# Elasticsearch - Not require an exact match **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [March 19, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758 "2015-03-19T12:26:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![James\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@James\_3](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/James_3)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758/1 "2015-03-19T12:26:56Z")
Currently I have an item in my elasticsearch index with the title: _testing123_ When I search for it, I can only get it returned if I search _testing123_ exactly. However, I want to be able to search _testing_ and have it returned too. How can I have it so the search must start with that term but also not be an exact match? Any help would be appreciated. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![Itamar\_Syn\_Hershko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/itamar_syn_hershko/32/725_2.png) [@Itamar\_Syn\_Hershko](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Itamar_Syn_Hershko)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758/2 "2015-03-19T12:30:36Z")
You should use this then: > **[Word delimiter token filter | Elasticsearch Guide \[8.11\] | Elastic](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/analysis-word-delimiter-tokenfilter.html)** -- Itamar Syn-Hershko [http://code972.com](http://code972.com) | @synhershko [https://twitter.com/synhershko](https://twitter.com/synhershko) Freelance Developer & Consultant [Lucene.NET](http://Lucene.NET) committer and PMC member On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 2:26 PM, James [mail@employ.com](mailto:mail@employ.com) wrote: > Currently I have an item in my elasticsearch index with the title: > _testing123_ > > When I search for it, I can only get it returned if I search _testing123_ > exactly. However, I want to be able to search _testing_ and have it > returned too. > > How can I have it so the search must start with that term but also not be > an exact match? > > Any help would be appreciated. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > To view this discussion on the web visit > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com) > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > . > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0\_SRY\_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0_SRY_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![James\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@James\_3](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/James_3)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758/3 "2015-03-19T12:33:23Z")
Thank you for the reply. I thought it was much about making my search query not require an exact match, rather than splitting down the words I am searching against? On 19 March 2015 at 12:30, Itamar Syn-Hershko [itamar@code972.com](mailto:itamar@code972.com) wrote: > You should use this then: > [Word delimiter token filter | Elasticsearch Guide [8.11] | Elastic](http://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/analysis-word-delimiter-tokenfilter.html) > > -- > > Itamar Syn-Hershko > [http://code972.com](http://code972.com) | @synhershko [https://twitter.com/synhershko](https://twitter.com/synhershko) > Freelance Developer & Consultant > [Lucene.NET](http://Lucene.NET) committer and PMC member > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 2:26 PM, James [mail@employ.com](mailto:mail@employ.com) wrote: > > > Currently I have an item in my elasticsearch index with the title: > > _testing123_ > > > > When I search for it, I can only get it returned if I search _testing123_ > > exactly. However, I want to be able to search _testing_ and have it > > returned too. > > > > How can I have it so the search must start with that term but also not be > > an exact match? > > > > Any help would be appreciated. > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "elasticsearch" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > > To view this discussion on the web visit > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com) > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > > . > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > [https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/psZ8iAVOziM/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/psZ8iAVOziM/unsubscribe). > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > To view this discussion on the web visit > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0\_SRY\_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0_SRY_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com) > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0\_SRY\_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0_SRY_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > . > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![Itamar\_Syn\_Hershko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/itamar_syn_hershko/32/725_2.png) [@Itamar\_Syn\_Hershko](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Itamar_Syn_Hershko)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 12:35pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758/4 "2015-03-19T12:35:35Z")
This boils down to Lucene fundamentals, in particular what search tokens are created and then searched. I've explained this in depth here: [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/f/a/fa63b6b2006d7aad7d366e1e286cca048de159c7.jpeg "Itamar Syn Hershko - "Full-text search with Lucene and neat things you can do with it"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI566fe9Svs) -- Itamar Syn-Hershko [http://code972.com](http://code972.com) | @synhershko [https://twitter.com/synhershko](https://twitter.com/synhershko) Freelance Developer & Consultant [Lucene.NET](http://Lucene.NET) committer and PMC member On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 2:33 PM, James [mail@employ.com](mailto:mail@employ.com) wrote: > Thank you for the reply. I thought it was much about making my search > query not require an exact match, rather than splitting down the words I am > searching against? > > On 19 March 2015 at 12:30, Itamar Syn-Hershko [itamar@code972.com](mailto:itamar@code972.com) wrote: > > > You should use this then: > > [Word delimiter token filter | Elasticsearch Guide [8.11] | Elastic](http://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/analysis-word-delimiter-tokenfilter.html) > > > > -- > > > > Itamar Syn-Hershko > > [http://code972.com](http://code972.com) | @synhershko [https://twitter.com/synhershko](https://twitter.com/synhershko) > > Freelance Developer & Consultant > > [Lucene.NET](http://Lucene.NET) committer and PMC member > > > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 2:26 PM, James [mail@employ.com](mailto:mail@employ.com) wrote: > > > > > Currently I have an item in my elasticsearch index with the title: > > > _testing123_ > > > > > > When I search for it, I can only get it returned if I search > > > _testing123_ exactly. However, I want to be able to search _testing_ > > > and have it returned too. > > > > > > How can I have it so the search must start with that term but also not > > > be an exact match? > > > > > > Any help would be appreciated. > > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > Groups "elasticsearch" group. > > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > > > an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > > > To view this discussion on the web visit > > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com) > > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/de42c52d-1566-461e-b578-594aa963a498%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > > > . > > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > > Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. > > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > > [https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/psZ8iAVOziM/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/psZ8iAVOziM/unsubscribe). > > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > > [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > > To view this discussion on the web visit > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0\_SRY\_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0_SRY_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com) > > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0\_SRY\_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4ZvcvCYD0_SRY_QcHNcytaj7KcmCH2itJcUsPCTc2FjsrQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > > . > > > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > To view this discussion on the web visit > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com) > [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAPng%3D3f7pQOm4HPkxtec3or%2Ba4ZUVpC1USb7tWMaD9cvicQ8gQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer) > . > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4Zs9A%2B5mVB1txVyFX-KX%3DtXu9m5Rmq0e2n7ET5G3JZnpYQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAHTr4Zs9A%2B5mVB1txVyFX-KX%3DtXu9m5Rmq0e2n7ET5G3JZnpYQ%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-not-require-an-exact-match/22758/5 "2017-07-06T00:25:38Z")