How To Count Word Occurrences In A String: Python, C++, Java & More!

Ever needed to know how many times a specific word appears in a text? Whether you're analyzing data, processing text, or just curious, counting word occurrences is a fundamental task in programming. This guide provides clear, concise examples in multiple languages to help you master this skill.

Why Count Word Occurrences?

Understanding the frequency of words in a string has many practical uses. Here's why you should care:

Text Analysis: Identify the most important keywords in a document.
Data Processing: Clean and prepare text data for machine learning.
Search Engines: Improve search result relevance by understanding query frequency.
Content Optimization: Refine writing for clarity and impact by analyzing word usage.

Method 1: Simple String Splitting

This approach splits the string into words and then iterates through the resulting list, incrementing a counter for each match. Let's explore implementations across several languages.

C++

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <vector>
#include <sstream>

using namespace std;

int countOccurrences(string str, string word) {
    stringstream ss(str);
    string token;
    int count = 0;
    while (ss >> token) {
        if (token == word) {
            count++;
        }
    }
    return count;
}

int main() {
    string text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
    string targetWord = "portal";
    cout << "Occurrences of '" << targetWord << "': " << countOccurrences(text, targetWord) << endl;
    return 0;
}

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int countOccurrences(char *str, char *word) {
    char *token = strtok(str, " ");
    int count = 0;
    while (token != NULL) {
        if (strcmp(token, word) == 0) {
            count++;
        }
        token = strtok(NULL, " ");
    }
    return count;
}

int main() {
    char text[] = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
    char targetWord[] = "portal";
    printf("Occurrences of '%s': %d\n", targetWord, countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    return 0;
}

Java

class Main {
    static int countOccurrences(String str, String word) {
        String[] words = str.split(" ");
        int count = 0;
        for (String w : words) {
            if (word.equals(w)) {
                count++;
            }
        }
        return count;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
        String targetWord = "portal";
        System.out.println("Occurrences of '" + targetWord + "': " + countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    }
}

Python 3

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    words = text.split()
    count = 0
    for w in words:
        if w == word:
            count += 1
    return count

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

C#

using System;

public class GFG {
    static int countOccurrences(string str, string word) {
        string[] words = str.Split(' ');
        int count = 0;
        foreach (string w in words) {
            if (word.Equals(w)) {
                count++;
            }
        }
        return count;
    }

    public static void Main() {
        string text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
        string targetWord = "portal";
        Console.WriteLine("Occurrences of '{0}': {1}", targetWord, countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    }
}

Javascript

function countOccurrences(str, word) {
    let words = str.split(" ");
    let count = 0;
    for (let w of words) {
        if (w === word) {
            count++;
        }
    }
    return count;
}

let text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
let targetWord = "portal";
console.log(`Occurrences of '${targetWord}': ${countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}`);

PHP

<?php
function countOccurrences($str, $word) {
    $words = explode(" ", $str);
    $count = 0;
    foreach ($words as $w) {
        if ($w == $word) {
            $count++;
        }
    }
    return $count;
}

$text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
$targetWord = "portal";
echo "Occurrences of '$targetWord': " . countOccurrences($text, $targetWord);
?>

Method 2: Leveraging the `count()` Function

Python offers a built-in function count() that simplifies this task even further when working with lists. This method leverages the ease and readability of Python for a concise solution.

Python 3

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    words = text.split()
    return words.count(word)

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

Method 3: Regular Expressions

For more complex scenarios, such as counting whole words only or ignoring case, regular expressions provide a powerful and flexible solution.

Python 3

import re

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    pattern = r'\b' + re.escape(word) + r'\b'  # Match whole words only
    matches = re.findall(pattern, text, re.IGNORECASE)  # Ignore case
    return len(matches)

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

re.escape(word): Ensures that any special characters in the target word are properly escaped.
r'\b': Matches a word boundary, ensuring that only whole words are counted.
re.IGNORECASE: Performs case-insensitive matching.

Next article icon

Choose Your Method

For basic counting needs, the simple splitting method is efficient and easy to understand.
Python's count() function offers a more concise solution when working with lists.
Regular expressions provide the most flexibility for advanced scenarios.

No matter the method you choose, understanding how to count word occurrences empowers you to analyze and manipulate text data effectively.

How To Count Word Occurrences In A String: Python, C++, Java & More!

Why Count Word Occurrences?

Understanding the frequency of words in a string has many practical uses. Here's why you should care:

Text Analysis: Identify the most important keywords in a document.
Data Processing: Clean and prepare text data for machine learning.
Search Engines: Improve search result relevance by understanding query frequency.
Content Optimization: Refine writing for clarity and impact by analyzing word usage.

Method 1: Simple String Splitting

This approach splits the string into words and then iterates through the resulting list, incrementing a counter for each match. Let's explore implementations across several languages.

C++

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <vector>
#include <sstream>

using namespace std;

int countOccurrences(string str, string word) {
    stringstream ss(str);
    string token;
    int count = 0;
    while (ss >> token) {
        if (token == word) {
            count++;
        }
    }
    return count;
}

int main() {
    string text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
    string targetWord = "portal";
    cout << "Occurrences of '" << targetWord << "': " << countOccurrences(text, targetWord) << endl;
    return 0;
}

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int countOccurrences(char *str, char *word) {
    char *token = strtok(str, " ");
    int count = 0;
    while (token != NULL) {
        if (strcmp(token, word) == 0) {
            count++;
        }
        token = strtok(NULL, " ");
    }
    return count;
}

int main() {
    char text[] = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
    char targetWord[] = "portal";
    printf("Occurrences of '%s': %d\n", targetWord, countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    return 0;
}

Java

class Main {
    static int countOccurrences(String str, String word) {
        String[] words = str.split(" ");
        int count = 0;
        for (String w : words) {
            if (word.equals(w)) {
                count++;
            }
        }
        return count;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
        String targetWord = "portal";
        System.out.println("Occurrences of '" + targetWord + "': " + countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    }
}

Python 3

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    words = text.split()
    count = 0
    for w in words:
        if w == word:
            count += 1
    return count

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

C#

using System;

public class GFG {
    static int countOccurrences(string str, string word) {
        string[] words = str.Split(' ');
        int count = 0;
        foreach (string w in words) {
            if (word.Equals(w)) {
                count++;
            }
        }
        return count;
    }

    public static void Main() {
        string text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
        string targetWord = "portal";
        Console.WriteLine("Occurrences of '{0}': {1}", targetWord, countOccurrences(text, targetWord));
    }
}

Javascript

function countOccurrences(str, word) {
    let words = str.split(" ");
    let count = 0;
    for (let w of words) {
        if (w === word) {
            count++;
        }
    }
    return count;
}

let text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
let targetWord = "portal";
console.log(`Occurrences of '${targetWord}': ${countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}`);

PHP

<?php
function countOccurrences($str, $word) {
    $words = explode(" ", $str);
    $count = 0;
    foreach ($words as $w) {
        if ($w == $word) {
            $count++;
        }
    }
    return $count;
}

$text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks";
$targetWord = "portal";
echo "Occurrences of '$targetWord': " . countOccurrences($text, $targetWord);
?>

Method 2: Leveraging the `count()` Function

Python offers a built-in function count() that simplifies this task even further when working with lists. This method leverages the ease and readability of Python for a concise solution.

Python 3

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    words = text.split()
    return words.count(word)

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

Method 3: Regular Expressions

For more complex scenarios, such as counting whole words only or ignoring case, regular expressions provide a powerful and flexible solution.

Python 3

import re

def countOccurrences(text, word):
    pattern = r'\b' + re.escape(word) + r'\b'  # Match whole words only
    matches = re.findall(pattern, text, re.IGNORECASE)  # Ignore case
    return len(matches)

text = "GeeksforGeeks A computer science portal for geeks"
targetWord = "portal"
print(f"Occurrences of '{targetWord}': {countOccurrences(text, targetWord)}")

re.escape(word): Ensures that any special characters in the target word are properly escaped.
r'\b': Matches a word boundary, ensuring that only whole words are counted.
re.IGNORECASE: Performs case-insensitive matching.

Next article icon

Choose Your Method

For basic counting needs, the simple splitting method is efficient and easy to understand.
Python's count() function offers a more concise solution when working with lists.
Regular expressions provide the most flexibility for advanced scenarios.

No matter the method you choose, understanding how to count word occurrences empowers you to analyze and manipulate text data effectively.