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How to count how many times a word appears in a cell in Excel and Google Sheets
Excel & Google Sheets
=(LEN(A2) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2, "the", ""))) / LEN("the")Try it with your data
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Step by step
- 1SUBSTITUTE removes every "the" from the text.
- 2Subtracting the new length from the original gives the total characters removed.
- 3Dividing by the length of "the" gives the number of occurrences.
Tips
- Wrap both sides in LOWER for a case-insensitive count: LOWER(A2) and "the".
- To count across a whole column, wrap the idea in SUMPRODUCT over the range.
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Frequently asked
Does this count partial matches?
Yes — "the" would also match inside "there". Add spaces around the word, or use a more specific term, to count whole words only.