How are sentences detected?

A sentence ends at '.', '!', '?' or '…' followed by a space or the end of the text, so decimals like 3.50 do not split a sentence. Chinese and Japanese full stops (。！？) also end a sentence. Segments with no letter or digit, such as a trailing emoji, are not counted. It handles most prose well, though abbreviations (e.g. 'Dr.', 'U.S.') may cause slight overcounting.

Does it handle multiple punctuation marks?

Yes. Sequences like '!!!' or '...' are treated as a single sentence boundary, not three.

Why is sentence count useful?

Sentence count feeds into readability metrics like Flesch-Kincaid, helps editors flag overly long passages, and is useful in academic writing where average sentence length matters.

Does a line break end a sentence?

Only when the line ends with '.', '!', '?' or '…'. A heading or list item without end punctuation joins the next sentence, so add a full stop to count it separately.

Sentence count

Counts sentences by splitting on terminal punctuation: periods, exclamation marks, and question marks. Helpful for measuring text complexity and readability.

Text input

COUNT

Runs entirely in your browser

How it works

A sentence ends at '.', '!', '?' or '…', together with any closing quote or bracket after it, when whitespace or the end of the text follows, so a decimal such as '3.50' does not split a sentence, though an abbreviation such as 'Dr.' followed by a space does. The Chinese and Japanese full stops 。！？ end a sentence on their own. The text is split at those points, and pieces with no letter or digit, such as a trailing emoji, are left out of the count.

Processing runs in your browser

All counting happens locally in your browser tab. Our servers are not involved at any point.

Related operations

For checking reading difficulty alongside word count, try the readability checker. To generate placeholder copy of a target length, use lorem ipsum. For tidying capitalisation as you draft, see the case converter.

Frequently asked questions

How are sentences detected?: A sentence ends at '.', '!', '?' or '…' followed by a space or the end of the text, so decimals like 3.50 do not split a sentence. Chinese and Japanese full stops (。！？) also end a sentence. Segments with no letter or digit, such as a trailing emoji, are not counted. It handles most prose well, though abbreviations (e.g. 'Dr.', 'U.S.') may cause slight overcounting.
Does it handle multiple punctuation marks?: Yes. Sequences like '!!!' or '...' are treated as a single sentence boundary, not three.
Why is sentence count useful?: Sentence count feeds into readability metrics like Flesch-Kincaid, helps editors flag overly long passages, and is useful in academic writing where average sentence length matters.
Does a line break end a sentence?: Only when the line ends with '.', '!', '?' or '…'. A heading or list item without end punctuation joins the next sentence, so add a full stop to count it separately.

Last reviewed September 30, 2026

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