mimimi
German
Etymology 1
Imitative of high-pitched muttering. Compare Portuguese mimimi for a similar semantic development.
Interjection
mimimi
- (derogatory) Used to mock someone's comments or complaints as being whiny or excessive.
- 2001 June 27, Dirk Mertens, “Ägypten”, in de.talk.jokes[1] (Usenet):
- > Ach ja, kleiner Tip: Nur wer selbst weiß, das er nicht perfekt ist, hat
> imho das Recht andere zu kritisieren.
Dann mach mal den Spiegel sauber. Ausserdem: mimimi- > By the way, bit of a tip: imho, only those who know they aren't perfect
> are allowed to criticize others.
Maybe clean your mirror, then. Also: mew-mew-mew.
- > By the way, bit of a tip: imho, only those who know they aren't perfect
- 2006 September 18, “Wird die Brust irgendwann auch wieder kleiner?!?”, in UrbiaCommunity[2], archived from the original on 30 August 2025:
- Und ich kann dier ganzen blöden Sprüche von wegen üppiger Milchbar auch nicht mehr hören. Mimimi...
- And I'm tired of hearing all those stupid lines about a luscious milk bar. Mew-mew-mew...
- 2013, Jean Bagnol, Commissaire Mazan und die Erben des Marquis, Droemer Knaur, →ISBN:
- Ich sagte: mimimi. So hören Sie sich an. Mimimi, mein Schreibtisch, mimimi, mein Schlüssel. Mann! Glauben Sie ernsthaft, dass ich auf irgendetwas scharf bin, was Ihnen gehört?
- I said: waah. That's what you sound like. Waah, my desk, waah, my keys. For crying out loud! Do you actually believe I've got my eye on anything that's yours?
- 2019, Mina Teichert, Bruchlandung auf Wolke 7, Eden Books, →ISBN:
- »Einen Strauß? Das ist keine gute Idee, ich kann die gute Frau schon zetern hören: ›Mimimi ... der ist aber groß, mimimi ... wo soll ich damit hin, mimimi ... der kackt alles voll.‹«
- "An ostrich? That's not a good idea, I can alredy her the poor woman ranting: 'Grumble grumble... it's so big, grumble grumble... where would I even put it, grumble grumble ... it's going to poop all over the place.'"
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Imitative of singing voice exercises without lyrics, possibly from (or at least influenced by) the Solfège note mi.
Interjection
mimimi
- (chiefly humorous) Used to convey that one is about to sing.
Hanunoo
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌmiˌmiˈmi/ [ˌmiˌmiˈmi]
- Rhymes: -i
- Syllabification: mi‧mi‧mi
Interjection
mímímí (Hanunoo spelling ᜫᜲᜫᜲᜫᜲ) (onomatopoeia)
Usage notes
- Additional reduplication can be added if needed.
Further reading
- Conklin, Harold C. (1953), Hanunóo-English Vocabulary (University of California Publications in Linguistics), volume 9, London, England: University of California Press, →OCLC, page 194
Portuguese
Etymology
Imitative of a muttering sound.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /mi.miˈmi/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /mi.miˈmi/
- Rhymes: -i
- Hyphenation: mi‧mi‧mi
Noun
mimimi m (plural mimimis)
- (Brazil, colloquial, derogatory) a repetitive and/or annoying speech, especially of complaints; whining
- Synonyms: bibibi, chororô, nhanhanhã, nhenhenhém