Chinese Word Counter & Hanzi Test — How Many Chinese Characters Do You Know?
Free Chinese word counter and Hanzi test: count Chinese characters and words instantly, then take 50 multi-choice questions to get your HSK level with wrong-character review.
🔡 Chinese Word Counter — Count Chinese Characters & Words
Paste or type any text to get an instant word count for Chinese text: total characters, Chinese characters (汉字), Latin words, unique Hanzi and lines. Everything is counted in your browser — nothing is uploaded, no sign-up.
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Chinese Characters (汉字)
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Total Characters
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No Spaces
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Latin Words
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Unique Hanzi
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Lines
Counting rule: Chinese word count is reported as characters (汉字), because Chinese does not separate words with spaces — this is the standard used by Chinese publishers and most word count tools for Chinese.
Tick every character you can read and understand. Your estimated vocabulary and HSK level update instantly, right on this page — no sign-up, no page jump.
Characters you know0 / 20
Estimated vocabulary0
HSK reference levelHSK 1 · Beginner
This is a 20-character sample for a quick feel. The full test uses 50 four-option questions drawn from every HSK level and gives a much tighter estimate.
Answer 50 multi-choice questions about Chinese characters
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Get Instant Results
See your estimated character count and HSK proficiency level
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Track Progress
Review wrong characters and track improvement over time
📘 What is Hanzi Test?
Hanzi Test is a quick, free online tool to test how many Chinese characters (Hanzi) you know. It uses multi-choice questions showing a character with 4 meaning options, calculates your recognition rate, and estimates your total Chinese vocabulary.
Features include progress tracking across tests, a wrong-character review book, HSK level matching, and a Chinese character counter tool for text analysis. free to use, no registration required.
✨ Key Features
🎯 Multi-Choice Questions
4-option questions with random distractors for accurate assessment
📊 HSK Level Matching
Auto-match your Hanzi count to international HSK proficiency standards
📈 Progress Tracking
Track improvement over time with history charts and wrong-character review
💬 Bilingual Interface
English & 中文 support, friendly for foreign Chinese learners
⚡ Quick Mode
Prefer simple Know/Unknown? We have a fast mode for quick checks
🔗 Character Counter
Count characters in any Chinese text with our free analysis tool
📊 HSK & Character Count Reference
Your test result will automatically match the international HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) standard:
You cannot test all 3,500 common Chinese characters in two minutes, so the test samples instead. It draws characters from every HSK band, from the highest-frequency ones such as 的, 一 and 是 up to rarer forms, and asks you to pick the right meaning or simply say whether you recognise the character.
Your recognition rate is then multiplied by 3,500 — the size of the 现代汉语常用字表 (List of Frequently Used Characters in Modern Chinese), the standard reference for functional literacy in Chinese. A recognition rate of 40 percent therefore points to roughly 1,400 characters, which sits around the HSK 4 boundary.
Treat the result as an estimate, not a certificate. Sampling error is real: a 50-question test narrows the range but cannot pin it down exactly, and reading ability also depends on words, grammar and listening, which a character test does not measure. Educated native speakers typically recognise 8,000 characters or more, while HSK 6 fluency is generally associated with around 5,000. For an official credential, sit the HSK exam administered by Hanban.
🌱 How to Grow Your Character Recognition
Learn characters in families. Once you know 女 (woman), the characters 妈, 姐, 妹 and 好 become far easier to remember because they share a meaningful component.
Read slightly above your level. Material where you already know 90 to 95 percent of characters gives enough context to guess the rest without constant dictionary lookups.
Review on a schedule, not by mood. Characters fade quickly; revisiting them one day, three days and one week after first meeting them costs far less time than relearning from scratch.
Study words, not bare characters. Most Chinese words are two characters long; learning 时间 as a unit beats memorising 时 and 间 separately.
Write by hand occasionally. Typing with pinyin input hides how a character is built; writing it exposes the missing stroke you never noticed.
Retest every few weeks. A short test is the cheapest way to see whether your study is actually working, and the wrong-character list tells you exactly what to review next.
🎯 Who Is This Chinese Character Test For?
Foreigners learning Mandarin / Chinese as a second language
Students self-checking Hanzi knowledge before HSK exams
Teachers conducting classroom Chinese character assessments
Parents evaluating their children's Chinese literacy level
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Chinese Character Test?
The Chinese Character Test is a free online multi-choice tool that helps you test how many Chinese characters (Hanzi) you know. It displays Chinese characters and asks you to identify the correct meaning from 4 options, then estimates your total vocabulary.
How long does the test take?
The test consists of 50 questions and takes only about 2 minutes to complete. You will get instant results showing your estimated character count, HSK proficiency level, and a list of characters you missed.
Is the Chinese character test free?
Yes, the Hanzi Test is free to use with no registration required. Your test history is saved locally in your browser for progress tracking. No ads, no tracking.
How accurate is the HSK level estimate?
The test uses randomized questions from common Chinese characters at different HSK levels. The result is an estimate based on your accuracy rate and should be used as a reference. For official HSK certification, please take the official exam.
How many Chinese characters are there in total?
According to the 现代汉语常用字表, there are 3,500 commonly used Chinese characters. A native Chinese speaker typically knows 8,000+ characters, while HSK 6 requires around 5,000 characters for fluency.
How long does the test take?
Most people finish the 50-question test in two to three minutes. You can stop at any point and still see a result based on the questions you answered; the quick Know/Unknown mode is faster still.
Do I need to register or pay?
No. The character test, the character counter and the pinyin chart are free and need no account. Only the full interactive HSK course — the upper levels, all lessons, saved progress and CSV export — is part of the optional Pro plan.
What is the difference between characters and words?
A character (字) is one written symbol such as 电; a word (词) is one or more characters that form a unit of meaning, such as 电话 (telephone). This test measures characters, because character recognition is the bottleneck for most learners, while the HSK vocabulary lists count words.
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