Syllable Counter

Count the syllables in a word, a line or a whole text. The syllable counter shows syllables per line for poems and haiku, syllables for every word, and the Flesch reading scores that are built from syllable counts, all as you type.

Per line and per word
Haiku 5-7-5 check
Flesch reading scores

Your text 0 words · 0 characters

Word list order

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Syllables in each line

Every line with its syllable count, for poems, lyrics and haiku. A haiku’s three lines have 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Your lines appear here with their syllable counts.

Syllables in each word

Each different word with its syllable count. Check names and rare words here: spelling doesn’t always match sound in English.

Your words appear here with their syllable counts.

How to count syllables

Counting syllables with the syllable counter takes a few seconds.

Type or paste your text

A single word, a line of poetry, a song lyric or a full essay. The count updates as you type.
Read the totals

Total syllables, syllables per word and per sentence, and for longer texts the Flesch Reading Ease score and grade level.
Check each line and word

The first table counts every line, ideal for haiku and poems. The second lists every word with its syllables, so you can check unusual words.

Example

The sample haiku counts 5, 7 and 5 syllables: “Mor-ning rain taps soft / On the win-dow by my bed / The ket-tle sings now”. Try a prose paragraph to see its Flesch score.

Count a prose paragraph

What is a syllable?

A syllable is a unit of speech built around one vowel sound, with or without consonants around it. Cat has one syllable, wa-ter has two and beau-ti-ful has three. A quick check is to put your hand under your chin and say the word: each time your jaw drops is usually a syllable.

Syllables follow sounds, not letters, which is why English spelling makes them tricky. Queue has four vowel letters but one syllable, while rhythm has no a, e, i, o or u but two syllables.

Syllable rules the counter uses

The counter starts with vowel groups and then adjusts for the spelling patterns that don’t match speech.

Rule	Example	Syllables
Each group of vowels is usually one syllable	rain, boat, cloud	1 each
A silent e at the end doesn’t count	make, hope, line	1 each
Consonant + le at the end is its own syllable	ta-ble, lit-tle, sim-ple	2 each
-ed only adds a syllable after t or d	walked (1), want-ed (2)	1 or 2
Some vowel pairs are said as two	li-on, ra-di-o, cre-ate	2, 3, 2
Y is a vowel inside or at the end of a word	hap-py, gym, rhy-thm	2, 1, 2
Common exceptions are looked up	eve-ry, Wednes-day, choc-o-late	3, 2, 3

Pronunciation varies: many people say “every”, “chocolate” and “family” with one syllable fewer. The counter uses the fuller dictionary form.

Syllable counts for haiku and other poems

Many poetic forms are defined by how many syllables each line has. Use the per-line table to check yours.

Form	Lines	Syllables per line
Haiku	3	5, 7, 5 (17 in total)
Tanka	5	5, 7, 5, 7, 7 (31 in total)
Sonnet	14	Traditionally iambic pentameter: about 10 per line

Japanese haiku count sound units (on) rather than English syllables, so many English-language poets treat 5-7-5 as a guide rather than a strict rule.

Method

Syllables and readability: the Flesch formulas

Readability scores use syllables per word as their measure of word difficulty. The counter calculates both Flesch scores once your text has at least 30 words and two sentences.

Reading Ease = 206.835 − 1.015 × (words ÷ sentences) − 84.6 × (syllables ÷ words)Grade level = 0.39 × (words ÷ sentences) + 11.8 × (syllables ÷ words) − 15.59

words ÷ sentences: Average sentence length
syllables ÷ words: Average syllables per word

Plain text

12 words per sentence, 1.4 syllables per word

Reading Ease ≈ 76.2

Dense text

25 words per sentence, 1.8 syllables per word

Reading Ease ≈ 29.2

Microsoft suggests aiming for a Reading Ease of 60 to 70 and a grade level of 7 to 8 for most documents. Higher Reading Ease means easier text.

What your Flesch Reading Ease score means

The Flesch Reading Ease score usually runs from 0 to 100.

Score	Reads as	Roughly suits
90–100	Very easy	An 11-year-old (5th grade)
80–90	Easy	6th grade
70–80	Fairly easy	7th grade
60–70	Plain English	8th and 9th grade
50–60	Fairly difficult	10th to 12th grade
30–50	Difficult	College
10–30	Very difficult	College graduate
0–10	Extremely difficult	Professional

Syllable counter FAQ

How do I count syllables in a word?

Type the word into the box. The count appears instantly, and the word table shows the syllables for every word in longer texts.

How accurate is the syllable counter?

It uses English spelling rules plus a list of common exceptions, and gets the large majority of everyday words right. Names, borrowed words and words people pronounce differently may be off by one, so check the word table.

Can it check if my poem is a haiku?

Yes. Type three lines and the counter tells you if they follow the 5-7-5 pattern. The line table shows the count for each line.

How many syllables are in “every”?

The counter gives 3 (eve-ry), the dictionary form. In everyday speech many people say it with 2 (ev-ry).

Does the syllable counter work in other languages?

It counts English syllables. Words in other languages using the Latin alphabet get an estimate based on English rules, which may not match their real pronunciation.

Why does it need 30 words for a Flesch score?

Readability formulas are averages, so a very short text gives an unreliable score. Below 30 words or two sentences, the score shows a dash.

Is my text private?

Yes. The counting happens in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

Sources and references

Haiku, Academy of American Poets
Tanka, Academy of American Poets
Sonnet, Academy of American Poets
Get your document’s readability and level statistics, Microsoft Support
Flesch–Kincaid readability tests, Wikipedia