PHP 8 reference · String Functions

PHP soundex() Function

Return a four-character code for how an English word sounds, so names like Robert and Rupert can be matched.

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Syntax

soundex(string $string): string

Parameter	Description
`string`	The input string.

A key such as R163, or "" for an empty string.

Similar-sounding namesTry it yourself

<?php
echo soundex("Robert"), " ", soundex("Rupert"), "\n";
echo soundex("Smith"), " ", soundex("Smyth"), "\n";

Output

R163 R163
S530 S530

The first letter must matchTry it yourself

<?php
var_dump(soundex("Catherine") === soundex("Kathryn"));

Output

bool(false)

Version	Change
PHP 4.0	Added

levenshtein() · Calculate the edit distance between two strings: the fewest insertions, deletions and replacements to turn one into the other.
similar_text() · Calculate how similar two strings are, as a count of matching characters and optionally as a percentage.
PHP Strings · tutorial