Syllable Hub

Haiku checker

Enter three lines to see whether each one fits 5-7-5 or a pattern of your own, with the count, the range and the reason for every line.

Updated · Method · Sources

Checks an English syllable pattern, not whether a poem qualifies as haiku.

Your lines are not uploaded. Privacy and dictionary requests.

Words missing from the dictionary need a count from you, and the check only passes once every one has one.

How this is calculated

Dictionary lookup

Each word is counted exactly as the syllable counter counts it: one syllable for each vowel sound listed in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, using the first listed pronunciation for the number shown. A line fits when its target lies between the lowest and the highest total its words allow, so a word with two valid counts, such as fire, never marks a line wrong when either count would make it right.

Alternate counts

A line that has too many syllables even at its lowest total is “too many” and says by how many; a line that has too few even at its highest total is “too few”.

Unknown words and hyphens

Words missing from the dictionary are flagged, not guessed. Type your own count beside each one, because all three lines can only match the selected pattern when no unknown words remain. Hyphenated words follow the rule on the counter: one word when the box is ticked, with its parts added up if the whole word is not listed, and separate words when it is not.

Privacy and dictionary requests

Your lines are not uploaded. The page downloads small dictionary files named after the first two letters of the words you enter (for example ma.js), so the server can see which two-letter files were requested but never the lines themselves.

Sources

About the 5-7-5 pattern

The 5-7-5 count is a convention in English. Japanese haiku are counted in sound units rather than English syllables, which is why the two do not match exactly; the two sources above discuss the form. This tool checks the common English pattern and lets you set your own targets, so use it as a check on a draft and not as a definition of what a haiku must be.

For the form itself, see Haiku Format: The Rules, the 5-7-5 Pattern and How to Write One. If a line will not come out right, look at words with two valid counts or the notes on counting syllables by hand.