{"id":6731,"date":"2024-03-14T04:37:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T04:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T07:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:22:20","slug":"how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/","title":{"rendered":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _"},"content":{"rendered":"

In MySQL, wildcards are used to match strings in a fuzzy manner. There are two commonly used wildcards.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Percent sign (%): Represents zero or more arbitrary characters.<\/li>\n
  2. Underscore (_): represents a single arbitrary character<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Wildcards are usually used together with the LIKE operator for conducting fuzzy searches in the WHERE clause, with the following syntax:<\/p>\n

    SELECT<\/span> column_name(s)\r\nFROM<\/span> table_name\r\nWHERE<\/span> column_name LIKE<\/span> pattern<\/span>;\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Here, column_name is the name of the column to be queried, table_name is the name of the table to be queried, and pattern is the pattern to be matched. Below are some examples using wildcards:<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. Search for all names that start with the letter “J”.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      SELECT<\/span> *<\/span> FROM<\/span> customers\r\nWHERE<\/span> name LIKE<\/span> 'J%'<\/span>;\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
        \n
      1. Find all records that contain “an” in their names.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        SELECT<\/span> *<\/span> FROM<\/span> customers\r\nWHERE<\/span> name LIKE<\/span> '%an%'<\/span>;\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
          \n
        1. Find all records where the third character in the name is “o”.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          SELECT<\/span> *<\/span> FROM<\/span> customers\r\nWHERE<\/span> name LIKE<\/span> '__o%'<\/span>;\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
          Be cautious of using wildcard characters for performance reasons, as they may slow down queries when used in large tables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
          In MySQL, wildcards are used to match strings in a fuzzy manner. There are two commonly used wildcards. Percent sign (%): Represents zero or more arbitrary characters. Underscore (_): represents a single arbitrary character Wildcards are usually used together with the LIKE operator for conducting fuzzy searches in the WHERE clause, with the following syntax: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[766,8313,8314,4404,8312],"class_list":["post-6731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-database-queries","tag-mysql-pattern-matching","tag-mysql-search-techniques","tag-mysql-wildcards","tag-sql-like-operator"],"yoast_head":"\nMySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _ - Blog - Silicon Cloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog - Silicon Cloud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SiliCloudGlobal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SiliCloudGlobal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SiliCloudGlobal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Liam\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23786905eb7b377f45ddb01c17da7671\"},\"headline\":\"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\"},\"wordCount\":147,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Database Queries\",\"MySQL pattern matching\",\"MySQL search techniques\",\"MySQL wildcards\",\"SQL LIKE operator\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\",\"name\":\"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _ - Blog - Silicon Cloud\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Cloud Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silicon Cloud Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/EN-SILICON-Full.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/EN-SILICON-Full.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"Silicon Cloud Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SiliCloudGlobal\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SiliCloudGlobal\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23786905eb7b377f45ddb01c17da7671\",\"name\":\"Liam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d37ed3e7f770dde8bf069ba0b4298688028c3abaacf1131742fc1352d174ebd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d37ed3e7f770dde8bf069ba0b4298688028c3abaacf1131742fc1352d174ebd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Liam\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Wilson\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/author\/liamwilson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _ - Blog - Silicon Cloud","description":"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _","og_description":"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/","og_site_name":"Blog - Silicon Cloud","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SiliCloudGlobal\/","article_published_time":"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00","author":"Liam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SiliCloudGlobal","twitter_site":"@SiliCloudGlobal","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Liam","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/"},"author":{"name":"Liam","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23786905eb7b377f45ddb01c17da7671"},"headline":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _","datePublished":"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/"},"wordCount":147,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Database Queries","MySQL pattern matching","MySQL search techniques","MySQL wildcards","SQL LIKE operator"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/","url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/","name":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _ - Blog - Silicon Cloud","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-03-14T04:37:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-02T07:22:20+00:00","description":"Learn how to use MySQL wildcards (% and _) with the LIKE operator for powerful pattern matching in your SQL queries.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wildcards-in-mysql\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MySQL Wildcards: Using LIKE with % and _"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/","name":"Silicon Cloud Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Silicon Cloud Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/EN-SILICON-Full.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/EN-SILICON-Full.png","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"Silicon Cloud Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SiliCloudGlobal\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/SiliCloudGlobal"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23786905eb7b377f45ddb01c17da7671","name":"Liam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d37ed3e7f770dde8bf069ba0b4298688028c3abaacf1131742fc1352d174ebd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d37ed3e7f770dde8bf069ba0b4298688028c3abaacf1131742fc1352d174ebd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Liam"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Wilson"],"url":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/author\/liamwilson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151496,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6731\/revisions\/151496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.silicloud.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}