Cheems

2019Image macro / multi-panel comic / reaction imagesemi-active

Also known as: Balltze · Ball Ball · Cheemsburger

Cheems is a 2019 image-macro meme based on Balltze the Shiba Inu, featuring humorous misspellings with extra 'm' letters such as 'cheemsburbger.

Cheems is an ironic Doge character based on a Shiba Inu named Balltze, known for humorously misspelling words by adding extra "m" letters, most famously saying "cheemsburbger" instead of "cheeseburger." The meme originated on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in June 2019 and quickly spread across social media, spawning formats like Swole Doge vs. Cheems and the "bonk, go to horny jail" meme. Balltze passed away in August 2023, prompting widespread tributes across the internet.

TL;DR

Cheems is a Shiba Inu meme featuring a dog with a chubby face expressing self-doubt or nervousness, often paired with intentionally misspelled words.

Overview

Cheems belongs to the broader Doge family of Shiba Inu memes. The character is built around a single photo of Balltze, a round-faced Shiba Inu from Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with a slightly skeptical, slightly goofy expression1. In memes, Cheems speaks by jamming extra "m" sounds into words. "Cheeseburger" becomes "cheemsburbger," "thank you" becomes "thamk you," and so on3. This speech pattern became the character's defining trait and the source of his name.

The character typically appears in multi-panel comics on r/dogelore, where he plays a bumbling, food-obsessed counterpart to other Doge characters4. Outside of dogelore, Cheems took on new roles: the baseball bat-wielding enforcer of "horny jail," the weak half of Swole Doge comparisons, and a beloved reaction image for expressing mild confusion or helplessness5.

The source photo was posted on September 4, 2017, by Balltze's owner Kathy on his Instagram account @balltze4. The image showed Balltze, a Shiba Inu adopted at age one from an emigrating friend in Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with his characteristic round face5. The photo sat relatively quiet for nearly two years before becoming meme material.

On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi posted the first known "Cheemsburbger" meme to r/dogelore1. The four-panel comic featured Cheems appearing in the air, saying "cheemsburbger," and devouring another Shiba Inu's girlfriend whole. The post earned over 1,600 points with 99% upvotes4. The name "Cheems" itself came from this misspelling of "cheese," tied to the character's obsession with cheeseburgers2.

Two months later, on August 8, 2019, Redditor Octatracking posted "A Cheems Is Born" to r/dogelore, an origin story comic imagining the creation of a doge that can only say "cheemsburbger," which pulled in over 2,900 points4.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (source photo, 2017), Reddit r/dogelore (meme format, 2019)
Creator
Balltze
Date
2019
Year
2019

The source photo was posted on September 4, 2017, by Balltze's owner Kathy on his Instagram account @balltze. The image showed Balltze, a Shiba Inu adopted at age one from an emigrating friend in Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with his characteristic round face. The photo sat relatively quiet for nearly two years before becoming meme material.

On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi posted the first known "Cheemsburbger" meme to r/dogelore. The four-panel comic featured Cheems appearing in the air, saying "cheemsburbger," and devouring another Shiba Inu's girlfriend whole. The post earned over 1,600 points with 99% upvotes. The name "Cheems" itself came from this misspelling of "cheese," tied to the character's obsession with cheeseburgers.

Two months later, on August 8, 2019, Redditor Octatracking posted "A Cheems Is Born" to r/dogelore, an origin story comic imagining the creation of a doge that can only say "cheemsburbger," which pulled in over 2,900 points.

How It Spread

The r/dogelore community ran with Cheems hard through the second half of 2019. Users expanded the character into a violently protective cheemsburbger enthusiast. On August 21, 2019, a post featuring a threatening message about adding Doge to a cheemsburbger recipe earned over 7,400 points. The character also crossed into r/ImSorryKaren and other subreddits.

By mid-2020, Cheems broke out of dogelore into the mainstream internet. The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic, pairing a muscular version of Doge (representing something considered better in the past) against the meek Cheems (representing its current, lesser state). The format worked like a visual Chad vs. Virgin comparison.

Around the same time, the "bonk, go to horny jail" meme took off. This originated from an Instagram video by @snootboopes on July 13, 2019, showing a Shiba Inu getting bopped on the head with a hammer. The "bonk" sound and concept quickly merged with Cheems, who became the bat-wielding enforcer sending people to horny jail for posting sexually suggestive content.

The meme also found a massive audience in Latin American countries, where Cheems became associated with Cheetos chips rather than cheeseburgers, and took on themes of anxiety and sadness. In the Spanish-speaking world, Cheems memes like "no puede ser" ("it cannot be") and "me da amsiedad" ("it gives me amxiety") became hugely popular. Spain's public broadcaster RTVE wrote in 2021 that "Cheems and Doge now form part of Internet popular culture, reinventing themselves constantly to brighten our days" (translated from Spanish).

Platforms

InstagramRedditTwitterTikTokTumblrDiscord

Timeline

2019

Cheems photos first posted on Instagram; initial accumulation of followers

2020

Cheems meme format explodes in popularity across social media platforms

2021

Peak popularity and widespread use in meme communities

2022-01-01

Brands and companies started using Cheems in marketing

2023

Continued evergreen use in anxiety and confidence-related memes

2024-01-01

Cheems entered the broader pop culture conversation

2025-01-01

Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Cheems memes typically follow a few common formats:

Classic Dogelore comics: Multi-panel strips where Cheems interacts with other Doge characters. The key element is misspelling words by adding "m" sounds. "Burger" becomes "burmger," "please" becomes "plemase." The humor comes from Cheems' earnest, slightly pathetic delivery.

Swole Doge vs. Cheems: Place the muscular Doge on the left labeled with something from the past (or something strong/cool). Place Cheems on the right labeled with the modern or weaker equivalent. Common convention is for the left side to be idealized and the right side self-deprecating.

Bonk / Horny Jail: Use the image of Cheems swinging a baseball bat with the word "bonk" as a response to anything suggestive or thirsty. Often captioned "go to horny jail".

Reaction image: Cheems' face on its own works as a reaction to express confusion, mild distress, or resigned acceptance.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Cheems crossed from meme into mainstream culture in ways few internet dogs manage. The character was covered by major outlets including The Guardian and RTVE. Kathy signed commercial deals including a management company and a toy company, turning the meme into a licensing operation while funneling proceeds to dog charities.

The meme's political appearance is notable. Cheems' "bonk" image showed up in Myanmar protest imagery during the 2021 coup, repurposed as a symbol of resistance. In Latin America, the character took on a life distinct from its English-language version, becoming associated with anxiety and emotional vulnerability rather than just food humor.

The opening of the Museo de Cheems in Mexico City in August 2024 marked a rare case of a meme receiving a physical museum exhibition, with paintings depicting Cheems in artistic and literary contexts.

Full History

Cheems' trajectory from niche subreddit character to global meme icon played out in distinct phases. The first phase, running from June through late 2019, was purely a r/dogelore affair. The community treated Cheems as part of an expanding cast of ironic Doge characters, each with distinct personalities and speech patterns. Cheems' thing was food and misspelling. Posts by users like nucleararmsdealer and KenNHK helped establish the character's lore, with posts regularly clearing 1,000+ points on the subreddit.

The second phase began in early 2020 when Cheems escaped dogelore containment. The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format was the vehicle. It worked because it was dead simple: put the muscular Doge on the left to represent the supposedly superior past, put Cheems on the right for the supposedly inferior present. People used it to compare everything from ancient warriors vs. modern soldiers to classic movies vs. their reboots. The format's resemblance to the Chad vs. Virgin template gave it instant legibility.

On August 6, 2020, Know Your Meme interviewed Balltze's owner Kathy, who shared how Balltze came into her life and how the original photos became Cheems. In the interview conducted through Balltze's "voice," Bored Panda learned that Balltze was "very quiet" at home but "a little edgy" outside. Kathy initially didn't understand the absurdist Cheems memes but eventually signed deals with a management company and an American toy company. She also made T-shirts benefiting local canine charities.

Cheems' reach extended beyond English-speaking internet. Latin American meme culture adopted the character with a distinct twist, associating him with Cheetos chips and emotions like anxiety. The Guardian journalist Caleb Quinley noted Cheems' "bonk" image appearing in protests against the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Kathy's favorite Cheems meme was a Spanish one where he takes a bath and says "Could you carry on scrolling? It's just that I'm taking a bamth".

In May 2022, Balltze was diagnosed with pancreatitis, alarming his fanbase. His owner posted photos from the vet to Instagram, and the post received over 48,000 likes within 24 hours. A r/dogelore user shared the news, pulling in over 2,700 upvotes and an outpouring of well-wishes. Balltze recovered in June.

The recovery was short-lived. In May 2023, his owners reported serious respiratory problems. Balltze had cancer and was undergoing thoracentesis when he died on August 18, 2023, at age 12. The @balltze Instagram account announced his passing the following day, writing: "Don't be sad, please remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world. A Shiba Inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the pandemic and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission has been completed". His funeral was held on August 23, and fans donated US$13,000 to local animal charities.

In a 2020 interview, Kathy had said Balltze wanted his legacy to be: "Meme fade, Doge is eternal. Remember me as 'Balltze', not 'Cheems' or 'cheemsburger', I'm just a Balltze". That wish went largely unfulfilled, as the internet mourned him as Cheems. Kabosu, the original Doge dog, also passed away on May 24, 2024.

Cheems inspired the CHEEMS cryptocurrency, joining a wave of dog-themed coins competing against Dogecoin and Shiba Inu coin. In August 2024, the Museo de Cheems (Cheems Museum) opened in Mexico City, exhibiting paintings of Cheems in contexts related to art and literature. On October 3, 2024, Kathy adopted a new Shiba Inu named Pochita, named after the Chainsaw Man manga protagonist.

Fun Facts

Balltze was born on January 9, 2011, and was named after Ramune, a Japanese beverage where a marble ball inside the bottle is pressed down to let the drink flow.

Kathy's favorite Cheems meme was a Spanish-language one where he asks people to scroll past because he's taking a "bamth".

Balltze told Bored Panda (through his owner) that internet friends messaged saying he "cured their depression and brought joy with my memes".

US$13,000 was donated to Hong Kong animal charities following Balltze's death.

Kathy adopted a new Shiba Inu named Pochita on October 3, 2024, named after the Chainsaw Man manga character.

Derivatives & Variations

Swole Doge vs Cheems comparison format

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Misspelled anxiety captions with other animals and characters

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Cheems as inspiration for similar 'anxious character' meme formats

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Merchandise

Frequently Asked Questions

Cheems

2019Image macro / multi-panel comic / reaction imagesemi-active

Also known as: Balltze · Ball Ball · Cheemsburger

Cheems is a 2019 image-macro meme based on Balltze the Shiba Inu, featuring humorous misspellings with extra 'm' letters such as 'cheemsburbger.

Cheems is an ironic Doge character based on a Shiba Inu named Balltze, known for humorously misspelling words by adding extra "m" letters, most famously saying "cheemsburbger" instead of "cheeseburger." The meme originated on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in June 2019 and quickly spread across social media, spawning formats like Swole Doge vs. Cheems and the "bonk, go to horny jail" meme. Balltze passed away in August 2023, prompting widespread tributes across the internet.

TL;DR

Cheems is a Shiba Inu meme featuring a dog with a chubby face expressing self-doubt or nervousness, often paired with intentionally misspelled words.

Overview

Cheems belongs to the broader Doge family of Shiba Inu memes. The character is built around a single photo of Balltze, a round-faced Shiba Inu from Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with a slightly skeptical, slightly goofy expression. In memes, Cheems speaks by jamming extra "m" sounds into words. "Cheeseburger" becomes "cheemsburbger," "thank you" becomes "thamk you," and so on. This speech pattern became the character's defining trait and the source of his name.

The character typically appears in multi-panel comics on r/dogelore, where he plays a bumbling, food-obsessed counterpart to other Doge characters. Outside of dogelore, Cheems took on new roles: the baseball bat-wielding enforcer of "horny jail," the weak half of Swole Doge comparisons, and a beloved reaction image for expressing mild confusion or helplessness.

The source photo was posted on September 4, 2017, by Balltze's owner Kathy on his Instagram account @balltze. The image showed Balltze, a Shiba Inu adopted at age one from an emigrating friend in Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with his characteristic round face. The photo sat relatively quiet for nearly two years before becoming meme material.

On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi posted the first known "Cheemsburbger" meme to r/dogelore. The four-panel comic featured Cheems appearing in the air, saying "cheemsburbger," and devouring another Shiba Inu's girlfriend whole. The post earned over 1,600 points with 99% upvotes. The name "Cheems" itself came from this misspelling of "cheese," tied to the character's obsession with cheeseburgers.

Two months later, on August 8, 2019, Redditor Octatracking posted "A Cheems Is Born" to r/dogelore, an origin story comic imagining the creation of a doge that can only say "cheemsburbger," which pulled in over 2,900 points.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (source photo, 2017), Reddit r/dogelore (meme format, 2019)
Creator
Balltze
Date
2019
Year
2019

The source photo was posted on September 4, 2017, by Balltze's owner Kathy on his Instagram account @balltze. The image showed Balltze, a Shiba Inu adopted at age one from an emigrating friend in Hong Kong, sitting on the floor with his characteristic round face. The photo sat relatively quiet for nearly two years before becoming meme material.

On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi posted the first known "Cheemsburbger" meme to r/dogelore. The four-panel comic featured Cheems appearing in the air, saying "cheemsburbger," and devouring another Shiba Inu's girlfriend whole. The post earned over 1,600 points with 99% upvotes. The name "Cheems" itself came from this misspelling of "cheese," tied to the character's obsession with cheeseburgers.

Two months later, on August 8, 2019, Redditor Octatracking posted "A Cheems Is Born" to r/dogelore, an origin story comic imagining the creation of a doge that can only say "cheemsburbger," which pulled in over 2,900 points.

How It Spread

The r/dogelore community ran with Cheems hard through the second half of 2019. Users expanded the character into a violently protective cheemsburbger enthusiast. On August 21, 2019, a post featuring a threatening message about adding Doge to a cheemsburbger recipe earned over 7,400 points. The character also crossed into r/ImSorryKaren and other subreddits.

By mid-2020, Cheems broke out of dogelore into the mainstream internet. The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic, pairing a muscular version of Doge (representing something considered better in the past) against the meek Cheems (representing its current, lesser state). The format worked like a visual Chad vs. Virgin comparison.

Around the same time, the "bonk, go to horny jail" meme took off. This originated from an Instagram video by @snootboopes on July 13, 2019, showing a Shiba Inu getting bopped on the head with a hammer. The "bonk" sound and concept quickly merged with Cheems, who became the bat-wielding enforcer sending people to horny jail for posting sexually suggestive content.

The meme also found a massive audience in Latin American countries, where Cheems became associated with Cheetos chips rather than cheeseburgers, and took on themes of anxiety and sadness. In the Spanish-speaking world, Cheems memes like "no puede ser" ("it cannot be") and "me da amsiedad" ("it gives me amxiety") became hugely popular. Spain's public broadcaster RTVE wrote in 2021 that "Cheems and Doge now form part of Internet popular culture, reinventing themselves constantly to brighten our days" (translated from Spanish).

Platforms

InstagramRedditTwitterTikTokTumblrDiscord

Timeline

2019

Cheems photos first posted on Instagram; initial accumulation of followers

2020

Cheems meme format explodes in popularity across social media platforms

2021

Peak popularity and widespread use in meme communities

2022-01-01

Brands and companies started using Cheems in marketing

2023

Continued evergreen use in anxiety and confidence-related memes

2024-01-01

Cheems entered the broader pop culture conversation

2025-01-01

Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Cheems memes typically follow a few common formats:

Classic Dogelore comics: Multi-panel strips where Cheems interacts with other Doge characters. The key element is misspelling words by adding "m" sounds. "Burger" becomes "burmger," "please" becomes "plemase." The humor comes from Cheems' earnest, slightly pathetic delivery.

Swole Doge vs. Cheems: Place the muscular Doge on the left labeled with something from the past (or something strong/cool). Place Cheems on the right labeled with the modern or weaker equivalent. Common convention is for the left side to be idealized and the right side self-deprecating.

Bonk / Horny Jail: Use the image of Cheems swinging a baseball bat with the word "bonk" as a response to anything suggestive or thirsty. Often captioned "go to horny jail".

Reaction image: Cheems' face on its own works as a reaction to express confusion, mild distress, or resigned acceptance.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Cheems crossed from meme into mainstream culture in ways few internet dogs manage. The character was covered by major outlets including The Guardian and RTVE. Kathy signed commercial deals including a management company and a toy company, turning the meme into a licensing operation while funneling proceeds to dog charities.

The meme's political appearance is notable. Cheems' "bonk" image showed up in Myanmar protest imagery during the 2021 coup, repurposed as a symbol of resistance. In Latin America, the character took on a life distinct from its English-language version, becoming associated with anxiety and emotional vulnerability rather than just food humor.

The opening of the Museo de Cheems in Mexico City in August 2024 marked a rare case of a meme receiving a physical museum exhibition, with paintings depicting Cheems in artistic and literary contexts.

Full History

Cheems' trajectory from niche subreddit character to global meme icon played out in distinct phases. The first phase, running from June through late 2019, was purely a r/dogelore affair. The community treated Cheems as part of an expanding cast of ironic Doge characters, each with distinct personalities and speech patterns. Cheems' thing was food and misspelling. Posts by users like nucleararmsdealer and KenNHK helped establish the character's lore, with posts regularly clearing 1,000+ points on the subreddit.

The second phase began in early 2020 when Cheems escaped dogelore containment. The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format was the vehicle. It worked because it was dead simple: put the muscular Doge on the left to represent the supposedly superior past, put Cheems on the right for the supposedly inferior present. People used it to compare everything from ancient warriors vs. modern soldiers to classic movies vs. their reboots. The format's resemblance to the Chad vs. Virgin template gave it instant legibility.

On August 6, 2020, Know Your Meme interviewed Balltze's owner Kathy, who shared how Balltze came into her life and how the original photos became Cheems. In the interview conducted through Balltze's "voice," Bored Panda learned that Balltze was "very quiet" at home but "a little edgy" outside. Kathy initially didn't understand the absurdist Cheems memes but eventually signed deals with a management company and an American toy company. She also made T-shirts benefiting local canine charities.

Cheems' reach extended beyond English-speaking internet. Latin American meme culture adopted the character with a distinct twist, associating him with Cheetos chips and emotions like anxiety. The Guardian journalist Caleb Quinley noted Cheems' "bonk" image appearing in protests against the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Kathy's favorite Cheems meme was a Spanish one where he takes a bath and says "Could you carry on scrolling? It's just that I'm taking a bamth".

In May 2022, Balltze was diagnosed with pancreatitis, alarming his fanbase. His owner posted photos from the vet to Instagram, and the post received over 48,000 likes within 24 hours. A r/dogelore user shared the news, pulling in over 2,700 upvotes and an outpouring of well-wishes. Balltze recovered in June.

The recovery was short-lived. In May 2023, his owners reported serious respiratory problems. Balltze had cancer and was undergoing thoracentesis when he died on August 18, 2023, at age 12. The @balltze Instagram account announced his passing the following day, writing: "Don't be sad, please remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world. A Shiba Inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the pandemic and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission has been completed". His funeral was held on August 23, and fans donated US$13,000 to local animal charities.

In a 2020 interview, Kathy had said Balltze wanted his legacy to be: "Meme fade, Doge is eternal. Remember me as 'Balltze', not 'Cheems' or 'cheemsburger', I'm just a Balltze". That wish went largely unfulfilled, as the internet mourned him as Cheems. Kabosu, the original Doge dog, also passed away on May 24, 2024.

Cheems inspired the CHEEMS cryptocurrency, joining a wave of dog-themed coins competing against Dogecoin and Shiba Inu coin. In August 2024, the Museo de Cheems (Cheems Museum) opened in Mexico City, exhibiting paintings of Cheems in contexts related to art and literature. On October 3, 2024, Kathy adopted a new Shiba Inu named Pochita, named after the Chainsaw Man manga protagonist.

Fun Facts

Balltze was born on January 9, 2011, and was named after Ramune, a Japanese beverage where a marble ball inside the bottle is pressed down to let the drink flow.

Kathy's favorite Cheems meme was a Spanish-language one where he asks people to scroll past because he's taking a "bamth".

Balltze told Bored Panda (through his owner) that internet friends messaged saying he "cured their depression and brought joy with my memes".

US$13,000 was donated to Hong Kong animal charities following Balltze's death.

Kathy adopted a new Shiba Inu named Pochita on October 3, 2024, named after the Chainsaw Man manga character.

Derivatives & Variations

Swole Doge vs Cheems comparison format

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Misspelled anxiety captions with other animals and characters

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Cheems as inspiration for similar 'anxious character' meme formats

A variation of Cheems

(2019)

Merchandise

Frequently Asked Questions