Syllable Counter
Haiku check
Syllables per word
Counts are estimates made with spelling rules, not a dictionary. Check unusual words.
How to use
- Type or paste English text. The total and a per-word breakdown appear straight away.
- For a haiku, write exactly three lines. The tool shows the syllables in each line next to the 5, 7 and 5 you are aiming for.
- If a word looks wrong, treat the number as an estimate and check it in a dictionary.
How it works
English spelling does not always show how a word is pronounced, so no short rule is perfect. This counter estimates syllables with a set of spelling rules rather than a dictionary.
It counts groups of vowels (a, e, i, o, u and y). A silent final e (make), a silent -ed (jumped) and a silent -es (cakes) are removed. Endings like -ble and -tle keep their syllable, and vowel pairs that are pronounced separately, such as the "ia" in piano, add one. A small list of irregular words, such as "area" and "people", is handled by hand.
On a test list of common words, the rules were right about nine times in ten. Rare words, names, abbreviations and numbers are the most likely to be off by one. Digits are ignored.
FAQ
How accurate is the syllable count?
It is an estimate. In testing, the rules matched a dictionary on at least 90 percent of everyday words. Unusual words, proper names and loanwords can be off by one, so verify important cases.
What is the 5-7-5 haiku rule?
A traditional English haiku has three lines of five, seven and five syllables. Paste exactly three lines and the tool compares each line with its target. Blank lines are ignored.
Does it work for other languages?
No. The rules are written for English spelling only, and other languages will give unreliable counts.
How are contractions and hyphens handled?
A contraction counts as one word, so "don't" has one syllable. Hyphenated words are split, so "well-known" is counted as "well" and "known".