choka means A Japanese poem, a form of waka that consists of 5 to 7 on phrases repeated at least twice, and concludes with a 5-7-7 ending.
Why “choka” is a great word
An extended Japanese poetic form comprising alternating five- and seven-syllable lines repeated in sequence, culminating in a final seven-syllable line to close. Borrowed from Japanese 長歌 (chōka), literally meaning 'long poem.' Unlike the tanka, a concise 31-syllable capsule of emotion, or the haiku, a momentary aperture onto nature, the chōka is a deliberate walk through a story or meditation. It is the measured pace of a procession, the slow accumulation of seasonal grief, and the unspooling of a memory in the firelight—a form built for duration, where the very recurrence of its rhythm becomes a quiet argument against forgetting.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 長歌, literally "long poem".
noun
- A Japanese poem, a form of waka that consists of 5 to 7 on phrases repeated at least twice, and concludes with a 5-7-7 ending.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- sedoka 60% match — A particular kind of Japanese poem, composed of two sets of 5-7-7 syllables. vs choka →
- hokku 59% match — Synonym of haiku (“type of Japanese poem”). vs choka →
- tanka 58% match — A member of a group of people in southern China who traditionally live on junks. vs choka →
- renga 56% match — A form of Japanese verse in which short poems are connected together, the origin of haikai and haiku. vs choka →
- katauta 54% match — A particular kind of Japanese poem, having a 5-7-7 meter and forming half of an exchange of two poems. vs choka →
- dodoitsu 53% match — A specific form of Japanese poem without rhyme, having lines of 7-7-7-5 morae. vs choka →
- choko 52% match — A small handleless cup in which saké is served. vs choka →
- octastich 52% match — A poem or strophe of eight verses or lines. vs choka →