Mnemonic for remembering how to spell "mnemonic"

Question

It is ironic that the name of a mental device which is supposed to make our lives easier is itself so hard to spell. Is there a mnemonic for the spelling of mnemonic?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but I do hope you're not just trying to be clever in a question. — Robusto, Feb 06 '11 at 19:21
It's easier for me to remember "the way it sounds plus an extra M" than to remember another mnemonic. — , Feb 06 '11 at 19:23
@Robusto - I was reading the answer to a different question to my daughter (aged 13) and asked is she had any good questions, which is how this came up. I think she genuinely wanted to know an easy to remember way to spell mnemonic. — ukayer, Feb 06 '11 at 20:07
I, for one, pronounce both the m and the n at the beginning of mnemonic, but this is not standard and is just a quirk of mine. I also like to pronounce the g at the beginning of gnu, the p at the beginning of ptarmigan, and other such aberrations. — JSBձոգչ, Feb 06 '11 at 21:44
@JSBangs O, you're not supposed to pronounce that g? Guess I've been doing that wrong too. I blame my native language :P — Ward Muylaert, Feb 06 '11 at 21:57
"I know to spell Mississippi, just that I don't know when to stop." — Kris, Oct 27 '12 at 14:25
But once you learn THIS mnemonic, what if you use it on the word pneumonic? — GEdgar, Feb 22 '13 at 16:06
I picture Monica from the TV show "Friends" (whom I find quite attractive) with a big M tattooed on her knee. You know, an M on the knee of Monica = mnemonic. Hey, whatever works for you! — rhetorician, Feb 23 '13 at 02:04
@JSBձոգչ, you’re not the only one—I also pronounce ‘mnemonic’ exactly as it’s written. I don’t pronounce the p in ‘ptarmigan’ or ‘pterodactyl’, though, nor the ph (or the second h) in ‘phthisis’ (homophonous, except for the stress pattern, with ‘tie sis [up]’). — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Sep 24 '13 at 19:49
Maturity never encompasses making odd names instantly coherent. — Sven Yargs, Dec 01 '16 at 22:38

score 17 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 07 '11 at 18:49

17

It might help to associate it to a word which is related etymologically: amnesia.

answered Feb 07 '11 at 18:49

Peter Taylor

3,911

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 06 '11 at 22:42

10

Sure; repeat to yourself my niece is mnemonic.

This assumes that the mn is the source of difficulty and you don't need a mnemonic for the rest of the word.

answered Feb 06 '11 at 22:42

chaos

19,612

1

+1. I'm convinced you made this up on the spot, which would be awesome. – jprete Nov 15 '11 at 01:13
@jprete: I'm glad you think so, since yeah, I did. :) – chaos Nov 15 '11 at 05:39

score 10 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

10

A collection of mnemonics for mnemonic from the web:

Memorization's Not Easy; Memory Often Needs Initial Cues
My Nanny Eats Mostly Old Noodles In Cans
Memory Needs Every Means Of Naming It Correctly
Mnemonics Neatly Eliminate Man's Only Nemesis - Insufficient Cerebral Storage
Many Nuns Enjoy Monks Only Not In Convents

But I think the best is @Peter Taylor's simple suggestion to remember amnesia.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

Community

1

answered Nov 15 '11 at 06:03

Hugo

67,535

2

i think the 2nd and the 5th are pretty good ; ) – xtarsy Nov 15 '11 at 10:20
2

I'd find it easier to just remember the letters than try to remember the 4th one. – Urbycoz Nov 15 '11 at 12:35
1

@Urbycoz Yeah, that's a good example of a bad mnemonic. – Hugo Nov 15 '11 at 12:44

Robusto · Answer 4 · 2011-02-06T19:20:04.153

3

If it were a class of words you're talking about, I'd say a mnemonic would be useful. But as you are referring to a single instance, why create a mnemonic that you will have to remember (and may get wrong) to remember a single word? That adds an unnecessary burden (and abstraction) to the task.

edited Feb 06 '11 at 19:20

answered Feb 06 '11 at 19:09

Robusto

151,571

Mnemonics are just as much about specific instances as for general ones - for example, the use of "Naughty Elephants Squirt Water" to remember the clockwise order of the cardinal compass points. – HorusKol Feb 06 '11 at 22:59
4

@HorusKoi: That's four things, not one thing, and an order. Similarly, "I Don't Play Like My Aunt Lucy" lets you remember the musical modes: (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Myxolydian, Aeolian, Locrian) helps you remember seven things. My point is, a contrivance to help you remember a single word's spelling is actually forcing you to remember a lot more than just the spelling. – Robusto Feb 07 '11 at 01:07
Good point made, Robusto. +1 from me. – Arjun J Rao Feb 07 '11 at 14:54

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 22 '13 at 15:12

1

My nanny Eva makes oranges not inch closer.

It's a weird one, but that's how it got stuck in my head!

edited Feb 22 '13 at 15:12

RegDwigнt

97,231

answered Feb 22 '13 at 14:31

user38093

11
1

score 1 · Answer 6 · edited Nov 15 '11 at 05:55

1

Maybe try these to remember how to spell MNEMONICS:

Men Never Eat Many Oysters Near Ice Cold Swamps
Many New England Memories Of Nantuckett Ice Cold Shrimp

edited Nov 15 '11 at 05:55

Hugo

67,535

answered Feb 07 '11 at 14:43

2

Who the hell can remember something like this ? – Arjun J Rao Feb 07 '11 at 14:53
@Arjun: I guess (hope) that that was the joke. :-) – ShreevatsaR Feb 07 '11 at 18:18
[A]: Men Never Eat Many .. what was it again? [B]: Dude, what are you talking about? [A]: I'm trying to recall the mnemonics for mnemonics .. [B]: D'uh! ;) – Lukman Jun 23 '11 at 09:35

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 15 '11 at 01:10

1

M N E M O N I C.

Two M's
Two N's

M always comes before N

Never a P!
Never a U!

answered Nov 15 '11 at 01:10

pgayed

11

5

who dragged P and U into this whole mess? – pho Nov 15 '11 at 06:00
While we're at it- there's no F'in mnemonic. – Urbycoz Nov 15 '11 at 12:38
3

@PranavHosangadi, I think some people mistakenly think mnemonic is related to pneumonia, and come up with creative misspellings based on that. – Marthaª Nov 15 '11 at 20:09

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 15 '11 at 12:28

1

My niece enjoys mnemonics only never in class.

answered Nov 15 '11 at 12:28

Joe Fawcett

591

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But that requires you to remember that mnemonics starts with an m. – Urbycoz Nov 15 '11 at 12:37

score 0 · Answer 9 · edited May 02 '13 at 18:38

0

Angry at his last trickery, Seinfeld said: "Mmmm... Newman!"

A bit more in the scientific side: pneumatics, air brakes on buses, trucks and trains are examples of pneumatic systems.

edited May 02 '13 at 18:38

RegDwigнt

97,231

answered Apr 26 '13 at 18:48

IberoMedia

186
2
9

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Sep 24 '13 at 19:23

0

My 11 year old has just been interviewing people for his English project on spelling strategies and just came up with what I thought was a good mnemonic for mnemonic-

Men Never Eat Marmalade On Nice Ice Creams

answered Sep 24 '13 at 19:23

Cazzer

1

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 15 '15 at 08:25

"mnemonic" is based on ancient Greek mnéme μνήμη meaning memory. I'm no great specialist for old Greek so I'm not sure whether the m was really pronounced and I can't give information about the etymology of the word. I would guess something that is in the mind, memories you have in your head.

score -2 · Answer 12 · edited Oct 27 '12 at 14:12

-2

Hmmm? How to remember how to spell nemonic? (sic)

Hmmm! Spell phonetically by jogging your memory... mnemonic.

edited Oct 27 '12 at 14:12

RegDwigнt

97,231

answered Oct 27 '12 at 13:51

Steve Voelkel

1

Mnemonic for remembering how to spell "mnemonic"

12 Answers12

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