Mora Counter (Haiku & Tanka)
Count morae in hiragana and katakana. Split lines with line breaks to see the morae per line and check haiku 5-7-5 or tanka 5-7-5-7-7. Everything stays in your browser.
How to use
Type text and the morae count updates. Enter multiple lines to see the morae per line and whether they match 5-7-5 (haiku) or 5-7-5-7-7 (tanka). Kanji is not counted, so enter readings in kana when you need the exact count.
What is a mora?
A mora (拍, also called on) is the unit of sound that Japanese rhythm is built on — close to, but not the same as, an English syllable. Each kana is one mora, and a long vowel mark (ー), the small っ and ん each add one of their own. Japanese verse is counted in morae rather than syllables or letters, which is why a haiku is 5-7-5 and a tanka is 5-7-5-7-7. Counting morae is how you check whether a line of poetry, lyrics or ad copy lands on the right number of beats.
Examples
- ありがとう → 5 morae
- きゃ → 1 mora (a small kana joins the preceding kana)
- がっこう → 4 morae (the small っ and the long う each count as one)
- ふるいけや / かわずとびこむ / みずのおと → 5 / 7 / 5 → matches haiku (5-7-5) ✓
- Lines of 5, 7, 6 → off by one from 5-7-5 → no match (you see which line to fix)
Scope of the Mechanical Count
The tool counts written kana by rule. It cannot infer a kanji reading, dialect, spoken contraction, or the pronunciation intended by an author. Convert mixed kanji text to the intended reading first, and read foreign-name or small-kana combinations aloud to confirm the result.
A 5-7-5 or 5-7-5-7-7 match checks mora counts only; it does not evaluate season words, breaks, phrasing, or literary quality. The Kana / Romaji Converter can help normalize kana input.