Chinese Word Counter
Count Chinese characters and words accurately. Character stats update live as you type, and one click runs a real word count with dictionary segmentation, plus an HSK-level breakdown of the vocabulary. It's free, and there's no signup.
Character count
Counts update as you type. "Chinese characters" is Han characters only, the number essays and translation quotes are measured in.
Word count
Chinese is written without spaces, so counting words takes real segmentation, not string math. Paste text above and this panel splits it into dictionary words with the same engine that powers the Chenjin reader.
Characters or words? How Chinese text is measured
When someone asks for a word count in Chinese, they almost always mean characters. Essay assignments say 800字 (800 characters), translation agencies quote per source character, and publishers measure manuscripts the same way. Chinese is written without spaces, so the character is the natural unit, and it's the headline number this counter gives you the moment you paste.
Actual words are a different number. 图书馆 (library) is three characters but one word; 了 is one character and one word. Splitting unspaced text into words takes real segmentation, so this tool runs your text through the same engine that powers Chenjin's graded reader and reports true word and unique-word counts alongside the character stats. Most running text comes out around 1.5 to 1.7 characters per word, and the tool shows your text's exact ratio.
More than a number: see how hard the text is
Because the word counter knows which dictionary word each token is, it can also tell you where that vocabulary sits on the HSK scale. The breakdown chart shows what share of the text is HSK 1-3, what's upper-intermediate, and how much falls beyond the official lists. Teachers can use it to level a passage before assigning it, and learners can use it to judge whether an article is worth attempting. If you're not sure what the levels mean, our guide to the HSK levels explains the whole system.
For reading practice matched to your level automatically, the Chenjin library grades every story and shows you exactly which words you don't know yet before you open it. And if you want the pronunciation for the text you just counted, paste it into the Chinese to pinyin converter.
Frequently asked questions
How do you count words in Chinese?
Chinese is written without spaces, so there's nothing to split on. In practice, most things measured in Chinese are measured in characters (字): essay lengths, translation quotes, and publishing lengths are all character counts. A true word count requires segmentation software that knows where dictionary words begin and end, which is what the word-count panel in this tool does. As a rule of thumb, running Chinese text averages around 1.5 to 1.7 characters per word.
Why does Microsoft Word give a different count?
Word and Google Docs count each Chinese character as one "word," so their word count for Chinese text is a character count. That's fine when a character count is what you want, but it isn't a real word count. This tool reports both numbers separately, so you always know which one you're looking at.
Does the character count include punctuation?
The headline "Chinese characters" number counts Han characters only, with no punctuation, spaces, or Latin letters. That's the number used for essay requirements and per-character translation pricing. The tool also shows a count with Chinese punctuation included and a total for every character in the box, so you can match whatever definition your teacher or client uses.
How many Chinese characters equal 500 English words?
A common rule of thumb in translation is that one English word comes out to around 1.6 to 1.8 Chinese characters, so 500 English words lands somewhere near 800 to 900 characters. It varies with subject matter, so treat it as an estimate rather than a contract term.
What does the HSK breakdown mean?
After the word count runs, each word is checked against the official HSK 3.0 vocabulary lists. The chart shows what share of the text is HSK 1 through HSK 7-9 vocabulary, plus everything beyond the lists. It's a quick way to judge how hard a text is: a passage that's mostly HSK 1-3 words reads far easier than one with a long tail of beyond-HSK vocabulary.
Does it work with traditional characters?
Yes. Character counting treats simplified and traditional the same, and the word counter's dictionary covers both forms, so text from Taiwan or Hong Kong sources counts correctly.
Is there a limit?
You can count up to 10,000 characters at a time. Character stats are computed in your browser and never leave the page until you run the word count. The tool is free, with no account required.
Reading Chinese, not just measuring it?
A free Chenjin membership gets you the full graded reader: stories at your level, a tap-anything dictionary with stroke order and word families, spaced-repetition flashcards, and audio for every article.
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