Word Counter — Count Words, Characters & More
Free online word counter. Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in real time. Perfect for essays and assignments.
How to Use the Word Counter
Most student papers have strict word limits, and going over or under can cost you points. This counter gives you real-time counts for every metric you need to stay within the requirements, including Chinese/Japanese/Korean character counting.
- Paste or type your text into the box. Counts update automatically as you type.
- See the total word count at the top — for Chinese text, each character counts as one word for assignment purposes.
- Check character counts (with or without spaces) for strict formatting requirements.
- View sentence and paragraph counts to understand the structure of your writing.
- See the estimated reading time to know how long it will take a grader to read your assignment.
How Counting Works for Different Languages
For English and other Latin-script languages, words are split by whitespace, with common punctuation ignored. For Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK), each character counts as one word — this matches most university assignment requirements for CJK language papers.
Reading time is estimated at 200 words per minute for English, and 300 characters per minute for Chinese — the average reading speed for native speakers of each language.
FAQ
Does this count spaces in the character total?
It shows both: the total characters count includes spaces, and the separate "characters (no spaces)" count excludes them. Use whichever your assignment requires.
Is there a character limit for the text box?
No. You can paste essays, papers, or even entire novels — all counting happens locally in your browser, no text is sent to a server, and there is no size limit.
How is reading time calculated?
English uses 200 words per minute, Chinese uses 300 characters per minute — these are standard estimates of average reading speed for native speakers in academic contexts.
Does this support Japanese and Korean counting?
Yes. All CJK scripts follow the same per-character word counting rule, which matches common university requirements for assignments written in those languages.
Will my text be saved anywhere?
No. All counting happens locally in your browser. None of the text you paste or type is uploaded to a server, and it disappears when you refresh the page.