Expression Syntax Elements

You can configure verbal expressions and custom placeholders using a shared set of expression syntax elements. These elements define how specific parts of a string should be matched, based on structure, character types, or formatting patterns.

Expression Elements

Use the elements below to configure verbal expressions and custom placeholders.

Element	Aliases	Description	Usage examples
start	startofline, start of line	mark expression with ^
end	end of, endofline	mark the expression with $
then	find	add a string to the expression	then "abc"
maybe		define a string that might appear once or not	maybe "abc"
word		match any word that contains characters from a-z, A-Z, 0-9, including the _ (underscore) character
anything		accept any string
range		add a range to the expression	range "a,z,0,9"
something		accept any non-empty string
anythingbut	anything but	accept any string but the specified character	anythingbut "abc"
anyof	any, any of	any of the listed characters	anyof "abc"
somethingbut	something but	anything non-empty except for these characters	somethingbut "abc"
limit		add character limit	limit "1,3"
linebreak	line break, br	match \r \n (might be used only with other elements)
tab		match tabs \t (might be used only with other elements)
multiple		adds the multiple modifier

Verbal Expressions

In the Editor, you can use verbal expressions in the Advanced Filter to search for strings that match specific patterns, similar to regular expressions. You can use it to filter strings based on patterns like punctuation, character types, length, and more.

For example, to find all strings that start with an uppercase letter and end with a period, use the following expression:

start "true", range "A,Z", anything, range "a,z,A,Z,0,9", limit "1,50", then ".", end "true"

This expression means:

• start "true" – the string begins at the start
• range "A,Z" – starts with a capital letter
• anything – followed by any characters
• range "a,z,A,Z,0,9" – allows letters and numbers
• limit "1,50" – string length between 1 and 50 characters
• then "." – ends with a period
• end "true" – end of the string

Verbal Tester Create, check and edit verbal expressions in Crowdin project with Verbal Tester application

Try Verbal Expressions GPT Helps with Verbal Expressions development in Crowdin.

Verbal Expression Examples

Below are several examples of verbal expressions along with the types of strings they help match in your project. These are useful when you want to filter strings with specific content or structure.

Note

All the examples below use the same argument delimiter "

Start with Uppercase and End with a Period

String example:

A test string.

Expression:

start "true", range "A,Z", anything, range "a,z,A,Z,0,9", limit "1,50", then ".", end "true"

Strings Containing URLs

String example:

Visit http://example.com or https://www.example.com

Expression:

then "http", maybe "s", then "://", maybe "www.", anythingbut " "

Strings with %s and %d Placeholders

String example:

Welcome, %s! You have %d new messages.

Expression:

then "%", anyof "s,d"

Strings with Variables in Double Curly Brackets

String example:

Hello, {{user.name}}!

Expression:

then "{{", range "a,z", multiple, then ".", range "a,z", multiple, then "}}"

Note

This expression matches variables like {{user.name}} where both parts contain only lowercase letters.

Strings with Variables in Double Curly Brackets (Including Uppercase Letters and Digits)

String example:

Hello, {{User123.name42}}!

Expression:

then "{{", range "a,z,A,Z,0,9", multiple, then ".", range "a,z,A,Z,0,9", multiple, then "}}"

Note

Use this version to match variables where names can contain uppercase letters or numbers.

Strings That Contain Floating Point Numbers

String example:

The result is 3.14159

Expression:

start, range "0,9", multiple, then ".", range "0,9", multiple, end

Strings That Start with Title Case (Two Capitalized Words)

String example:

Quick Access is available now.

Expression:

start, range "A,Z", range "a,z", multiple, then " ", range "A,Z", range "a,z", multiple

Strings with Trailing Whitespace

String example:

This is a sentence with trailing space

Expression:

start "true", range "A,Z", anything, range "a,z,A,Z,0,9", then " ", end "true"

Strings Starting with a Hash Symbol (e.g., Hashtags or Anchors)

String example:

#GettingStarted

Expression:

start "true", then "#", something, end "true"

Strings Containing HTML Tags

String example:

Click <strong>here</strong> to continue.

Expression:

then "<", something, then ">"

Strings Containing an Email Address Format

String example:

Please contact us at support@example.com

Expression:

then "@", somethingbut " "

Strings with Double Spaces (Possible Spacing Issue)

String example:

This  string has extra space.

Expression:

then "  "

Strings Ending with a Colon

String example:

Enter your name:

Expression:

then ":", end "true"

Strings with a Currency Symbol Followed by Digits

String example:

Total: $29.99

Expression:

then "$", range "0,9", multiple

Strings in camelCase Format

String example:

lowerUpper

Expression:

start, range "a,z", multiple, range "A,Z", range "a,z", multiple, end