Haiku Syllable Counter
Type each line separately. This checks the traditional Japanese-derived 5-7-5 pattern most English-language haiku follow — three lines, five and seven and five syllables.
A real caveat on the 5-7-5 rule
5-7-5 counts on (a Japanese sound unit, closer to a mora than an English syllable) in the original form, not English syllables one-for-one — many English haiku poets and translators treat 5-7-5 as a loose guideline rather than a strict rule, and plenty of well-regarded English haiku don't hit it exactly. This tool checks the count English speakers usually mean by "5-7-5," not a claim about the original Japanese form.
Need a single word's count first? Look it up in the syllable dictionary.
Keep going
- Look up an individual word's syllable count and see its phonetic breakdown before you drop it into a line. Syllable Dictionary
- Writing something longer than a haiku? Check ten-syllable, stressed-unstressed lines here instead. Iambic Pentameter Checker