The conversion from characters per minute to words per minute depends on the language and the nature of the input. However, there is a commonly accepted average word length of 5 characters. The following relationship can be derived to convert characters per minute to words per minute:

• 1 word per minute ≈ 5 characters per minute
• 1 character per minute ≈ 0.2 word per minute

From the previous relationship follows the formula below:

$$M_{word/min} \approx \dfrac { C_{character/min} }{5}$$

To convert characters per minute (CPM) to words per minute (WPM), you need to make an assumption about the average number of characters per word.

Standard Assumption

In typing metrics, the average word is typically considered to be 5 characters long, including spaces and punctuation.

Formula

The conversion formula is:

$$\text{WPM} = \frac{\text{CPM}}{5}$$

Example Calculation

If you typed 300 characters per minute:
$$\text{WPM} = \frac{300}{5} = 60$$

This means you typed 60 words per minute.

Notes:

• This is an estimate based on the standard assumption of 5 characters per word. If you’re using a different average (e.g., specific to a language or dataset), you can adjust the divisor accordingly.
• For practical applications, tools or systems that measure typing speed typically follow the same convention (5 characters per word).