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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

haiku

/ˈhaɪku/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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Begin with the vowel in “high.”

The first syllable carries the main stress. The second has a hard k followed by oo; the written ai forms a single gliding vowel in the opening.

2 syllables · Stress on syllable 1

TRY SAYING
He wrote a haiku about the rain.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does haiku mean?

noun

  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.

proper noun

  1. A village in the census-designated place of Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii, United States.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈhaɪku/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/haɪˈku/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

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