Java - remove prefix from string

In this article, we would like to show you how to remove prefix from string in Java.

Quick solution:

String text = "ABCD";

// replace "AB" only if it is at the beginning
String result1 = text.replaceAll("^AB","");

// remove the first two characters
String result2 = text.substring(2);


System.out.println(result1);  // CD
System.out.println(result2);  // CD

Practical examples

1. String replaceAll() with regex

In this example, we use replaceAll() method with regex to replace the first two letters (AB) with an empty string.

public class Example {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String text = "ABCD";

        // replace the AB only at the beginning of the string
        String result = text.replaceAll("^AB", "");

        System.out.println(result);  // CD
    }
}

2. String substring()

In this example, we use substring() method to remove first two letters from the text.

public class Example {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String text = "ABCD";

        // remove the first two characters
        String result = text.substring(2);

        System.out.println(result);  // CD
    }
}