tanka

IPA/ˈtæŋ.kə/
IPA/ˈtæŋ.kə/

tanka — noun

  • tankasingular
  • tankasplural

1. a poem from Japan written in five lines with a 5-7-5-7-7 sound pattern, giving 3

1.名詞C1
釋義

a poem from Japan written in five lines with a 5-7-5-7-7 sound pattern, giving 31 syllables altogether.

例句

Min wrote a tanka about spring rain for the school magazine.

write a tanka about + topic

Our teacher read a tanka aloud before the class began.

read a tanka aloud

同義詞
  • waka

    broader historical label that includes tanka as one common form

  • verse

    much broader word for a piece of poetry, not this exact Japanese pattern

文法句型

write a tanka

read a tanka aloud

a tanka about + topic

用法筆記

Usually names one complete poem or the form itself. Teachers and critics often mention the 5-7-5-7-7 pattern when explaining this sense.

常見錯誤

❌The poem was written in tanka.
✅The poem was a tanka.
💡tanka names the poem form itself, not the language used to write it.

2. a sacred picture from Tibet, often painted on cloth for Buddhist prayer, teachin

2.名詞C2
釋義

a sacred picture from Tibet, often painted on cloth for Buddhist prayer, teaching, or display.

例句

The museum borrowed a tanka from a monastery in Nepal.

borrow a tanka from + place

Visitors stood quietly before the tanka beside the prayer drums.

同義詞
  • thangka

    more common English spelling for the same Tibetan painting tradition

  • scroll painting

    descriptive phrase, but less specific than the cultural term tanka

文法句型

display a tanka

paint a tanka

a tanka from + place

用法筆記

Often appears in museum, art-history, or Buddhist contexts. English also commonly spells this sense thangka, especially in specialist writing.