread virally online. The original academic sense (a unit of cultural transmission, from Richard Dawkins' 1976 book) is less commonly encountered in everyday Japanese.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • ミームが流行(はや)る (a meme goes viral)
  • ミームを(つく)る (to make a meme)
  • ミーム画像(がぞう) (meme image)
  • ネットミーム (internet meme)