What Microsoft Word Counts as One Word
Microsoft Word counts everything between two spaces as one word, even a lone symbol. So hyphenated compounds, contractions, slash compounds, numbers, URLs and "Q&A" are one word each. There are two exceptions: em and en dashes split words even without spaces, and each Chinese or Japanese character counts on its own. Every rule below was checked in Microsoft Word.
Just need to find the count? See how to check word count in Word (status bar, Ctrl+Shift+G, Mac and mobile).
Word's Counting Rules, With Examples
Each row shows a piece of text and how many words Microsoft Word counts for it.
| Text | Words in Word | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| state-of-the-art | 1 | Hyphens join a compound into one word. |
| don't, author's | 1 each | Apostrophes in contractions and possessives do not split words. |
| draft—revision | 2 | An em dash splits words, even with no spaces around it. |
| pages 10–12 | 3 | An en dash splits words the same way. |
| well--known | 2 | A double hyphen is treated as a dash, so it splits words. |
| either/or, 24/7 | 1 each | A slash with no spaces keeps both sides as one word. |
| 10/12/2026 | 1 | Dates written with slashes count as one word. |
| $1,500.00, 99.9% | 1 each | Currency symbols, commas, decimals, and percent signs stay with the number. |
| https://wordwordcount.com | 1 | A full URL counts as one word. |
| editor@example.com | 1 | An email address counts as one word. |
| 这是一个测试 | 6 | Each Chinese or Japanese character counts as one word. |
| Q&A, AT&T, word(s) | 1 each | Symbols inside a word, with no spaces, keep it one word. |
| wait…what, end.Start | 1 each | An ellipsis or a full stop with no space after it does not split words. |
| Hello, world! | 2 | Punctuation attached to a word adds nothing to the count. |
| one - two, salt & pepper | 3 each | A symbol standing alone between spaces counts as a word. |
| great 👍 job | 3 | An emoji between spaces counts as a word too. |
Tested in Microsoft Word
We put 34 tricky cases into Microsoft Word for Windows, each in its own table cell, selected each one and read the count from Word's status bar (October 29, 2026). Word Word Count gives the same number in every case, and an automated test checks that on every change to the site.
| Case | Text | Microsoft Word | Word Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Em dash, no spaces | one—two | 2 | 2 |
| Em dash with spaces | one — two | 2 | 2 |
| En dash, no spaces | one–two | 2 | 2 |
| En dash in a page range | pages 10–12 | 3 | 3 |
| Spaced hyphen | one - two | 3 | 3 |
| Double hyphen | well--known | 2 | 2 |
| Hyphenated compound | state-of-the-art design | 2 | 2 |
| Ampersand inside a word | Q&A session | 2 | 2 |
| Company name with & | AT&T phones | 2 | 2 |
| Standalone ampersand | salt & pepper | 3 | 3 |
| Contraction | don't stop | 2 | 2 |
| Plural possessive | students' work | 2 | 2 |
| Slash compound | either/or choice | 2 | 2 |
| Slash with numbers | open 24/7 | 2 | 2 |
| and/or | tea and/or coffee | 3 | 3 |
| Currency | costs $1,250.50 today | 3 | 3 |
| Percentage | rose 45.5% overall | 3 | 3 |
| Date with slashes | on 10/12/2026 only | 3 | 3 |
| Decimal number | pi is 3.14159 | 3 | 3 |
| Abbreviation with periods | e.g. cats | 2 | 2 |
| Acronym with periods | the U.S.A. team | 3 | 3 |
| Web address | see https://wordwordcount.com/page?id=1 now | 3 | 3 |
| Email address | email hello@example.com today | 3 | 3 |
| Hashtag and mention | #study @friend | 2 | 2 |
| Programming languages | C++ and C# | 3 | 3 |
| Ellipsis, three dots, no spaces | wait...what | 1 | 1 |
| Ellipsis character, no spaces | wait…what | 1 | 1 |
| Missing space after full stop | the end.Start again | 3 | 3 |
| Standalone symbols | 2 + 2 = 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Ordinals | 1st and 2nd place | 4 | 4 |
| Brackets inside a word | word(s) matter | 2 | 2 |
| Emoji between words | great 👍 job | 3 | 3 |
| Chinese | 这是一个测试 | 6 | 6 |
| Japanese | 日本語のテスト | 7 | 7 |
Why Other Counters Get a Different Total
Counters disagree with Word in two ways. Some split words at punctuation, so "state-of-the-art", "Q&A" or "don't" become several words. Others split only at spaces, so "first—second" stays one word and a Chinese paragraph with no spaces counts as one. Word does neither.
Google Docs follows most of Word's rules, but it never includes footnotes and can treat em dashes differently. The Google Docs word count guide compares the two in detail.
Word Word Count applies the rules in the table above, so its total for a .docx file or pasted text matches what Word shows. Try it with the online Word document word counter.
Which Parts of a Document Word Counts
The rules above decide what one word is. A separate question is which parts of the document are counted at all: Word leaves out headers and footers, and only includes footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes when you tick a box in the Word Count dialog. See what counts toward a word count for footnotes, references, titles, and court rules, or the guide to checking word count in Word for where to find the dialog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Word count symbols, dashes and emoji as words?
A symbol standing alone between spaces counts as a word: "one - two" and "salt & pepper" are three words, and so is "great 👍 job". Em and en dashes are the exception: they split words and are not counted themselves, so "one — two" is two words.
How does Word count an ellipsis?
An ellipsis with no spaces joins the words around it, so "wait…what" and "wait...what" are one word. Spaced dots count separately: "The court . . . concluded" is six words, while "The court … concluded" is four.
Does Microsoft Word count hyphenated words as one word?
Yes. Word counts a hyphenated compound such as "state-of-the-art" or "user-friendly" as one word. Em dashes and en dashes are different: they split the words on either side, even without spaces.
Do contractions count as one word or two in Word?
One. Contractions such as "don't" and "we'll" and possessives such as "author's" each count as a single word in Microsoft Word.
Does Word count numbers and dates as words?
Yes. Each number counts as one word, including currencies such as $1,500.00, percentages such as 99.9%, and dates written with slashes such as 10/12/2026.
How does Word count Chinese and Japanese text?
Word counts each Chinese or Japanese character as one word, because those languages do not separate words with spaces. A six-character Chinese sentence counts as six words.
Check a Word Document With These Rules
Drop a .docx or .doc file into Word Word Count to get a Word-compatible count in your browser, without uploading the file.
Open the Word Counter