Introduction
Cheems, also known as Doge or Cheems Doge, is an internet meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog named Balltze that speaks broken English. Cheems became popular in 2019 when images of the cute dog speaking incorrect English with phrases like “m herlo” and “bonjour doggo” went viral on social media.
The appeal of Cheems lies in the adorable juxtaposition of Balltze’s cute appearance and strange way of talking. Cheems memes often depict the dog commenting on relatable situations with sentences like “life iz good” and “I lik bred.” While Cheems may speak in a peculiar manner, his wide smile and positive attitude have resonated with countless meme enthusiasts.
Appearance
Cheems is easily recognizable by his unique facial features. He is a light brown Shiba Inu dog with a characteristic disfigured face. His mouth is always open with his tongue hanging out, giving him a goofy expression. His eyes are crossed and looking in different directions, adding to his silly look.
One of Cheems’ most iconic features is his speech impediment. When he speaks in memes, his words are purposefully misspelled to indicate his difficulty pronouncing certain sounds. For example, “Cheemsburger” instead of “hamburger.” This quirk makes his captions endearing and funny.
Overall, Cheems’ permanent derpy and dopey facial features are a big part of his widespread appeal. His distinctive goofy look makes him easily recognizable and gives him a lovable charm.
Personality
One of the main reasons for Cheems’ popularity is his endearing personality. Cheems is known for being innocent, gentle, and very wholesome. His facial expression conveys a sense of wide-eyed wonder and optimism. Cheems comes across as playful and non-threatening. His dialogue often contains silly misspellings and grammatical errors which add to his charm and approachability.
Unlike many other popular memes based on Doge which feature “gangster” or “tough guy” attitudes, Cheems has a very sweet, innocent vibe. His soft appearance and friendly energy resonate with people looking for more lighthearted, upbeat content. Cheems represents a breath of fresh air and an antidote to the negativity found in many other memes. His innocence and purity make him a beloved character.
Origin
Cheems emerged on Twitter in 2019 thanks to user @balltze, who first posted the now-iconic image. @balltze created Cheems by editing the original Doge meme, giving Doge smaller eyes, a rounder head, and a speech impediment. While the original Doge uses broken English like “wow” and “much ____”, Cheems speaks with a distinctive slurred style, replacing words with “m” sounds like “hamger” instead of “hunger.” This deliberate misspelling gives Cheems his unique personality and brand.
The name “Cheems” comes from @balltze’s username “cheemsburbger,” a reference to Cheems’ love of fast food. After @balltze tweeted that first photo in 2019, Cheems quickly grew into an internet celebrity. His stature, baby face, and cute speech impediment resonated with Twitter users, sparking a flood of Cheems content and memes.
Early Popularity
Cheems began to gain popularity in late 2019, appearing in memes on Doge lore Facebook pages and Reddit communities like r/dogelore. These early memes played off Cheems’ unique speech impediment, portraying him as a wholesome and innocent character. Phrases like “borger” and “mama” became synonymous with Cheems as users created scenarios where he engaged in silly antics or expressed childlike wonder.
While other doges like Kabosu were known for irony and sarcasm, Cheems stood out for his sincere personality. During this time, he was mainly depicted as a supporting character or son figure in relation to the original Doge. Still, the memes circulated widely on irony-based meme pages, indicating Cheems’ potential to become a meme celebrity.
Breakout Memes
Cheems dog rose to mainstream popularity in 2020 thanks to several breakout memes that rapidly circulated across social media:
Bonk Meme: In early 2020, a meme template gained popularity showing a muscular dog labeled “regular doge” bonking a smaller, sad-looking Cheems dog labeled “cheemsburbger” on the head. This represented regular Doge stopping the “horny Cheems” character. The “bonk, go to horny jail” meme highlighted the purity and innocence of Cheems in contrast to horny internet culture.
Buff Doge vs Cheems: Another widely shared meme in mid-2020 showed “Buff Doge” as a strong, muscular dog alongside a tiny, weak-looking Cheems to represent tough vs. frail. This framed Cheems as an underdog character in contrast to the powerful and arrogant Buff Doge. The meme took off across platforms like Reddit, Twitter and Instagram.
Distorted Meme: In late 2020, memes showing distorted, warped images of Cheems also went viral. These “distorted Cheems” memes exaggerated his facial features for comedic effect, playing off his unique squashed look. People shared these funny edited versions widely across social media.
Reddit Craze
One of the biggest drivers of Cheems’ fame was the meme community on Reddit. In early 2020, Redditors began creating memes featuring Cheems with poor grammar, now known as the “Cheemsburbger” style of memes.
These memes typically show Cheems making a request or statement with words intentionally misspelled for comedic effect. For example, a meme may show Cheems saying “Can I habe a cheemsburbger pleas?” This style of meme took off in popularity on subreddits like r/dogelore and r/dankmemes, where users competed to create the funniest and most absurd Cheemsburbger memes.
The misspelled speech paired with Cheems’ cute, clueless expression lent itself perfectly to absurdist and ironic humor. Soon Cheems became one of the most prominent meme figures on Reddit. The Cheemsburbger meme brought a new level of fame and recognition for the Shiba Inu dog known as Cheems.
Video Memes
One of the most popular ways Cheems has been featured online is in funny green screen videos and voice-dubbed animations. His iconic facial expressions and speech style make him a perfect fit for absurd and hilarious video mashups.
Many creators insert an image of Cheems in front of a green screen background, then superimpose him into scenes from movies, TV shows, or video games. His deadpan delivery contrasts humorously with the over-the-top action happening around him. These green screen videos went hugely viral on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and other platforms.
There are also countless “comic dub” style videos where Cheems’ dialogue is voice-acted over animations or comic strips. Creators take advantage of his unique speech pattern, filling scripts with “m” sounds in place of “n” for a cute, funny way of talking. Cheems has “starred” in many parody versions of everything from anime shows to political debates.
No matter the format, Cheems’ blank yet expressive look makes him the perfect vehicle for all kinds of creative, weird, and funny ideas. He’s able to play both the straight man and an absurdist comic character thanks to the viral videos centered around him.
Brand Collaborations
Cheems has become so popular online that major brands have taken notice and collaborated with the meme dog. In 2021, the fast food chain Wendy’s promoted their new Spicy Nuggets by tweeting an image of Cheems with the caption “Heard Cheems likes spicy nuggies.” Crypto.com, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, featured Cheems in an advertisement for their crypto debit card. The ad shows Cheems making a purchase with the card, playing into the meme culture surrounding the dog. These examples demonstrate how brands recognize the marketing potential of internet memes. By associating themselves with a viral meme like Cheems, they aim to ride the wave of popularity and connect with younger internet-savvy audiences. Cheems’ broad appeal across internet subcultures makes the dog the perfect spokesperson for companies trying to tap into meme culture to promote their products or services.
Lasting Appeal
Cheems’ lasting popularity is likely due to the perfect combination of being cute yet funny. With his speech impediment, loveable face, and awkward posture, Cheems is simply adorable. Yet the humor lies in his contrast to the original Doge meme – while Doge uses somewhat sophisticated language, Cheems speaks in broken English like a toddler, which is hilarious. Cheems is not just a cute dog, but a cute dog that makes people laugh. This blend of cute and funny gives Cheems mass appeal.
Additionally, Cheems is highly versatile for memes and content creation. As a cute dog who speaks simply, Cheems can be inserted into all kinds of funny situations and hilarious dialogues. This versatility allows the meme to stay fresh and engaging. Creators are constantly finding new ways to use Cheems for viral content.
At the end of the day, Cheems endures because he makes people smile. In a world filled with bad news and negativity, a sweet, funny dog provides some much-needed joy. Cheems memes are like a dose of cuteness and laughter, which is why he continues to win over hearts.