Syllable counter

Count English syllables using a pronunciation dictionary. See each word, alternate counts and unknown words, with optional pronunciation adjustments.

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Syllable counter processes your input in this browser. Inputs and results are excluded from analytics. Recent tools save tool names, visit counts and last-visit times. Saved tools store only their names. Draft saving is optional and stays on this device; delete saved text with the draft controls. Loading text from a URL is optional and contacts that server; its URL and your IP address are visible to the server. An optional “Use in” action keeps a handoff in this tab. The next tool removes it on arrival and ignores it if more than a minute has passed.

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Your English text

Options: adjust a word or sentence count

Your syllable counts (one word=count per line)

Use your pronunciation for a name, an unknown word or a dictionary variant. Adjustments apply to every occurrence.

Your syllable count

American English dictionary counts. Unknown words stay unknown; pronunciation variants can give a range. Numbers should be written as spoken words.

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Updated 2026-09-19

How the syllable counter works

Paste English words or a draft to count spoken syllables. Each vowel phoneme in the American English dictionary contributes one syllable. Alternate pronunciations with different counts produce a range.

The breakdown keeps every occurrence so you can check a line of verse or a phrase. Hyphens separate words, apostrophes stay inside contractions and punctuation is not spoken. Use Options to supply a count for a name or your own pronunciation.

Next: Phonetic spelling tool

Next: Readability score checker

A worked example

“Hello, little octopus.” has 7 syllables: hello has 2, little has 2 and octopus has 3.

Before you use the result

American English dictionary coverage is incomplete and may contain errors. Unknown words prevent a complete total; their syllables are never guessed. Write digits as the words you intend to say. This is not a syllable-boundary or poetry-meter tool.

Next: Word counter

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ToolOctopus. “Syllable counter.” Updated 2026-09-19. https://tooloctopus.com/syllable-counter.

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