Arabic Word Counter

• Words are separated by spaces, the same rule Microsoft Word and Google Docs use. Attached prefixes and suffixes, such as و, ف, ب, ال and ـه, belong to the word they are written with.
• Characters are counted one per Unicode character. Each haraka is its own character, so vocalised text has more characters than the same text without vowels, even though it has the same number of words.
• Letters, in the character breakdown, counts the letters alone. Harakat are marks, not letters, so they are left out. Tatweel (ـ), the stretching stroke, is counted as a letter, because Unicode classes it as one.
• Sentences end at a full stop, an exclamation mark, the Arabic question mark (؟) or a line break. The Arabic comma (،) and semicolon (؛) do not end a sentence.

The second and third rows are the same sentence. Adding the harakat leaves the word count at three but adds eleven characters. The last two rows show tatweel: stretching جميل across the line adds three characters and no words.

If a form or platform limits characters, check whether it counts harakat. Many count each mark as a character, so fully vocalised text reaches a limit sooner. Writing without harakat, as most everyday Arabic is, keeps the count down. Thecharacter counter checks text against common platform limits at once.

Translators often quote by the source word count. Arabic usually comes out shorter than the English it was translated from, measured in words, because articles, prepositions and pronouns attach to the word instead of standing alone. Agree which language the count refers to before you price a job.