## Syntax
```mermaid
%%{init: {
'theme': 'base',
'flowchart': { 'padding': '7', 'nodeSpacing': '20', 'rankSpacing': '20' },
'themeVariables': {
'fontSize': '11px',
'fontFamily': 'Arial'
}
}}%%
flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> METAPHONE3[METAPHONE3]:::quoted
METAPHONE3 --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `METAPHONE3` SQL function converts a value to the Metaphone 3 code, the third generation of the Metaphone algorithm as defined on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphone).
See also [[METAPHONE]], [[METAPHONE3_ALT]], [[DMETAPHONE]] and [[SOUNDEX]].
Parameters:
- Input (`varchar2`): value to convert to the Metaphone 3 code.
Returns: the Metaphone 3 code of the input as `varchar2`.
## Examples
The following example retrieves the Metaphone 3 code of `Stephen`:
```sql
select metaphone3('Stephen')
-------------------
STAVAN
```
The following example retrieves the Metaphone 3 code of `Alfred Johnson`:
```sql
select metaphone3('Alfred Johnson')
-------------------
ALFRADJA
```