{"id":1887,"date":"2025-02-04T07:52:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T00:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/?page_id=1887"},"modified":"2025-02-04T07:55:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T00:55:48","slug":"postgresql-left","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/postgresql-string-functions\/postgresql-left\/","title":{"rendered":"PostgreSQL LEFT Function"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you&#8217;ll learn how to use the PostgreSQL <code>LEFT()<\/code> function to return the first n characters in a string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='introduction-to-the-postgresql-left-function'>Introduction to the PostgreSQL LEFT Function <a href=\"#introduction-to-the-postgresql-left-function\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"introduction-to-the-postgresql-left-function\" title=\"Anchor for Introduction to the PostgreSQL LEFT Function\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In PostgreSQL, the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function allows you to extract the first <code>n<\/code> characters from a string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the basic syntax of the <code>LEFT<\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-1\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\">LEFT(string, n)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-1\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The <code>LEFT()<\/code> function accepts two parameters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>string<\/code>: The input string from which you want to extract characters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>n<\/code>: The number of characters you want to extract from the input string. If <code>n<\/code> is negative, the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function returns all characters but the last <code>|n|<\/code> characters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"note\"><code>|n|<\/code> is the absolute value of <code>n<\/code>. For example if <code>n<\/code> is <code>-5<\/code>, the <code>|n|<\/code> will be <code>5<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>LEFT()<\/code> function returns a string containing first <code>n<\/code> characters of the input string. It returns <code>NULL<\/code> if the <code>string<\/code> or the <code>n<\/code> is <code>NULL<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='basic-postgresql-left-function-examples'>Basic PostgreSQL LEFT function examples <a href=\"#basic-postgresql-left-function-examples\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"basic-postgresql-left-function-examples\" title=\"Anchor for Basic PostgreSQL LEFT function examples\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following query uses the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function to return the first two characters from the string <code>\"pgtutorial.com\"<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-2\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  LEFT(<span class=\"hljs-string\">'pgtutorial.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-number\">2<\/span>) result;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-2\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIExFRlQoJ3BndHV0b3JpYWwuY29tJywgMikgcmVzdWx0Ow%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-3\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"> result\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">--------<\/span>\n pg<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-3\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The following query uses the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function with a negative n (<code>-4<\/code>) to return all characters of the string <code>\"pgtutorial.com\"<\/code> except the last four characters:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-4\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  LEFT(<span class=\"hljs-string\">'pgtutorial.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-number\">-4<\/span>) result;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-4\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIExFRlQoJ3BndHV0b3JpYWwuY29tJywgLTQpIHJlc3VsdDs%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-5\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\">   result\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">------------<\/span>\n pgtutorial<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-5\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The following query uses the LEFT() function with the NULL input string:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-6\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  LEFT(<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">NULL<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-number\">-1<\/span>) result;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-6\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIExFRlQoTlVMTCwgLTEpIHJlc3VsdDs%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-7\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"> result\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">--------<\/span>\n <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">NULL<\/span><\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-7\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='using-the-postgresql-left-function-with-table-data'>Using the PostgreSQL LEFT function with table data <a href=\"#using-the-postgresql-left-function-with-table-data\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"using-the-postgresql-left-function-with-table-data\" title=\"Anchor for Using the PostgreSQL LEFT function with table data\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll use the <code>categories<\/code> table from the <code>inventory<\/code> database:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"163\" height=\"116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/categories.png\" alt=\"PostgreSQL LEFT Function - categories table\" class=\"wp-image-1044\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The following statement uses the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function to return the first letters of category names:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-8\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  category_name,\n  LEFT(category_name, <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>) <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">AS<\/span> initial                   \n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span>\n  categories\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">ORDER<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span>\n  category_name;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-8\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIGNhdGVnb3J5X25hbWUsIExFRlQoY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZSwgMSkgQVMgaW5pdGlhbCBGUk9NIGNhdGVnb3JpZXMgT1JERVIgQlkgY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZTs%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-9\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\">   category_name    | initial\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">--------------------+---------<\/span>\n Accessories        | A\n Audio Systems      | A\n Computers          | C\n Desktops           | D\n Electronics        | E\n Home Entertainment | H\n Laptops            | L\n Mobile Devices     | M\n Smartphones        | S\n Tablets            | T\n Televisions        | T\n Wearables          | W<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-9\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='using-the-left-function-to-filter-data'>Using the LEFT function to filter data <a href=\"#using-the-left-function-to-filter-data\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"using-the-left-function-to-filter-data\" title=\"Anchor for Using the LEFT function to filter data\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following query uses the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function in the <code>WHERE<\/code> clause to find categories with the first character <code>A<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-10\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  category_name\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span>\n  categories\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">WHERE<\/span>\n  LEFT(category_name, <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>) = <span class=\"hljs-string\">'A'<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-10\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIGNhdGVnb3J5X25hbWUgRlJPTSBjYXRlZ29yaWVzIFdIRVJFIExFRlQoY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZSwgMSkgPSAnQSc7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-11\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"> category_name\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">---------------<\/span>\n Accessories\n Audio Systems<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-11\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='using-the-left-function-with-an-aggregate-function'>Using the LEFT function with an aggregate function <a href=\"#using-the-left-function-with-an-aggregate-function\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"using-the-left-function-with-an-aggregate-function\" title=\"Anchor for Using the LEFT function with an aggregate function\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following query uses the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function with the <code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/postgresql-aggregate-functions\/postgresql-count\/\">COUNT<\/a><\/code> aggregate function to group categories by their initials:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-12\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span>\n  LEFT(category_name, <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>) <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">AS<\/span> initial,\n  COUNT(category_name)\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span>\n  categories\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">GROUP<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span>\n  LEFT(category_name, <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>)\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">ORDER<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span>\n  initial;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-12\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/playground\/?q=U0VMRUNUIExFRlQoY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZSwgMSkgQVMgaW5pdGlhbCwgQ09VTlQoY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZSkgRlJPTSBjYXRlZ29yaWVzIEdST1VQIEJZIExFRlQoY2F0ZWdvcnlfbmFtZSwgMSkgT1JERVIgQlkgaW5pdGlhbDs%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-13\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"pgsql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-pgsql\"> initial | count\n<span class=\"hljs-comment\">---------+-------<\/span>\n A       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">2<\/span>\n C       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n D       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n E       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n H       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n L       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n M       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n S       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>\n T       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">2<\/span>\n W       |     <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span><\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-13\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PostgreSQL SQL dialect and PL\/pgSQL<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">pgsql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The query returns the first letter of each category and the number of categories for each letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='summary'>Summary <a href=\"#summary\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"summary\" title=\"Anchor for Summary\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the <code>LEFT()<\/code> function to extract the first <code>n<\/code> character from a string.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"helpful-block-content\" data-title=\"\">\n\t<header>\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-question\">Was this tutorial helpful ?<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-thumbs\">\n\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\tdata-post=\"1887\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/postgresql-string-functions\/postgresql-left\/\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-title=\"PostgreSQL LEFT Function\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-response=\"1\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"wth-btn-rounded wth-yes-btn\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<svg\n\t\t\t\t\txmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"\n\t\t\t\t\tviewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"\n\t\t\t\t\tfill=\"none\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke=\"currentColor\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-width=\"2\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linecap=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstroke-linejoin=\"round\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"feather feather-thumbs-up block w-full h-full\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<path\n\t\t\t\t\t\td=\"M14 9V5a3 3 0 0 0-3-3l-4 9v11h11.28a2 2 0 0 0 2-1.7l1.38-9a2 2 0 0 0-2-2.3zM7 22H4a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-7a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\"> Yes 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