# Understanding Search Query

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [December 5, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425 "2017-12-05T21:47:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rwat090](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/rwat090/32/48235_2.png) [@rwat090](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/rwat090)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425/1 "2017-12-05T21:47:40Z")

</div>

Hi Everyone,

Im just trying to understand the results I’m returned from a search query, I was hoping someone could point me to documentation or explain the reason for the result…

“Version” : "5.6.4",  
"lucene\_version" : "6.6.1"

Plugin  
— Name= analysis-phonetic  
— version=5.6.4

String Query  
[http://server01.its.auckland.ac.nz:9200/index3/person/\_search?q=namesLike%3AReid+Wat&size=10000](http://server01.its.auckland.ac.nz:9200/index3/person/_search?q=namesLike%3AReid+Wat&size=10000)

- total 47997 docs returned

The Query is based on “namesLike” and the mapping for this as follows

"mappings": {  
"person": {  
"\_all": {  
"enabled": true,  
"analyzer": "phonetic\_analyzer"  
},  
"namesLike": {  
"type": "text",  
"fields": {  
"keyword": {  
"type": "keyword",  
"ignore\_above": 256  
}

I looked a few of the last results for namesLike and im returned the following values

“Magdalene Aidoo”  
“Mohammad Ata Roshangar"  
"Louis Alexander White"  
"Tahnee Jade Flaws"

I’m just trying to understand how I’m returned theses results when Im searching “Reid”+“Wat”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425/2 "2017-12-05T22:36:31Z")

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Use the \_analyze API and it will probably give you the same terms after the phonetic has been applied.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rwat090](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/rwat090/32/48235_2.png) [@rwat090](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/rwat090)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425/3 "2017-12-06T03:02:16Z")

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Thank you --- \_analyze really helped also the following POST provide me with more insight

[http://elasticsearch-users.115913.n3.nabble.com/help-needed-with-the-query-td3177477.html#a3178856](http://elasticsearch-users.115913.n3.nabble.com/help-needed-with-the-query-td3177477.html#a3178856)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/understanding-search-query/110425/4 "2018-01-03T03:02:33Z")

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Closed on January 3, 2018, 3:02am UTC

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