The basic search function searches in all term fields (terms, synonyms, deprecated terms and search terms). TEPA displays all such terminological entries where an exact match is found. Note that entries may have hidden search terms that are not visible to the user.
TEPA also shows a list of terms whose beginning is similar to the search term. Accordingly, the search term phone will suggest e.g. terms phone call and phone card. In the match list, each term is a link: click a term to see the corresponding terminological entry. To find a term that ends with a certain string, use the *-search. For further tips on search options, see the end of this page.
The terminological resources contained in TEPA have been arranged into categories based on their type or source. If you wish, you can limit your search into certain categories. The resources belonging to each of the search categories are listed on the Homepage, and background information on the different resources can also be found there (only in Finnish and Swedish).
On the Settings -> Source and target languages you can define the languages you want to use in search. If you select certain source languages, the search only takes place among the term fields in these languages. If you select certain target languages, information in other target languages is hidden in your search results. Note, however, that search results may also include such entries that do not have information in all selected target languages. The language settings stay in your browser's memory. If a part of the search results is hidden because of the language settings made, the warning "Filter in use" is displayed on the search result page. You can see the information in the hidden languages by clicking "Show hidden languages".
Type the search word
TEPA's search features also include wild card searches. You can use the following wild cards:
| ? | = any character (for example, if you enter vitamin ? in the search field, the search returns vitamin A and vitamin C) |
| * | = any string (for example, if you enter computer*, the search returns all terms that begin with computer) |
| [] | = set of characters (for example, if you enter [0-9]*, the search returns all terms that begin with a digit) |
| [!] | = negation (for example, if you enter network*[!ing], the search returns all terms that begin with network but do not end with -ing) |
| @ | = repeat previous at least once (for example, if you enter M@, the search returns the terms M, MM and MMM) |
| + | = repeat previous (for example, if you enter F+, the search returns the term FF) |
| \ | = treat a wild card as a regular character (for example, if you enter [0-9]\+, the search returns terms such as 2+ and 4+ because the plus sign (+) is not treated as a wild card) |
Wild cards can also be combined. The search word [0-9]@-de[ck]* looks up all words which begin with a digit followed by - and the letters dec or dek, for example 1-decene.