# haiku

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhaɪkuː/ · frequency rank #26,105

## Definitions
1. A Japanese poem in three lines, the first and last consisting of five morae, and the second consisting of seven morae, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme.
2. A three-line poem in any language, with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven syllables in the second, usually with an emphasis on the season or a naturalistic theme.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 俳(はい)句(く) (haiku), from Middle Chinese 俳 (beaj, “paralleled [writing]”) + 句 (kɨoᴴ, “line”).

## Easily confused with
- **Hak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hak)
- **hair** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hair)
- **hike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hike)
- **hail** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hail)
- **hawk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hawk)
- **Hank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hank)
- **hain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hain)
- **hark** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hark)
- **hairy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hairy)
- **Haiti** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-haiti)
- **Hanks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hanks)
- **hails** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haiku-vs-hails)
- **hai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hai-vs-haiku)
- **hack** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hack-vs-haiku)
- **Haig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haig-vs-haiku)
- **hacks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hacks-vs-haiku)
- **Haifa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haifa-vs-haiku)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ahiku`, `haikku`, `haiuk`, `hakiu`, `hhaiku`, `hiaku`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/haiku