| Fluffy | Harold | cat | f | 1993-02-04 | NULL |
| Buffy | Harold | dog | f | 1989-05-13 | NULL |
+--------+--------+---------+------+------------+-------+
为了找出包含一个“w”的名字，使用“[wW]”匹配小写或大写的“w”：
mysql> SELECT * FROM pet WHERE name REGEXP "[wW]";
+----------+-------+---------+------+------------+------------+
| name | owner | species | sex | birth | death |
+----------+-------+---------+------+------------+------------+
| Claws | Gwen | cat | m | 1994-03-17 | NULL |
| Bowser | Diane | dog | m | 1989-08-31 | 1995-07-29 |
| Whistler | Gwen | bird | NULL | 1997-12-09 | NULL |
+----------+-------+---------+------+------------+------------+
既然如果一个正规表达式出现在值的任何地方，其模式匹配了，就不必再先前的查询中在模式的两方面放置一个通配符以使得它匹配整个值，
就像如果你使用了一个SQL模式那样。
为了找出包含正好5个字符的名字，使用“^”和“$”匹配名字的开始和结尾，和5个“.”实例在两者之间：
mysql> SELECT * FROM pet WHERE name REGEXP "^.....$";
+-------+--------+---------+------+------------+-------+
| name | owner | species | sex | birth | death |
+-------+--------+---------+------+------------+-------+
| Claws | Gwen | cat | m | 1994-03-17 | NULL |
| Buffy | Harold | dog | f | 1989-05-13 | NULL |
+-------+--------+---------+------+------------+-------+
你也可以使用“{n}”“重复n次”操作符重写先前的查询：
mysql> SELECT * FROM pet WHERE name REGEXP "^.{5}$";
+-------+--------+---------+------+------------+-------+
| name | owner | species | sex | birth | death |