Excel LEFT Function: the first few characters of a cell

LEFT takes characters from the start of a cell. State code from “MH-Pune”, area code from a phone number, year from “2026-09”.

The formula

=LEFT(text, how_many)

Steps

1. Codes like MH-Pune in column A.
2. Click B1. Type =LEFT(A1, 2). Enter. Drag down.

Result: MH.

Everything before the dash (any length)

=LEFT(A1, FIND("-", A1) - 1)

FIND gives the dash’s position; minus 1 stops just before it. Use " " for a space.

First word of a sentence

=LEFT(A1, FIND(" ", A1 & " ") - 1)

The & " " adds a space so single-word cells do not error.

The result is text

=LEFT("2026-09", 4) gives “2026” as text. For maths: =VALUE(LEFT(A1, 4)).

The other end

=RIGHT(A1, 4) takes the last 4. MID takes from the middle.

Check it worked

Try a cell with no dash. The FIND version shows #VALUE! — wrap it: =IFERROR(LEFT(A1, FIND("-",A1)-1), A1).