haiku
pronunciation
How to pronounce haiku in British English:
UK [ˈhaɪku:]
How to pronounce haiku in American English:
US [ˈhaɪku]
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- Noun:
- an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
Word Origin
- haiku (n.)
- 1900, from Japanese haiku, telescoped (supposedly in the late nineteenth century, by the poet Shiki) from haikai no ku "jocosity of verse," originally the name of the opening lines of a type of improvised, witty linked verse. The form developed mid-16c. "Traditionally, there is mention of a season of the year somewhere in a haiku, as a means of establishing the poem's tone, though this may be only the slightest suggestion." [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986].
Example
- 1. The first line of a haiku has five syllables .
- 2. Haiku poems tell what people think about in very few words .
- 3. Here is a peculiar haiku series in three parts for you .
- 4. Try to write a haiku about what you are thinking in your next letter .
- 5. The opportunity to write haiku in english is a novel idea for many japanese .