What is the sound pattern of the waka form sedōka?

The sound pattern of the waka form sedōka is 5-7-7-5-7-7.

A sedōka joins two matching units of 5-7-7, creating a six-line poem. The form belongs to the older, broad tradition of waka, whose name originally covered several kinds of Japanese-language poetry rather than only the familiar 5-7-5-7-7 tanka.

Sedōka poems appear in early anthologies such as the Man'yōshū and Kokinshū. Their two-part structure could suit a dialogue or exchange, including poems associated with lovers. The pattern is counted in Japanese sound units, often called on or morae, rather than relying exactly on English ideas of syllables.

A common mix-up is confusing sedōka with tanka, which follows 5-7-5-7-7, or with katauta, the shorter 5-7-7 half-poem. Another related form, bussokusekika, adds a final 7-unit phrase to a tanka, producing 5-7-5-7-7-7.