Word Counter & Character Counter
Type or paste text below for a live word count, character count, and reading time.
How this word counter works
As you type or paste, the text is split on whitespace to estimate word count, and characters, sentences, and paragraphs are counted directly from the string — all locally in your browser, with no text ever transmitted.
How "word" is actually defined
There's no universal definition of a word. This tool counts whitespace-separated tokens, so a hyphenated term like well-known counts as one word, while an em-dash-separated phrase without spaces might not split as you'd expect. Contractions like don't count as a single word. If you're matching a strict submission requirement (like a word-count limit for an assignment or article), check what counting method the requirement actually uses, since tools can legitimately disagree by a few percent.
Languages without spaces
Word-counting logic that splits on spaces breaks down for languages like Chinese, Japanese, or Thai, which don't use spaces between words the way English does. For those languages, character count is generally the more meaningful number; treat the word count from any space-splitting tool (this one included) as unreliable for CJK text.
Frequently asked questions
How exactly is a 'word' counted?
As a sequence of characters separated by whitespace. Hyphenated words count as one; this is a common convention but not universal, so expect small discrepancies against other tools with stricter definitions.
Does this handle Chinese, Japanese, or Thai text well?
Not reliably for word count, since those languages don't use spaces between words. Character count is the more meaningful metric for that text.
What reading speed does the time estimate assume?
A common average of around 200 words per minute for adult silent reading. Actual reading speed varies widely by content complexity and individual reader.