sijo means A classical Korean poetry form consisting of twelve accentual phrases divided in three lines. It carries an Arena rating of 1560, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sijo ranks #5,376 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #6,429 of 17,140 for The Improbable, #7,176 of 17,137 for Most Exacting Words, #7,314 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “sijo” is a great word
A classical Korean poetic form consisting of three lines, traditionally sung to a specific musical mode, borrowed from Korean 시조 (sijo), from Sino-Korean 時調, from 時 (si, "time, season") + 調 (jo, "melody, tune"). Unlike the haiku, with its crystalline 5-7-5 snapshot of nature, or the sonnet, a rhetorical edifice of rhyme and argument, the sijo is a musical breath, a three-part arc for the human voice. It is the turn of a phrase in a quiet room, the courtesan improvising over a weeping gayageum, the scholar finding the chased moon settled in his empty wine cup—a complete season of thought in a single, sung exhalation.
noun
- A classical Korean poetry form consisting of twelve accentual phrases divided in three lines.
- Non-Korean poetry written in imitation of this style.
- The musical mode to which these works were traditionally sung.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- senryū 55% match — A haiku-like poem of up to 17 syllables that is usually humorous or satirical. vs sijo →
- sedoka 54% match — A particular kind of Japanese poem, composed of two sets of 5-7-7 syllables. vs sijo →
- sanjo 53% match — a genre of traditional Korean instrumental music vs sijo →
- heptasyllable 53% match — line of verse with seven syllables vs sijo →
- septasyllabic 52% match — Having seven syllables. vs sijo →
- sestina 52% match — A highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet or envoy, for a total of thirty-nine lines. vs sijo →
- jisei 52% match — A poem traditionally composed on one's deathbed in Japan. vs sijo →
- syair 52% match — Malay poetry that is made up of four-line stanzas vs sijo →