diff --git a/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte
index e28c1f5..854eefd 100644
--- a/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte
@@ -6,7 +6,15 @@
 
 	let { data }: { data: PageData } = $props();
 
-	// ── Live-fetch fallback when chapter text is missing in storage ───────────
+	// ── Word count ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+	function countWords(htmlStr: string | null): number {
+		if (!htmlStr) return 0;
+		// Strip HTML tags, collapse whitespace, split on whitespace
+		return htmlStr.replace(/<[^>]+>/g, ' ').trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length;
+	}
+
+	const wordCount = $derived(countWords(html));
+
 	let html = $state(data.html);
 	let fetchingContent = $state(!data.isPreview && !data.html);
 	let fetchError = $state('');
@@ -89,7 +97,9 @@
 	<h1 class="text-xl font-bold text-zinc-100">
 		{data.chapter.title || `Chapter ${data.chapter.number}`}
 	</h1>
-
+	{#if wordCount > 0}
+		<p class="text-zinc-600 text-xs mt-1">{wordCount.toLocaleString()} words</p>
+	{/if}
 </div>
 
 <!-- Audio player -->