📘 Cypher (CQL) MATCH Query –
Beginner-Friendly Cheat Sheet
🚀 What is Cypher MATCH?
Cypher is the query language used in Neo4j (a graph database).
The MATCH keyword is used to find patterns in your graph: nodes, relationships, and how they
are connected.
🧱 Graph Elements
🔹 Nodes
● Entities in your graph (e.g., Person, Concept, Document)
Syntax:
cypher
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(variable:Label {propertyKey: value})
Example:
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(scientist:Person {id: "Albert Einstein"})
●
🔹 Relationships
● Connections between nodes.
Syntax:
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(a)-[:RELATION_TYPE]->(b)
●
○ : defines the relationship type
○ Arrows indicate direction
🔄 Arrow Directions
Syntax Meaning
(a)-[:REL]-> a points to b (outgoing)
(b)
(a)<-[:REL]- b points to a (incoming)
(b)
(a)-[:REL]-( direction doesn't matter
b) (any)
🔍 Interpreting Your Query
Your full Cypher query:
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MATCH (relativity:Concept {id: "Theory Of Relativity"})
<-[:KNOWN_FOR]- (scientist:Person)
RETURN scientist
🔹 Line-by-line breakdown:
1. MATCH
Start a pattern search in the graph.
2. (relativity:Concept {id: "Theory Of Relativity"})
○ Look for a node:
■ Labeled Concept
■ With id = "Theory Of Relativity"
○ Assign it to variable relativity
3. <-[:KNOWN_FOR]-
○ Find all incoming relationships of type KNOWN_FOR
○ These point from a person to the concept.
4. (scientist:Person)
○ The other node in this relationship
○ Labeled Person
○ Assign it to variable scientist
5. RETURN scientist
○ Return all matched people who are known for the Theory of Relativity
🔧 Common Syntax Structure
✅ Correct:
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(variableName:Label {propertyKey: value})
e.g.:
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(scientist:Person {id: "Einstein"})
❌ Incorrect:
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(Label:variableName) ← Wrong order
e.g.:
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❌ Invalid
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(Person:scientist) ←
🧪 Bonus Example
To find all documents that mention the scientist:
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MATCH
(doc:Document)-[:MENTIONS]->(scientist:Person)-[:KNOWN_FOR]->(concept:
Concept {id: "Theory Of Relativity"})
RETURN doc.source, scientist.id
🧠 TL;DR Summary
● MATCH = search pattern
● (variable:Label) = node
● [:RELATION] = relationship
● -> / <- = relationship direction
● RETURN = return matched items
● Node variable name goes before label: scientist:Person, not Person:scientist
