Free Syllable Counter
A syllable is a unit of pronunciation containing a single vowel sound. The word 'syllable' has three: syl·la·ble. The counter below uses a heuristic that handles 90%+ of English words correctly — paste a poem, a tongue twister, or a paragraph to count syllables instantly. For songwriting and poetry, see also our guide to speech word counts.
How the Syllable Counter Works
Syllables are estimated by counting groups of vowels in each word, with adjustments for common English patterns: silent terminal 'e,' consecutive vowels treated as one syllable, suffixes like '-ed' and '-le.' Every word receives at least one syllable.
Tips & Best Practices
1Haiku checking: 5-7-5
Use the counter to verify each line of a haiku follows the traditional 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
2Tanka uses 5-7-5-7-7
A traditional Japanese tanka has five lines totaling 31 syllables.
3Songwriting matches melody to syllables
Lyrics need to match the rhythm of the melody. The syllable counter helps you stay within the beat.
4Short syllable counts improve readability
The Flesch Reading Ease formula penalizes high syllable-per-word averages. Shorter words = more readable text.
Need a Full Text Analysis?
Our main Character Counter gives you a complete breakdown — characters, words, sentences, paragraphs, reading time, and keyword frequency — all in one view.
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