A Chinese SMS draft can require more than one message segment well before it reaches 160 characters. Check the encoding and segment estimate, not just a word total, before placing the draft in your sending application.
The Character Counter includes an SMS estimate. This guide uses ordinary Chinese characters to check a short notice and test the boundary between one and two estimated segments. It does not send a message.
Start with the encoding model
Chinese Han characters are outside the GSM-7 alphabet. Twilio documents a common SMS model of 70 UCS-2 characters for a single segment and 67 per segment once a message needs multiple segments. The lower multipart capacity allows room for information used to reassemble the message.
These are encoding-dependent limits, not Chinese word limits. A message containing English and Chinese still needs its complete encoding checked; do not give the English portion a separate 160-character allowance.
Measure the exact Chinese notice
Paste this example into Your text, without a trailing newline:
请注意，今天下午三点开会。It means, roughly, “Please note, the meeting is at three this afternoon.” Expect Characters: 13 and Without spaces: 13. The comma and full stop are included. The SMS area should identify a Unicode message and show a one-segment estimate.
The main character total uses JavaScript string length, which MDN defines in UTF-16 code units. Each Han character and punctuation mark in these examples occupies one unit. The examples deliberately avoid emoji and uncommon characters that need a separate encoding check.
Words: 1 is not an SMS length measure. The counter splits that metric at whitespace, so the unspaced notice becomes one group. MDN explains why Chinese word segmentation needs more than splitting at spaces. Likewise, Letters: 0 reflects the limited letter range used by this tool, which omits these Han characters; it does not mean an empty message.
Test the 70-to-71 boundary separately
The following block contains exactly 70 copies of 文. It is a controlled boundary test, not a message to send. Copy only the characters:
文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文文- Paste the block into the Character Counter and confirm Characters: 70.
- Read the SMS area. It should show 70 / 70 and an estimate of one segment or fewer.
- Add one more
文. Confirm Characters: 71 and a two-segment estimate.
Under the 67-unit multipart model, 71 units need two segments: 67 plus four. Do not calculate one full 70-unit segment plus a second segment using the same capacity. Crossing the threshold changes the capacity used for multipart messages.
The bar exceeding 70 marks the single-segment boundary. It does not, by itself, establish that a longer message is unsendable.
Edit the complete draft and verify with the sender
For the short meeting notice, removing the introductory 请注意， gives:
今天下午三点开会。This version has nine units and keeps the meeting time. Shorten redundant wording while preserving names, dates and required details. Count the final version again, including any signature, link or line break that the sending application adds.
The site provides a generic estimate, not provider-aware validation. Twilio also documents a different multipart capacity of 66 UCS-2 characters for toll-free messages sent to the US or Canada. Confirm the actual route and segment preview in your provider or sending application before sending.
If your draft contains emoji or other complex text, consult the guide to character-count differences and recheck the complete message using the sender. Keep the exact reviewed draft so later additions do not silently change its length.