Straightforward question, but not a straightforward answer 
Depending on which dictionary you use, and whether or not you only count characters currently in use, the number of Chinese characters can range from 20,000 to over 47,000 
But how many would you guys say you actually NEED for life in China? Also, how much does this vary in terms of just surviving vs being proficient?
Iโm speaking from a Japanese perspective which is similar but not the same. I would say at around 1000 characters you should feel like pretty confident about your hanzi / kanji and there will definitely be more showing up that you donโt know but it wonโt be so damn painful. Your brain should be used to hanzi/kanji in general or getting close to that point so when you see a new one you can learn it pretty easily or just skip it without feeling like youโre lazy/stupid.
Totally agree. My teacher told me knowing 1000 words is pretty good for daily conversation already.
Technically, there are tens of thousands of Chinese characters. Large dictionaries list 50,000+ characters, but many of them are extremely rare, historical, or no longer used.
In reality, you need far fewer to function in daily life:
~1,000 characters โ basic understanding of simple texts
~2,000โ2,500 characters โ you can read most newspapers and everyday content
~3,000โ4,000 characters โ comfortable reading level for most modern texts