* It depends on how you define "character". There are:
* Simplified characters: Around 3,500 are commonly used in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia.
* Traditional characters: Around 5,000 are commonly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
* Total number of characters: There are thousands more rarely used characters, variant forms, and historical characters, bringing the total to tens of thousands.
* The definition of "different" is also flexible. Are you counting unique characters, or including variants and alternative forms?
To give you a rough idea, consider:
* The average person needs to know around 2,000-3,000 characters to be functionally literate.
* There are tens of thousands of characters in total, but most are rarely used.
So, while there isn't a single answer, it's safe to say that there are thousands of Chinese characters, and the exact number depends on how you define "character" and "different".