Meanings
haiku1
nounhaiku (plural haiku or haikus)
plural haikus
- 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.
Some of the results resemble haikus.
2009 January 25, Colin Moynihan, “A Project Documents Inauguration Day, in Washington and Across the Globe”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022 - 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.
Haiku, a poem
2 more examples
five beats, then seven, then five
ends as it began.
Haiku2
proper noun
- A village in the census-designated place of Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
Also see
Origin
haiku · noun
- Middle Chinese俳“paralleled [writing]”
- Englishhaiku
Borrowed from Japanese 俳(はい)句(く) (haiku), from Middle Chinese 俳 (beaj, “paralleled [writing]”) + 句 (kɨoᴴ, “line”).
More words from Middle Chinese
Full word history & related roots →Haiku · proper noun
- HawaiianHaʻikū
- EnglishHaiku
Borrowed from Hawaiian Haʻikū.
More words from Hawaiian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic هَايْكُو, هَايْكُو
- هَايْكُو (haykū)Japanese poem of a specific form
- هَايْكُو (haykū)poem of similar structure
Chinese Cantonese 俳句
- 俳句 (paai⁴ geoi³)Japanese poem of a specific form
Chinese Mandarin 俳句, 俳句
- 俳句 (páijù)Japanese poem of a specific form
- 俳句 (páijù)poem of similar structure
Danish haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
Esperanto hajko, hajko
- hajkoJapanese poem of a specific form
- hajkopoem of similar structure
Finnish haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
French haïku, haïku
- haïkuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haïkupoem of similar structure
German Haiku, Haiku
- HaikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- Haikupoem of similar structure
Hawaiian Haʻikū
- HaʻikūTranslations
Hebrew הַיְקוּ /הייקו
- הַיְקוּ /הייקו (haykú)Japanese poem of a specific form
Hindi हाइकु, हाइकु
- हाइकु (hāiku)Japanese poem of a specific form
- हाइकु (hāiku)poem of similar structure
Icelandic hæka, hæka
- hækaJapanese poem of a specific form
- hækapoem of similar structure
Indonesian haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
Japanese 俳句, 俳句
- 俳句 (haiku)Japanese poem of a specific form
- 俳句 (haiku)poem of similar structure
Korean 하이쿠, 하이쿠
- 하이쿠 (haiku)Japanese poem of a specific form
- 하이쿠 (haiku)poem of similar structure
Lithuanian haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
Malay haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
Norwegian haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
Polish haiku, haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
Portuguese haiku, haicai
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haicaiJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikupoem of similar structure
- haicaipoem of similar structure
Russian ха́йку, хо́кку
- ха́йку (xájku)Japanese poem of a specific form
- хо́кку (xókku)Japanese poem of a specific form
- ха́йку (xájku)poem of similar structure
- хо́кку (xókku)poem of similar structure
Spanish haiku, haikú
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
- haikúJapanese poem of a specific form
Swedish haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
Tagalog hayku
- haykuJapanese poem of a specific form
Turkish haiku
- haikuJapanese poem of a specific form
Ukrainian ха́йку
- ха́йку (xájku)Japanese poem of a specific form
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with haiku
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
haiku. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haiku
MLA
“haiku.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haiku. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “haiku,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haiku.
Source: haiku on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.