Free tool
Haiku checker
Type or paste your three lines and each one is checked against 5-7-5. Counts come from a pronunciation dictionary, so the tricky words — fire, hour, flowers — are counted the way they are actually said.
Loading the syllable dictionary…
The 5-7-5 rule, briefly
An English haiku traditionally has three lines of five, seven, and five syllables — seventeen in total. The form is Japanese, where the counted unit is the on, which does not map exactly onto the English syllable. That is why 5-7-5 is better understood as a well-established English convention than as a direct translation of the Japanese rule.
Plenty of contemporary haiku ignore the count entirely and concentrate on the turn — the moment where the poem pivots. If you are writing to the traditional form, this checker validates it exactly.
Words that trip up syllable counting
"Fire" is two syllables. So is "hour" for most speakers, and "flower". "Orange" is two. Counting by eye tends to undercount exactly these words, which is why this tool looks them up rather than guessing.
Words outside the dictionary — invented words, unusual proper nouns — fall back to an estimate, and anything estimated is flagged in the results.
Other free tools
- Syllable counter — any text, line by line
- Rhyme finder — perfect and slant rhymes
- Lyric line checker — for song lyrics