MySQL - soundex usage example

In this short article, we would like to show how to use Soundex algorithm in MySQL.

Soundex is implemented by default in MySQL by SOUNDEX() function.

Practical example:

SELECT 
	SOUNDEX('Robert'),    -- R163
	SOUNDEX('Rupert'),    -- R163
	SOUNDEX('Rubin'),     -- R150
	SOUNDEX('Ashcraft'),  -- A2613 (not A226)
	SOUNDEX('Ashcroft'),  -- A2613 (not A226)
	SOUNDEX('Tymczak'),   -- T520  (not T522)
	SOUNDEX('Pfister'),   -- P236
	SOUNDEX('Honeyman');  -- H500  (not H555)

Warning: MySQL modifies Soundex algorithm a little to own way.

Output:

R163
R163
R150
A2613
A2613
T520
P236
H500

More complicated example

The below example shows how to group similar words/keywords with SOUNDEX().

SELECT COUNT(`id`) as `group_size`
FROM `keywords`
GROUP BY SOUNDEX(`keyword`)

SELECT COUNT(`id`) as `group_size`
FROM `keywords`
GROUP BY `keyword`