Count syllables in any word or passage — instantly
Summary
Word breakdown
Syllable distribution
| Syllables | Words | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 46.7% |
| 2 | 3 | 20.0% |
| 3 | 2 | 13.3% |
| 4 | 3 | 20.0% |
The Syllable Counter tool instantly estimates the number of syllables in every word of your text, plus the overall total. Whether you are writing haiku, checking song lyrics fit a melody, scoring a poem for meter, or analyzing text readability, knowing syllable counts is essential. Paste any passage and see a live, color-coded word-by-word breakdown along with a distribution table — no login required.
It uses a vowel-group heuristic: each contiguous cluster of vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y) in a word counts as one syllable, with adjustments for common English rules such as silent trailing -e, the consonant + -le pattern (e.g. 'table'), and silent -ed endings. This gives approximately 95% accuracy for standard English text.
Yes. A haiku requires 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. Type each line separately to see its syllable count, then adjust your word choice until the counts match the 5-7-5 structure.
English syllabification has many exceptions, especially for proper nouns, borrowed words, and unusual spellings. The heuristic handles the vast majority of common words correctly, but edge cases can slip through. For critical work such as professional poetry, verify tricky words with a dictionary.
Green = 1 syllable, blue = 2, violet = 3, orange = 4, red = 5 or more. The color coding lets you spot long, complex words at a glance — useful for readability or simplifying your writing for a younger audience.