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Kireji

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Japanese poetic device—a “cutting word” like kana or keri—that creates a pause, emotional shift, or juxtaposition in haiku or tanka.

Detailed Definition
Kireji is a “cutting word” in Japanese haiku that creates a pause or emotional pivot, often functioning like a verbal punctuation mark to juxtapose two images or ideas; though untranslatable directly, its effect is approximated in English haiku through dashes, ellipses, or line breaks that structure the poem’s insight.
Example
Example in poetry:
Kireji: A “cutting word” in Japanese haiku that creates a pause or emotional shift; example: In “Yagate shinu / keshiki wa miezu / semi no koe” (Bashō), “keshiki wa miezu” is cut by implied kireji to contrast life and death.
Additional Notes
Kireji: A “cutting word” in Japanese haiku that creates a pause or emotional shift (e.g., “ya” or “kana”); functions like a caesura or exclamation; has no direct English equivalent but often rendered with punctuation.
Also Known As
Cutting word Japanese caesura Haiku break Separation term
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