Syllable Counter

WHAT IT DOES

Syllable Counter is a browser extension that scans any webpage for text, counts the number of syllables in each word, and displays comprehensive readability metrics. It highlights words with 4 or more syllables, making complex vocabulary instantly visible, and provides a summary panel showing total word count, total syllables, average syllables per word, number of high-syllable words, and the Flesch Reading Ease score with a descriptive rating. The Flesch Reading Ease score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating easier readability. The tool is ideal for writers, editors, educators, students, and anyone who wants to assess the readability of web content or identify overcomplicated vocabulary.

WHERE IT RUNS

Syllable Counter works on any webpage that contains text. It runs locally in your browser as a lightweight userscript, scanning text content across the entire page while avoiding script tags, style blocks, and form inputs. It works on blog posts, articles, documentation pages, academic papers, email drafts, and any other text-based content. The tool handles static pages, dynamically loaded content via AJAX, and single-page applications where content updates without page reloads. All processing occurs entirely in your browser—no text is ever sent to any server.

HOW TO USE

After installation, open the floating panel by clicking the extension icon. The panel automatically scans the page and displays a metrics summary showing word count, total syllables, average syllables per word, high-syllable word count, and the Flesch Reading Ease score with a descriptive label (ranging from "Very easy" to "Very difficult"). Toggle the "Highlight 4+ syllable words" checkbox to enable or disable visual highlighting of complex words. When enabled, words with 4 or more syllables appear with an orange background and underline. Hover over any highlighted word to see its exact syllable count in a tooltip. Click the Scan Page button to manually trigger a fresh scan, and the Clear Highlights button to remove all highlighting without disabling the feature. The highlight state is saved per domain.

REAL MECHANISM — WHY THIS WORKS

Most syllable counters use simple vowel counting or dictionary lookups, which are either inaccurate or require large external datasets. Syllable Counter uses a heuristic algorithm that counts syllables based on vowel group analysis with special-case handling for common exceptions. The engine first normalizes the word to lowercase and checks against a curated list of over 100 common exceptions (e.g., "the", "be", "through") that do not follow standard syllable rules. For all other words, the engine removes trailing 'e' characters, then counts vowel groups (a, e, i, o, u, y) to estimate syllables. It applies special-case handling for words ending in "ing" (reducing count to at least 1), "le" preceded by a consonant (adding a syllable), and "ed" or "es" (subtracting a syllable when appropriate). The Flesch Reading Ease score is calculated using the standard formula: 206.835 - 1.015 × (words/sentences) - 84.6 × (syllables/words). The engine processes text by extracting all text nodes from the DOM, concatenating them, and performing the analysis in a single pass. This approach ensures fast, accurate, and fully private syllable counting without requiring any external data or network requests.

THE PANEL

The floating panel is fully draggable and remembers its position per site, snapping to the edges of the viewport when dragged near them. You can collapse the panel to a small icon to minimize screen distraction and expand it back with a single click. The panel is resizable from the bottom-right corner, giving you more space to view metrics and controls. Press the Escape key to close the panel instantly. The panel remains open across page navigation within the same domain, maintaining your current highlight toggle state. All preferences—panel position and highlight toggle state—are saved per domain for a seamless experience.

PLEASE NOTE

Syllable Counter requires the free BotGentz extension to be installed and enabled, as it relies on the cross-extension messaging API provided by BotGentz for DOM access permissions. Because websites frequently update their structure, text scanning and syllable counting may require periodic script updates to maintain compatibility. If the tool does not count syllables as expected, please check for updates or report the issue. All text processing occurs entirely in your browser. No page content, text samples, or analysis results are ever sent to any server. The extension does not read, store, or transmit any personal information. It only reads the DOM of the pages you choose to interact with and applies visual highlights at your request.