How many charecters are there in chinese?

Answer 1

and Present

The number of unique Chinese characters used through the ages, though the exact figure is unknown, is safely in excess of 100,000. The largest number ever recorded in a Chinese dictionary—the Taiwan Ministry of Education's 2004 Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (異體字字典, Yìtǐzì zìdiǎn)—was 106,230. Only a subset of these characters are still in regular use today.

In 2013, the Chinese government published a list of the 3,500 most essential characters used in modern Chinese. Chinese schoolchildren are expected to learn all 3,500 at a minimum, though many graduate knowing 5,000, 6,000 or more.

In order to pass the highest level on China's official Chinese proficiency exam for non-native speakers, the HSK (汉语水平考试 hànyǔ shuǐpíng kǎoshì), you will need to know 2,663 individual Chinese characters. If you're learning Chinese, figuring out how many Chinese characters you actually need to know is worth considering.

From writing on bone fragments thousands of years ago to typing on smartphones today, the quantity and logographic form of Chinese characters has evolved—and continues to evolve—over time.