{"id":110030,"date":"2020-03-04T11:42:08","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T11:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.finxter.com\/?p=6547"},"modified":"2020-03-04T11:42:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T11:42:08","slug":"how-to-match-an-exact-word-in-python-regex-answer-dont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/03\/04\/how-to-match-an-exact-word-in-python-regex-answer-dont\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Match an Exact Word in Python Regex? (Answer: Don\u2019t)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning, I read over an actual Quora<\/a> thread with this precise question. While there’s no dumb question, the question reveals that there may be some gap in understanding the basics in Python and Python’s regular expression library<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So if you’re an impatient person, here’s the short answer:<\/p>\n

How to match an exact word\/string using a regular expression in Python?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You don’t! Well, you can do it by using the straightforward regex 'hello'<\/code> to match it in 'hello world'<\/code>. But there’s no need to use an expensive and less readable regex to match an exact substring in a given string. Instead, simply use the pure Python expression 'hello'<\/code> in 'hello world'<\/code>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

So far so good. But let’s dive into some more specific questions—because you may not exactly have looked for this simplistic answer. In fact, there are multiple ways of understanding your question and I have tried to find all interpretations and answered them one by one:<\/p>\n

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