Why your words-read number might not match your effort

How words read is counted

The words read chart tracks trackable word tokens credited when you move forward through a story. Each sentence is credited at most once during a reader visit. If you go back to re-read, review words, or listen again, those sentences do not add new word credit during that visit. A later visit can credit the same sentences again.

This keeps the number tied to how much new material you're covering, rather than how many times you revisit the same text.

What this means day to day

• Spent a session reviewing old sentences? Your reading time will go up, and your word familiarity might improve, but the words-read number won't climb much.
• Jumped back to check a word you already passed? That won't hurt your count — your progress isn't lost — but moving forward again through that same sentence won't add extra credit during the same reader visit.
• Feel like you read more than the number shows? That's normal. Deep study, re-reading, and word lookups all take effort but aren't counted as new reading.

What to watch instead

If you're curious about your overall effort, words read works best alongside:

• Reading time — captures how long you spent, whether on new material or review
• Familiarity changes — shows words moving from New to Learning, Known, or Mastered, even if they came from review sessions
• Quiz performance — measures how well you're retaining what you've studied

Also see Reading time and idle pauses and Troubleshooting stats.