Word
haiku
US/ˈhaɪku/
UK/hˈaɪkuː/
Definition
n. a short Japanese poem that has three lines. The first and third lines have five syllables, and the middle line has seven.
n. a traditional Japanese poetic form consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Often focuses on imagery from nature or a specific moment in time.
Examples
“She wrote a haiku about the falling leaves.”
“The teacher asked the students to write a haiku to practice counting syllables in English words.”
“While traditional Japanese haiku often include a seasonal reference word, modern English versions sometimes prioritize the syllable structure over these classical thematic requirements.”
Examples
simple
“She wrote a haiku about the falling leaves.”
contextual
“The teacher asked the students to write a haiku to practice counting syllables in English words.”
complex
“While traditional Japanese haiku often include a seasonal reference word, modern English versions sometimes prioritize the syllable structure over these classical thematic requirements.”
Usage
The plural can be either 'haiku' or 'haikus'.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 俳(はい)句(く) (haiku), from Middle Chinese 俳 (beaj, “paralleled [writing]”) + 句 (kɨoᴴ, “line”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/haiku