THE WORLD'S LARGEST WEB DEVELOPER SITE

PHP str_word_count() Function

❮ PHP String Reference

Example

Count the number of words found in the string "Hello World!":

<?php
echo str_word_count("Hello world!");
?>
Run example »

Definition and Usage

The str_word_count() function counts the number of words in a string.


Syntax

str_word_count(string,return,char)

Parameter Description
string Required. Specifies the string to check
return Optional. Specifies the return value of the str_word_count() function.

Possible values:

  • 0 - Default. Returns the number of words found
  • 1 - Returns an array with the words from the string
  • 2 - Returns an array where the key is the position of the word in the string, and value is the actual word
char Optional. Specifies special characters to be considered as words.


Technical Details

Return Value: Returns a number or an array, depending on the chosen return parameter
PHP Version: 4.3.0+
Changelog: The char parameter was added in PHP 5.1

More Examples

Example 1

Return an array with the words from the string:

<?php
print_r(str_word_count("Hello world!",1));
?>
Run example »

Example 2

Return an array where the key is the position of the word in the string, and value is the actual word:

<?php
print_r(str_word_count("Hello world!",2));
?>
Run example »

Example 3

Without and with the char parameter:

<?php
print_r(str_word_count("Hello world & good morning!",1));
print_r(str_word_count("Hello world & good morning!",1,"&"));
?>
Run example »

❮ PHP String Reference