Are haiku typically "padded" when read aloud? I was once told that haiku should be "padded" so that instead of 5/7/5, they fit an 8/8/8 meter: > ← wait for 3 beats after this line > ← wait for 1 beat after this line > ← wait for 3 beats after this line If I recall correctly, the explanation was that Japanese favors rhythms in groups of 4 or 8 beats (morae). I don't actually know if haiku are read this way, though--it's just something I was told once. Are haiku actually read aloud with these pauses? Or is this something my friend made up?

Yes, I think you'd read it as:


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for 5/7/5 like where the middle line can be split into 4+3(e.g.: ).
And you'd read it as:


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for 5/7/5 like where the middle line sounds better when split into 3+4(e.g.: ).


And you'd probably read it as:


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for 5/8/5, like 8/5/8/5/8/5... :D()