# Nested Span Near Queries Give Results That Make No Sense **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [April 22, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124 "2014-04-22T12:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Michael\_Sander](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/michael_sander/32/838_2.png) [@Michael\_Sander](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Michael_Sander)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/1 "2014-04-22T12:36:30Z")
I am running some complicated span near searches and the results do not make much sense. Take the following toy example: {'span\_near': {'clauses': [ {'span\_term': {'text': 'foo'}}, {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': {'text': 'biz'}}, {'span\_term': {'text': 'buz'}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}} I would _expect_ that this search would return documents where foo, biz, and buz were directly next to each other. I would expect it to match: foo biz buz I would _not expect_ it to match: foo biz and biz buz However, nested span\_near queries seem to match both documents. I have a feeling this is an issue with Lucene rather than ES, but does anyone know whether this was done by design? It seems like an entirely counter-intuitive result. -- 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/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![spinscale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/spinscale/32/25011_2.png) [@spinscale](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/spinscale)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/2 "2014-04-26T00:02:09Z")
Hey, can you provide a complete example including indexing and mapping? In a quick test it seems to work as you expect, so there might be differences in the configuration... --Alex On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Michael Sander [michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)wrote: > I am running some complicated span near searches and the results do not > make much sense. > > Take the following toy example: > > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [ > {'span\_term': {'text': 'foo'}}, > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': > {'text': 'biz'}}, > {'span\_term': > {'text': 'buz'}}], > 'in\_order': False, > 'slop': 0}}], > 'in\_order': False, > 'slop': 0}} > > I would _expect_ that this search would return documents where foo, biz, > and buz were directly next to each other. I would expect it to match: > > foo biz buz > > I would _not expect_ it to match: > > foo biz and biz buz > > However, nested span\_near queries seem to match both documents. I have a > feeling this is an issue with Lucene rather than ES, but does anyone know > whether this was done by design? It seems like an entirely > counter-intuitive result. > > -- > 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/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com)[https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%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/CAGCwEM\_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Sander](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/michael_sander/32/838_2.png) [@Michael\_Sander](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Michael_Sander)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/3 "2014-04-26T00:25:23Z")
Thanks for writing back. I'll be happy to get you that information. I realize in my example below the use of "and" in the text may have changed the results because it's a stop word. So maybe try the following (which I believe shouldn't match but does):foo biz blah biz buz Sent from my mobile communications device over a cellular datalink. **From:** Alexander Reelsen **Sent:** Friday, April 25, 2014 8:02 PM **To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Reply To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Subject:** Re: Nested Span Near Queries Give Results That Make No Sense Hey, can you provide a complete example including indexing and mapping? In a quick test it seems to work as you expect, so there might be differences in the configuration... --Alex On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Michael Sander \<[michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)\> wrote: > I am running some complicated span near searches and the results do not make much sense. > > Take the following toy example: > > > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': {'text': 'foo'}}, {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': {'text': 'biz'}}, {'span\_term': {'text': 'buz'}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}} > > I would **expect** that this search would return documents where foo, biz, and buz were directly next to each other. I would expect it to match: > > > foo biz buz > > I would **not expect** it to match: > > > foo biz and biz buz > > However, nested span\_near queries seem to match both documents. I have a feeling this is an issue with Lucene rather than ES, but does anyone know whether this was done by design? It seems like an entirely counter-intuitive result. > > -- > > 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/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%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/H2-bKVd1Ju0/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/H2-bKVd1Ju0/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/CAGCwEM\_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%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). ---
**Author:** ![spinscale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/spinscale/32/25011_2.png) [@spinscale](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/spinscale)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/4 "2014-04-26T00:43:20Z")
Hey, an example like mentioned in [Elasticsearch Platform — Find real-time answers at scale | Elastic](http://www.elasticsearch.org/help) would be great. I still get the desired behaviour. Also mentioning elasticsearch version and JVM version are always important to not hunt ghosts from the past. --Alex On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 8:25 PM, Michael Sander [michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)wrote: > Thanks for writing back. I'll be happy to get you that information. > > I realize in my example below the use of "and" in the text may have > changed the results because it's a stop word. So maybe try the following > (which I believe shouldn't match but does): > foo biz blah biz buz > > Sent from my mobile communications device over a cellular datalink. > \*From: \*Alexander Reelsen > \*Sent: \*Friday, April 25, 2014 8:02 PM > \*To: \*elasticsearch@googlegroups.com > \*Reply To: \*elasticsearch@googlegroups.com > \*Subject: \*Re: Nested Span Near Queries Give Results That Make No Sense > > Hey, > > can you provide a complete example including indexing and mapping? In a > quick test it seems to work as you expect, so there might be differences in > the configuration... > > --Alex > > On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Michael Sander [michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)wrote: > > > I am running some complicated span near searches and the results do not > > make much sense. > > > > Take the following toy example: > > > > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [ > > {'span\_term': {'text': 'foo'}}, > > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': > > {'text': 'biz'}}, > > {'span\_term': > > {'text': 'buz'}}], > > 'in\_order': False, > > 'slop': 0}}], > > 'in\_order': False, > > 'slop': 0}} > > > > I would _expect_ that this search would return documents where foo, biz, > > and buz were directly next to each other. I would expect it to match: > > > > foo biz buz > > > > I would _not expect_ it to match: > > > > foo biz and biz buz > > > > However, nested span\_near queries seem to match both documents. I have > > a feeling this is an issue with Lucene rather than ES, but does anyone know > > whether this was done by design? It seems like an entirely > > counter-intuitive result. > > > > -- > > 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/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com)[https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%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/H2-bKVd1Ju0/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/H2-bKVd1Ju0/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/CAGCwEM\_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com)[https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM\_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%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/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.com)[https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.com?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=footer](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.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/CAGCwEM\_fYyg41K37b8ALf%3DZL%3DqxheqPRD-JNYOYHak6Lz32GHQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_fYyg41K37b8ALf%3DZL%3DqxheqPRD-JNYOYHak6Lz32GHQ%40mail.gmail.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Sander](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/michael_sander/32/838_2.png) [@Michael\_Sander](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Michael_Sander)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/5 "2014-04-26T02:05:09Z")
Will do. Sent from my mobile communications device over a cellular datalink. **From:** Alexander Reelsen **Sent:** Friday, April 25, 2014 8:43 PM **To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Reply To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Subject:** Re: Nested Span Near Queries Give Results That Make No Sense Hey, an example like mentioned in [http://www.elasticsearch.org/help](http://www.elasticsearch.org/help) would be great. I still get the desired behaviour. Also mentioning elasticsearch version and JVM version are always important to not hunt ghosts from the past. --Alex On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 8:25 PM, Michael Sander \<[michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)\> wrote: > Thanks for writing back. I'll be happy to get you that information. > > I realize in my example below the use of "and" in the text may have changed the results because it's a stop word. So maybe try the following (which I believe shouldn't match but does):foo biz blah biz buz > > Sent from my mobile communications device over a cellular datalink. **From:** Alexander Reelsen **Sent:** Friday, April 25, 2014 8:02 PM **To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Reply To:** [elasticsearch@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch@googlegroups.com) **Subject:** Re: Nested Span Near Queries Give Results That Make No Sense > > Hey, > > can you provide a complete example including indexing and mapping? In a quick test it seems to work as you expect, so there might be differences in the configuration... > > --Alex > > On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 8:36 AM, Michael Sander \<[michael.sander@gmail.com](mailto:michael.sander@gmail.com)\> wrote: > > > I am running some complicated span near searches and the results do not make much sense. > > > > Take the following toy example: > > > > > {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': {'text': 'foo'}}, {'span\_near': {'clauses': [{'span\_term': {'text': 'biz'}}, {'span\_term': {'text': 'buz'}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}}], 'in\_order': False, 'slop': 0}} > > > > I would **expect** that this search would return documents where foo, biz, and buz were directly next to each other. I would expect it to match: > > > > > foo biz buz > > > > I would **not expect** it to match: > > > > > foo biz and biz buz > > > > However, nested span\_near queries seem to match both documents. I have a feeling this is an issue with Lucene rather than ES, but does anyone know whether this was done by design? It seems like an entirely counter-intuitive result. > > > > -- > > > > 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/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/88009474-4517-4ec6-a53d-ee742a5372fa%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/H2-bKVd1Ju0/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/H2-bKVd1Ju0/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/CAGCwEM\_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_MC8O6Qj-59019eVN4KcnO8wSbWAYtx0FvS5Ut8-362g%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/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/20140426002523.5800084.57129.7734%40gmail.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/H2-bKVd1Ju0/unsubscribe](https://groups.google.com/d/topic/elasticsearch/H2-bKVd1Ju0/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/CAGCwEM\_fYyg41K37b8ALf%3DZL%3DqxheqPRD-JNYOYHak6Lz32GHQ%40mail.gmail.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/CAGCwEM_fYyg41K37b8ALf%3DZL%3DqxheqPRD-JNYOYHak6Lz32GHQ%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). ---
**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, 1:33am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/nested-span-near-queries-give-results-that-make-no-sense/17124/6 "2017-07-06T01:33:18Z")