How are words counted?

Words are counted by splitting on whitespace and filtering empty tokens. A 'word' is any sequence of characters separated by spaces, tabs, or newlines. Chinese and Japanese have no spaces between words, so each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word, as most word processors count them.

Does it count hyphenated words as one or two words?

Hyphenated words like 'well-being' are counted as a single word, since there is no space between the parts.

Are numbers and symbols counted as words?

Yes. A number such as 2026 or 3.5 counts as one word, and so does a symbol standing alone between spaces, such as & or a dash.

Is there an input size limit?

The limit is your browser's memory. Documents of tens of thousands of words count instantly. Very long inputs (hundreds of pages) may take a fraction of a second longer to recount.

Word count

Paste or type your text below to count words in real time. The count updates as you type. All processing runs in your browser.

Text input

COUNT

Runs entirely in your browser

How it works

The text is trimmed and split at every run of whitespace with the /\s+/ pattern, so spaces, tabs and line breaks all separate words and a hyphenated word such as 'well-being' stays one. When the text contains Chinese or Japanese, each Han, Hiragana or Katakana character counts as one word, and so does each run of other letters or digits between them. The count is recalculated in JavaScript on every change to the text box.

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 words counted?: Words are counted by splitting on whitespace and filtering empty tokens. A 'word' is any sequence of characters separated by spaces, tabs, or newlines. Chinese and Japanese have no spaces between words, so each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word, as most word processors count them.
Does it count hyphenated words as one or two words?: Hyphenated words like 'well-being' are counted as a single word, since there is no space between the parts.
Are numbers and symbols counted as words?: Yes. A number such as 2026 or 3.5 counts as one word, and so does a symbol standing alone between spaces, such as & or a dash.
Is there an input size limit?: The limit is your browser's memory. Documents of tens of thousands of words count instantly. Very long inputs (hundreds of pages) may take a fraction of a second longer to recount.

Last reviewed September 30, 2026

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