memento mori

[meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi]

/[meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi]/ proverb

The verdict

“memento mori” is outside the top-ranked Spanish vocabulary, used as a proverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Recuerda que debes morir.

Key facts for memento mori
PropertyValue
Headwordmemento mori
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechProverb
IPA[meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “memento mori” sits in Spanish frequency

memento mori falls outside the top-100,000 ranked Spanish words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for memento mori is 12 letters long, classified as a proverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Recuerda que debes morir.".

No misspelling variants are generated for memento mori in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is memento mori, spelled M-E-M-E-N-T-O- -M-O-R-I, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Recuerda que debes morir.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “memento mori, Spanish word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/es/palabra/memento-mori

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "memento mori"?
"memento mori" is spelled M-E-M-E-N-T-O- -M-O-R-I. The IPA pronunciation is [meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi].
What does "memento mori" mean?
As a proverb, "memento mori" means: Recuerda que debes morir.
How do you pronounce "memento mori"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "memento mori" is [meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "memento mori" come from?
"memento mori" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “memento mori”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is M-E-M-E-N-T-O- -M-O-R-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [meˈmẽn̪t̪o ˈmoɾi] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list