What it does
The word counter gives you every number you might need about a piece of text at once: words, characters with and without spaces, sentences, paragraphs, lines, the size in UTF-8 bytes, and estimates of how long it takes to read or say out loud. Results update as you type.
It is built for mixed-language writing. English words, numbers and contractions such as don't are counted as single words, while Chinese and Japanese characters are counted one by one, the way word limits are set for those languages. Emoji and accented letters count as the single character you see on screen, not as the several code units a program might store.
How to use
- Paste or type your text into the box.
- Pick a reading speed if you want a different estimate. Careful reading is about 180 words per minute, an average adult reads about 230, and skimming is 300 or more.
- Read the counts from the table and copy any row you need.
What each number means
- Words: space-separated words plus CJK characters. This is the number most word limits refer to.
- Space-separated words and CJK characters: the two parts of the total shown separately.
- Characters: everything you can see or select, including spaces and line breaks.
- Characters without spaces: the same count with spaces, tabs and line breaks left out.
- Sentences: runs of text ending in
.,!,?,。,！or？, or the end of the text. - Paragraphs: blocks of text separated by at least one blank line.
- Lines: the number of lines, as an editor would number them.
- Size in UTF-8 bytes: how much space the text takes in a file, a database column or a network request.
Tips
Character limits on social networks, SMS and meta descriptions usually count characters including spaces, so use the Characters row for them. Database column limits such as VARCHAR(255) in MySQL count characters, but some systems limit bytes instead, which is where the UTF-8 size helps: a Chinese character takes three bytes and most emoji take four.
Sentence counting uses punctuation, so abbreviations like e.g. or decimal numbers can add an extra sentence. Treat it as a close estimate.
FAQ
› How are Chinese and Japanese words counted?
Chinese and Japanese are written without spaces, so each Han, Hiragana or Katakana character counts as one word, which matches how Chinese word counts are usually given. Words in English and other space-separated languages are counted normally, and the total adds both.
› Do emoji count as one character?
Yes. Characters are counted the way you see them, so a thumbs-up with a skin tone or a family emoji built from several code points counts as one character.
› How is reading time estimated?
At the reading speed you choose (230 words per minute by default) plus 400 CJK characters per minute. Speaking time assumes 140 words or 240 CJK characters per minute.
› Is my text uploaded?
No. Counting happens in your browser and the text never leaves your device.