Word counter
Type or paste text for live word, character, sentence, and reading-time counts.
How it works
Count as you type, in any language.
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Type or paste your text into the box.
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Counts update live as you type — nothing to click.
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Check characters, sentences, paragraphs, and time estimates as needed.
FAQ
How are Chinese, Japanese, and Korean counted?
Each CJK character counts as one word, matching how Word counts Asian characters. Latin scripts are split on whitespace. Mixed text counts both and adds them, with a breakdown shown separately.
Why are there two character counts?
Characters includes spaces and line breaks; without spaces strips all whitespace. Social platforms and form limits usually count characters with spaces. Emoji count by code point, so one emoji is one character.
How is reading time estimated?
At 200 words per minute for Latin text and 400 characters per minute for CJK; speaking time uses 130 and 240. These are common averages — actual pace varies by reader and material.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Counting happens in your browser. Text is never sent to this site or a third party, and it clears when you refresh or leave.
CJK by character, Latin by word
"Word count" means two different things across languages. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean do not separate words with spaces and are conventionally counted per character — the same convention Word uses for these scripts — while Latin scripts split into words on whitespace. This tool handles both: CJK characters are counted individually, Latin text is split on whitespace, and for mixed text it counts each separately and adds them, showing a breakdown of "X CJK · Y Latin words" so you can check.
The two character counts
The results show both Characters and Characters (no spaces). The first includes spaces, line breaks, and every character; the second strips all whitespace. Which one to read depends on the rule you face: most social platforms, SMS, and form limits count characters with spaces — tweets and similar especially — while some word requirements mean content characters only. Emoji are counted by Unicode code point, so one emoji is one character. When in doubt, glancing at both numbers usually answers the question.
Reading time is only an estimate
Reading and speaking times are derived from common average speeds: reading at about 400 characters per minute for Chinese and 200 words per minute for English, speaking at about 240 and 130. These are rules of thumb, useful for judging roughly how many minutes an article takes or how long a speech runs when read aloud. Actual pace varies widely by person and material — technical documents are slower than novels, familiar content faster than unfamiliar — so treat the figure as a planning aid, not a precise promise.