Oubella counter scratchpad

Oubella Khalid

About this app

You are writing a song. The first line flows. The second line is one syllable too long and you can feel it, but you cannot quite count it fast enough to fix it while the idea is still in your head.

Syllable Counter Scratchpad was built for exactly that moment.

It is a clean, focused writing editor where every line you type shows its syllable count in real time — right there, next to the line, as you write. No switching apps. No copy-pasting into a separate counter. No losing your train of thought. Just write, and let the numbers appear.

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HOW IT WORKS
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Type a line of text. A small badge appears to the left showing the syllable count for that line — instantly, as you finish each word. The count updates live. Change a word, the count changes with it.

The counts are generated entirely on your device using a bundled 125,000-word English pronunciation dictionary — the same reference used by linguistics researchers. Words not in the dictionary are handled by a phonetic fallback algorithm that applies English pronunciation rules to produce reliable estimates for names, invented words, and technical terms.

No internet connection is used. Ever.

BUILT FOR RHYTHM AND FORM

✦ Live Syllable Count Per Line
Each line of your writing has its own independent count. See the rhythm of an entire stanza at a glance, not just a running total.

✦ Target Mode
Set a target syllable count for each line. Badges shift colour to show you how close you are — green for an exact match, amber for one syllable off, orange for two, red for more. Spot the lines that need work without reading a single number.

✦ Built-In Poetic Forms
Apply a recognised form to your draft and the per-line targets are set automatically:

Haiku — 5 / 7 / 5
Limerick — 8 / 8 / 5 / 5 / 8
Sonnet — 14 lines, 10 syllables each
Custom — set any target per line yourself

✦ Stanza Breaks
Divide your draft into stanzas with a single tap. Each stanza is visually separated, making it easy to work on one section at a time.

✦ Live Writing Stats
A persistent footer shows the running totals for your entire draft — total lines, total words, total syllables, and average syllables per line — updating continuously as you write.

A WRITING ENVIRONMENT, NOT JUST A COUNTER

Syllable Counter Scratchpad is a proper writing pad, not a lookup tool. It is designed for drafting and revising, not for checking one word at a time.

The editor uses a clean serif typeface chosen for long writing sessions. Auto-correct and spell-check are disabled by default — because the app knows you are writing song lyrics and poetry, where "gonna", "ain't", and invented rhymes are not mistakes.

Save your drafts. Come back to them. Rename them, duplicate them, and export them as plain text or as annotated text that includes each line's syllable count in brackets — useful for sharing work with a collaborator or producer.

WORKS COMPLETELY OFFLINE

The entire pronunciation dictionary is bundled inside the app. No word is ever sent to a server. No lookup requires a connection. Syllable Counter Scratchpad works in a studio with no Wi-Fi, on a long flight, in a notebook-and-pen kind of moment when you reach for your phone instead.

PERFECT FOR

→ Songwriters and lyricists checking metre and flow line by line
→ Poets writing haiku, sonnets, limericks, and other syllabic forms
→ Rap and hip-hop artists counting bars and matching cadence
→ Children's book authors writing rhythmic read-aloud stories
→ English language learners studying stress and pronunciation patterns
→ Teachers and students working with syllabic poetry in the classroom
→ Anyone who has ever tapped their finger on the table counting beats while they write

PERMISSIONS

None. Syllable Counter Scratchpad requests zero device permissions.

Syllable Counter Scratchpad is completely free, works fully offline, and contains no advertisements.