Match Phrase vs Query String: Understanding the Differences

Match phrase and query string are two types of queries used in Elasticsearch to retrieve relevant information from an index. Both queries are used to search for specific terms or phrases in the indexed data, but they differ in their approach and functionality.

Match phrase query is used to search for exact phrases in the indexed data. It analyzes the text and creates a phrase query out of the analyzed text. This query matches terms up to a configurable slop in any order, allowing for transposed terms with a slop of 2. It is useful when you want to search for a specific phrase in the indexed data and get accurate results.

Query string query, on the other hand, is a more flexible query that supports complex search scenarios. It supports multi-term synonym expansion with the synonym_graph token filter and can create a phrase query for each multi-term synonym. This query is useful when you want to search for a specific term or phrase in the indexed data, but also want to include additional search criteria, such as fuzzy matching or wildcard searches. Overall, understanding the differences between match phrase and query string queries can help you make more accurate and efficient searches in Elasticsearch.

Match Phrase vs Query String

When it comes to searching for data in Elasticsearch, there are several query types to choose from. Two popular query types are Match Phrase and Query String. While they may seem similar, there are some key differences between the two.

Match Phrase

The Match Phrase query looks for the existence of a sequence of tokens (a phrase) in the field. This query type is useful when you want to find exact matches for a specific phrase. By default, the analyzer will remove stop words and perform stemming on the query terms. This means that the query will match documents that contain the exact phrase, even if the words are in a different order or have different endings.

Query String

The Query String query, on the other hand, is a more powerful and flexible query type. It allows you to search for text using a query string syntax. This means that you can use wildcards, fuzzy matching, and other advanced search features. The Query String query is useful when you want to search across multiple fields or when you want to use more complex search logic.

One important thing to note is that the Query String query is not analyzed by default. This means that you need to specify the analyzer to use for the query terms. If you don’t specify an analyzer, Elasticsearch will use the default analyzer for the field.

Difference

The main difference between Match Phrase and Query String is that Match Phrase looks for exact matches for a specific phrase, while Query String allows for more advanced search features and is not limited to exact matches. Match Phrase is useful when you want to find exact matches for a specific phrase, while Query String is useful when you want to search across multiple fields or when you want to use more complex search logic.

In summary, Match Phrase and Query String are two powerful query types in Elasticsearch. While they may seem similar, they have distinct differences that make them useful for different use cases. Whether you need to find exact matches for a specific phrase or use more advanced search features, Elasticsearch has a query type that can help you get the results you need.

Match Phrase

Definition

The match_phrase query is used to search for documents that contain an exact sequence of terms in a specific field. It differs from the match query in that it requires the terms to appear in the specified order and adjacent to each other.

Use Cases

The match_phrase query is particularly useful when searching for exact phrases, such as book titles or product names. It can also be used to search for phrases that are likely to occur together, such as “New York City” or “machine learning”.

Parameters

The match_phrase query accepts several parameters that allow you to customize the search behavior:

Parameter	Description
slop	Defines how many positions apart the terms can be and still match. Default is 0.
boost	Increases the score of documents that match the query.
analyzer	Specifies which analyzer to use for analyzing the query string.
zero_terms_query	Determines what to do when there are no terms in the query string.
fuzzy_transpositions	Indicates whether to allow transposed terms in fuzzy matching.
memory	Controls how much memory is used for analyzing the query string.

Example

Here is an example of a match_phrase query that searches for the phrase “New York City” in the location field:

{
  "match_phrase": {
    "location": {
      "query": "New York City",
      "slop": 1
    }
  }
}

In this example, the slop parameter is set to 1, which means that the terms can be one position apart and still match.

Query String

Definition

Query String is a type of query that allows for complex search queries with support for wildcards, fuzzy matching, and boolean operators. It is a full-text search that can be used to search for analyzed text, searched tokens, texts, and numbers. Query String is a standard query in Elasticsearch that can be used to search multiple fields in a document.

Use Cases

Query String is useful when searching for specific terms within a large dataset. It is particularly useful when searching for terms with complex syntax, such as special characters or boolean operators. Query String can also be used when searching for terms within a specific range or when searching for terms with a specific prefix.

Parameters

Query String supports a variety of parameters that can be used to customize the search. Some of the most commonly used parameters include:

• Wildcards: Query String supports the use of wildcards, such as the * character, to match multiple terms.
• Fuzziness: Query String supports fuzzy matching, which allows for matches with similar terms.
• Minimum_should_match: This parameter sets the minimum number of terms that must match in a query.
• Boolean Operator: Query String supports boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT.
• Default_field: This parameter sets the default field to search if no field is specified.
• Auto_generate_synonyms_phrase_query: This parameter generates synonyms for a given query.
• Lenient: This parameter allows for lenient parsing of queries.
• Multi-match: This parameter searches multiple fields for a given query.
• Full-text queries: Query String supports full-text queries, which search for terms within the full text of a document.
• Fuzzy matching: Query String supports fuzzy matching, which matches similar terms.
• Analyzed text: Query String searches for analyzed text, which is text that has been processed by an analyzer.
• Text analysis: Query String supports text analysis, which is the process of breaking down text into searchable tokens.
• Searched tokens: Query String searches for tokens, which are the individual words or phrases in a document.
• Numbers: Query String searches for numbers within a document.
• Standard query: Query String is a standard query in Elasticsearch.
• Max_expansions: This parameter sets the maximum number of terms that can be matched in a query.
• Prefix_length: This parameter sets the minimum length of a prefix that can be matched in a query.
• Wildcard characters: Query String supports the use of wildcard characters such as * and ?.
• Phrase_prefix type: This parameter searches for phrases with a specific prefix.
• Full-text search: Query String supports full-text search, which searches for terms within the full text of a document.
• Special characters: Query String supports special characters such as + and -.
• Boolean operators: Query String supports boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT.
• Fuzzy search: Query String supports fuzzy search, which matches similar terms.
• Relevance scoring: Query String uses relevance scoring to rank search results.
• Query syntax: Query String has its own query syntax for constructing complex search queries.
• Full text search: Query String is a full-text search that can be used to search for analyzed text, searched tokens, texts, and numbers.
• Language analyzers: Query String supports language analyzers, which are used to analyze text in different languages.
• Query String query: Query String is a type of query in Elasticsearch that can be used to search multiple fields in a document.
• Range query: Query String supports range queries, which search for terms within a specific range.