Haiku Basics

The haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. The haiku developed from the hokku, the opening three lines of a longer poem known as a tanka. The haiku became a separate form of poetry in the 17th century.

These rules apply to writing haiku:

There are no more than 17 syllables.
Haiku is composed of only 3 lines.
Typically, every first line of Haiku has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third has 5 syllables.

Examples

“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.

“Over the Wintry” by Natsume Sōseki

Over the wintry
Forest, winds howl in rage
With no leaves to blow.

Haiku are usually unrhymed. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed as a single line, while haiku in English often appear as three lines, although variations exist. There are several other forms of Japanese poetry related to haiku, such as tanka, as well as other art forms that incorporate haiku, such as haibun and haiga.