Fuzzy

1.2.2 · active · verified Fri Apr 17

Fuzzy is a Python library providing fast implementations of phonetic algorithms such as Soundex, NYSIIS, Metaphone, and Double Metaphone. It is currently at version 1.2.2. Its release cadence is generally infrequent, focusing on stability and bug fixes for its core set of algorithms.

Common errors

```
TypeError: expected string or bytes-like object
```
cause Attempting to pass a non-string value (like None, int, or float) to a phonetic algorithm function.

fix Convert the input to a string before passing it to the fuzzy function, e.g., `fuzzy.soundex(str(value))`.
```
AttributeError: module 'fuzzy' has no attribute 'unknown_function'
```
cause Attempting to call a phonetic algorithm function that does not exist or is misspelled within the `fuzzy` module.

fix Verify the function name against the library's documentation. The main functions are `soundex`, `nysiis`, `metaphone`, and `dm_metaphone`.

Warnings

gotcha The `dm_metaphone` (Double Metaphone) function returns a tuple of two phonetic codes (or one code and None), unlike other algorithms which return a single string.
Fix: Always unpack or index the result of `dm_metaphone`, e.g., `code1, code2 = fuzzy.dm_metaphone('example')`.
gotcha All phonetic algorithm functions strictly expect string inputs. Passing `None`, integers, or other non-string types will result in a `TypeError`.
Fix: Ensure inputs are cast to strings, e.g., `fuzzy.soundex(str(my_number))` or handle potential `None` values before calling the functions.

Install

pip install fuzzy Install latest version

Imports

soundex
wrong:
```
from fuzzy import soundex
```
correct:
```
import fuzzy
fuzzy.soundex('example')
```
While direct import may work in some environments, the official and most robust way to access algorithms is via the fuzzy module object.
nysiis
```
import fuzzy
fuzzy.nysiis('example')
```
Access phonetic algorithms directly from the fuzzy module.
metaphone
```
import fuzzy
fuzzy.metaphone('example')
```
Access phonetic algorithms directly from the fuzzy module.
dm_metaphone
```
import fuzzy
fuzzy.dm_metaphone('example')
```
Access phonetic algorithms directly from the fuzzy module. Note that dm_metaphone returns a tuple.

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to import the fuzzy library and apply its main phonetic algorithms (Soundex, NYSIIS, Metaphone, Double Metaphone) to a given word, printing the resulting codes.

import fuzzy

word = 'Washington'
soundex_code = fuzzy.soundex(word)
nysiis_code = fuzzy.nysiis(word)
metaphone_code = fuzzy.metaphone(word)
dm_metaphone_code = fuzzy.dm_metaphone(word)

print(f"Original: {word}")
print(f"Soundex: {soundex_code}")
print(f"NYSIIS: {nysiis_code}")
print(f"Metaphone: {metaphone_code}")
print(f"Double Metaphone: {dm_metaphone_code}")

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