About the Syllable Counter
This syllable counter tells you how many syllables are in a word, a sentence or a whole poem. Paste your text and it shows the total, the count for every line, and a word-by-word breakdown such as "silent (2)" so you can see exactly where the beats fall.
Poets and songwriters use it to keep a steady meter, students use it to check haiku (5-7-5), limericks and sonnets (ten syllables per line in iambic pentameter), and teachers use it for phonics practice and readability work, since formulas such as Flesch-Kincaid depend on syllables per word.
English spelling does not map neatly onto pronunciation, so the count is an estimate built from vowel-group rules, silent-ending rules and a list of common irregular words. It is right for the large majority of everyday words, but a few words, names and dialect pronunciations (fire, poem, every) are said differently by different people, so trust your ear for the final call.
With the default inputs, the total syllables is 17. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the syllable counter
- 1Type or paste a word, sentence or poem, one line of verse per line.
- 2Read the total syllables and the syllables-per-line pattern.
- 3Check the breakdown table to see the count for every word.
- 4For a haiku, aim for three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
- 5Adjust any word the counter reads differently from how you pronounce it.
Formula and method
Each word is lower-cased and every run of vowels (a, e, i, o, u and y) counts as one syllable, so "water" has two groups (a, e) and two syllables. Silent endings are then removed: a final -e (make), -es (makes) and -ed (jumped) do not add a syllable, except in -le (ta-ble), -ses/-ches/-ges (box-es, pag-es) and -ted/-ded (want-ed). Vowel pairs that are usually spoken as two sounds, such as ia (gi-ant), io (li-on), eo (vid-e-o), -ium and a vowel before -ing (go-ing), add one back, while -tion, -cious and -cial stay single.
A list of common irregular words (every, people, business, fire, poem) overrides the rules. Words are runs of letters with internal apostrophes; hyphenated words count as separate words, and numbers are ignored, so write them out ("twenty") if they should count. A haiku check passes when there are exactly three non-empty lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
Worked examples
Check a classic haiku
Line 1: an (1) old (1) si-lent (2) pond (1) = 5. Line 2: a, frog, jumps (1 each), in-to (2), the, pond (1 each) = 7. Line 3: splash (1) si-lence (2) a-gain (2) = 5. That is 17 syllables over 13 words, about 1.31 per word, in the 5-7-5 haiku shape.
How many syllables in a phrase
Beau-ti-ful has 3 syllables and but-ter-fly has 3, so the phrase has 6 syllables, an average of 3 per word.
A pangram that is not a haiku
The first line has four one-syllable words. The second has jumps (1), o-ver (2), the (1), la-zy (2) and dog (1) for 7, giving 11 in total and a 4-7 pattern rather than 5-7-5.
Longer words
U-ni-ver-si-ty has 5 syllables and ed-u-ca-tion has 4 (the -tion ending is a single syllable), for 9 in total.
Frequently asked questions
How do you count syllables in a word?+
Say the word slowly and count the vowel sounds, or put your hand under your chin and count how many times your jaw drops. In writing, count vowel groups and subtract silent ones such as the final e in "make" or the -ed in "jumped".
How many syllables does a haiku have?+
A traditional English-language haiku has 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5. Japanese haiku actually count morae (sound units) rather than syllables, so many modern poets write shorter English haiku, but 5-7-5 is the form taught in schools.
Why does the counter disagree with me on some words?+
Pronunciation varies. Words like fire, hour, poem, every and family are said with different numbers of syllables in different accents, and rare words or names may break the spelling rules. The count is an estimate; your own pronunciation is the final authority in poetry.
How many syllables are in a line of iambic pentameter?+
Ten: five iambs, each an unstressed then a stressed syllable (da-DUM ×5). Shakespeare’s sonnets use 14 such lines. A line with an unstressed extra syllable at the end (a feminine ending) has eleven.
Does it count numbers and abbreviations?+
No. Only words made of letters are counted. Write numbers out as words ("twenty-one") and expand abbreviations ("doctor" rather than "Dr.") if you want them included, since "21" can be read in more than one way.
What is the syllable pattern of a limerick?+
A limerick has five lines: lines 1, 2 and 5 usually have 8 or 9 syllables and rhyme, while the shorter lines 3 and 4 have 5 or 6 syllables and rhyme with each other (AABBA).