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title: LEFT
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canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/left.html
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  - Data 360 Query Guide
  - Data 360 Developer Documentation
---
# `LEFT`

**Applies to:** ✅ Data 360 SQL ✅ Tableau Hyper API

Returns the first _n_ characters from a string.

## Syntax

```sql
left(<string>, <n>)
```

## Arguments

### Required

- `<string>`: The source string.
- `<n>`: The number of characters to return. When negative, returns all but the last |_n_| characters.

## Returns

Returns a text value that contains the leftmost characters.

## Considerations

- When _n_ is negative, returns all but the last |_n_| characters.
- If _n_ exceeds string length, returns the entire string.

## Examples

### Get First Characters

Extract the first two characters.

```sql
SELECT left('abcde', 2) AS result;
```

Returns `'ab'`.

## Related Documentation

- [String Types](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/datatype/string.md)