I just tried "hi" through the same OpenRouter API and the input token count for that was 86 - and for "hi there" the count was 87.
I think there's an 85 token hidden system prompt of some sort.
> I don't have access to real-time information, so I can't tell you the current time. Your device's clock (on your phone, computer, or watch) will show you the accurate time for your location.
> Is there something else I can help you with?
I know the machine can't judge the user or browbeat them into changing subject, but the reply is a bit unsettling.
In Japanese there's the Japanese possessive ('no') which can also be a modifier/qualifier in text like 男の子 (boy, literally "man of child") and 女の子 (girl, literally "woman of child"), so there are sequences of Chinese characters (possibly in combination with Japanese) that could be a single token like character sequences in the Latin script.
I've found https://digitalorientalist.com/2025/02/04/to-merge-or-not-to... with some information/analysis of this.
> Of course, let’s delete these perfectly fine tests and replace them with your latest idea…
{"messages":[
{"role": "user",
"content": "hi"}
]}
{"messages":[
{"role": "system",
"content": ""}
{"role": "user",
"content": "hi"}
]}
{"messages":[
{"role": "system",
"content": "x"}
{"role": "user",
"content": "hi"}
]}