Count the syllables in any English word

A free syllable counter for English. It splits every word into spoken syllables using a pronunciation dictionary — far more accurate than counting vowels — and adds up the total. A poetry mode counts syllables per line for haiku and metered verse.

How to count syllables

1
Paste your text

Type or paste any English word, sentence or poem.

2
Read the counts

Each word shows its syllable count; totals update live.

3
Switch to poetry mode

See syllables per line to check haiku (5-7-5) and metre.

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Break words into syllables, instantly

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Syllables
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Words
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Avg per word
Syllable counts will appear here.
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Features

Dictionary-accurate counts Per-word and total Poetry / haiku mode Whole texts at once Works in your browser

What you can do

  • Count syllables in a single word or a whole document
  • See the total, the word count and syllables per word
  • Switch to a line-by-line mode for poetry
  • Check haiku lines against the 5-7-5 pattern
  • Get counts based on real pronunciation, not vowel guessing

Why dictionary counting beats vowel counting

Most syllable counters just count groups of vowels in the spelling, which fails on words like “queue”, “rhythm” or “business”. This tool looks each word up in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary and counts the vowels in its actual pronunciation, so the count matches how the word is really spoken. Rare words not in the dictionary fall back to a careful spelling estimate.

Frequently asked questions

How does it count syllables?

By looking up each word's pronunciation in a dictionary and counting the vowel sounds — the real measure of a syllable — rather than guessing from spelling.

What is poetry mode for?

It counts syllables line by line, so you can check haiku (5-7-5), limericks, sonnets and any metered verse.

Does it work for any language?

It is built for English. Counts for other languages will not be reliable.

Why might a count look wrong?

Some words have more than one pronunciation, and rare words fall back to a spelling-based estimate. For tricky words, check the pronunciation directly.

Is there a word limit?

No — you can paste a whole poem or article and it counts everything at once.

💡 Want us to improve this tool just for you?

We can — and it's free! Just send us a quick message with your idea. If you'd like to discuss it in detail, leave your email and we'll get back to you. You can stay anonymous.

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Who is this tool for?
🎓 Students 📚 Educators & Teachers 🗣️ Language Learners
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