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俳句 (はいく, haiku) Japanese meaning: haiku | Kotomora

俳はい句く

は

い

く

Common word›JLPTN2›Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

haiku; 17-mora poem

A traditional Japanese short poem, typically in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 morae, often with a seasonal reference.

彼かれは毎まい日にち俳はい句くを一ひとつ作つくっている。

He composes one haiku every day.

この俳はい句くは芭ば蕉しょうの有ゆう名めいな作さく品ひんです。

This haiku is a famous work by Bashō.

Usage patterns

俳はい句くを詠よむto compose a haiku
彼かれは毎まい朝あさ散さん歩ぽしながら俳はい句くを詠よむ。
He composes haiku every morning while taking a walk.
俳はい句くに季き語ごを入いれるto include a seasonal word in a haiku
俳はい句くには季き語ごを入いれるのが基き本ほんだ。
Including a seasonal word in a haiku is a basic rule.
俳はい句くを捻ひねるto craft/rack one's brain over a haiku
頭あたまを悩なやませながら俳はい句くを捻ひねった。
I wracked my brain trying to come up with a haiku.

Kanji

俳haiku, actor
句phrase, clause, sentence

Related words

川せん柳りゅう
俳句 also follows a 5-7-5 mora pattern but traditionally includes a seasonal word and focuses on nature, while 川柳 is about human nature and daily life, often with humor or satire.
詩しN2
俳句 is a fixed 5-7-5 syllable Japanese poem form, whereas 詩 has no set structure and covers poetry in general.
漢かん詩し
俳句 is a short 5-7-5 syllable Japanese poem, whereas 漢詩 is longer and follows Chinese poetic forms.

Don't confuse with

短たん歌かN1
俳句 is a 17-mora poem in a 5-7-5 pattern, while 短歌 is a longer 31-mora poem in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.
川せん柳りゅう
俳句 and 川柳 share the same 5-7-5 syllable structure, but 俳句 usually includes a seasonal word (季語) while 川柳 focuses on wit and human nature without one.
句くN3
俳句 always means a haiku poem specifically, while 句 alone can also mean this in poetic contexts but more broadly covers phrases, lines, and set expressions.
ハイク

Word family

俳はい句く会かい
haiku gathering; haiku club

Written forms

俳はい句くUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling; the word is almost always written this way.
ハイクUsage<1%

Etymology

From Middle Chinese-derived elements 俳 (playful, actor) and 句 (phrase, verse). The term was established in the late 19th century by Masaoka Shiki to distinguish the standalone 5-7-5 form from the opening stanza (発句) of a linked-verse sequence.

ハイク (a hike, from English) and 俳句 (a Japanese poem form) sound identical but are unrelated in meaning, so context is needed to tell them apart.