Phrase guide

memento mori

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /məˌmɛntoʊ ˈmɔːɹi/

1

noun

Meaning 1

An emblematic object or personal ornament, such as a skull, used as a reminder of one's mortality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a reminder (as a death's head) of your mortality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reminder

History

Etymology

From Latin mementō morī (literally “be mindful of dying”).

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: помни, че си смъртен (pomni, če si smǎrten) — memento mori
  • Danish: memento mori — memento mori
  • Danish: husk, at du skal dø — memento mori
  • Dutch: gedenk te sterven — memento mori
  • Finnish: muista, että sinunkin on kuoltava — memento mori
  • French: souviens-toi que tu vas mourir — memento mori
  • German: Memento mori — memento mori
  • German: Sei dir der Sterblichkeit bewusst — memento mori
  • Hebrew: זָכוּר לָמוּת (zachúr lamút) — memento mori
  • Japanese: 死を忘るなかれ (shi o wasuru nakare) — memento mori
  • Lithuanian: atmink, kad mirsi — memento mori
  • Pali: maraṇasati — memento mori
  • Portuguese: lembre-se de que é mortal, lembre-se da morte — memento mori
  • Romanian: adu-ți aminte de moarte! — memento mori
  • Russian: помни о смерти (pomni o smerti) — memento mori
  • Thai: มรณานุสติ — memento mori
  • Vietnamese: niệm chết — memento mori
  • Vietnamese: hãy nhớ rằng ngươi sẽ phải chết — memento mori