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MySQL LEFT() Function

❮ MySQL Functions

Example

Extract a substring from a string (starting from left):

SELECT LEFT("SQL Tutorial", 3) AS ExtractString;
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Definition and Usage

The LEFT() function extracts a substring from a string (starting from left).

Syntax

LEFT(string, number_of_chars)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
string Required. The string to extract from
number_of_chars Required. The number of characters to extract

Note

  • If number_of_chars exceeds the number of characters in string, the LEFT() function will return string

Technical Details

Works in: MySQL 5.7, MySQL 5.6, MySQL 5.5, MySQL 5.1, MySQL 5.0, MySQL 4.1, MySQL 4.0, MySQL 3.23

More Examples

Example

Extract a substring from the text in a column (starting from left):

SELECT LEFT(CustomerName, 5) AS ExtractString
FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself »

❮ MySQL Functions