How Many Words are in 1,000 Characters?

The super simple answer to "how many words are in 1,000 characters?" is: there are roughly 180 words in 1,000 characters. This should be consider an average or approximate, and only valid for English. It is unlikely to be one sentence, probably not even contained in one paragraph, and will vary from text sample to text sample.

The number of words in 1,000 characters is a range, not an exact count, and you've read this far because you want to know more. Before we can answer the question, we must discuss the rules for counting characters and words. A character is any unit that takes up one space, including: spaces, letters, digits, and symbols. A word is any dictionary recognized and normally used set of characters. Spaces could be debated, but we're not going to because without them, there are no words.

The high and low of the range is never going to be found in natural writing or speaking, but it is worth considering.

The absolute maximum number of words in 1,000 characters is straight forward to calculate because the shortest words are one letter: a or i. Each word unit in this case requires two characters. Using simple math, the maximum number is 500.

The minimum number of words is impossible to make in disputable, because it's debated which word is the longest. In many dictionaries, the longest word to be found is 30 letters. In typical text, the longest word likely is only 20 or 22 letters. Using these numbers, the minimum has a range of 32 to 50 words in 1,000 characters. In fact, it's highly probable the number could be 42.