Count Vowels and Consonants
Count the number of vowels and consonants in your text.
How to use this tool
- Enter text in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your vowels and the full breakdown beneath it.
Count the number of vowels and consonants in your text.
How it works
This tool counts the vowels (A, E, I, O, U and their lowercase equivalents) and consonants in any block of text. It scans every character and tallies those that are alphabetic, splitting the count into vowels and consonants separately.
Non-alphabetic characters such as numbers, spaces, and punctuation are excluded from both counts, so the totals reflect only the letter composition of the text. The result typically also shows the total letter count for quick cross-checking.
Common uses include language learning exercises, checking the phonetic density of song lyrics or poetry, analyzing text for readability research, or satisfying simple curiosity about any piece of writing.
Paste or type your text into the field and the counts update instantly. For most purposes, Y is treated as a consonant, though it can function as a vowel in English in words like 'gym' or 'fly'.
Worked example
Analyze the vowel ratio in a sentence
- Paste: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog'
- The tool scans 35 letters (ignoring spaces).
- It finds 11 vowels: e, u, i, o, o, u, o, e, e, a, o.
- And 24 consonants covering the remaining letters.
- Result: 11 vowels, 24 consonants.
11 vowels, 24 consonants out of 35 letters.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Including numbers in the text and expecting them to be counted -- digits are not letters and are excluded from both tallies.
- Assuming Y is always counted as a vowel -- most implementations treat it as a consonant.
- Pasting HTML or markdown and forgetting that tag characters will be treated as punctuation (ignored), which is usually what you want.
Key terms
- Vowel
- The letters A, E, I, O, U (and their lowercase forms). In speech, vowels are produced with an open vocal tract.
- Consonant
- All alphabetic letters that are not vowels. Consonants involve some restriction of airflow in speech.
- Letter frequency
- How often a particular letter or letter category appears in a text, often expressed as a count or percentage.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Y and W counted as vowels?
- No — Y and W are counted as consonants in this tool.