Formulas for

Phonetic Codes

Text Processing1 credit/cellSheets · Excel
=VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex")

Encode words phonetically by the row. Returns Soundex and Metaphone codes for each cell — Sheets or Excel.

It's one of 250+ live sources you reach with a single =VERVE() function — served from APIVerve's production data engine, billed at 1 credit per resolved cell, and refreshed on whatever cadence you set. No API keys to wrangle, no scripts, no exports.

A real example — the input you type, and the values you can pull from it. Click any cell to see the formula behind it.

phonetic.xlsxsample data
B2fx=VERVE("phonetic", A2, "field", "soundex")
A
B
C
1
Word
Soundex
Metaphone
2
smith
S530
SM0
3
4
click any cell to see its formula1 credit / cell

Clean a column of text

Fill =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex") beside messy text and get the normalized, analyzed, or translated version back — data cleaning without leaving the grid.

Analyze at scale

Score or classify a whole column of responses, reviews, or messages in one fill instead of one-by-one.

Compose with other formulas

Nest Phonetic Codes's output inside your existing SUM, IF, or CONCAT logic like any other cell value.

The same function works in both apps — install once, sign in with your key, and type it into any cell.

Google SheetsAdd-on

Install from the Workspace Marketplace, then drop the formula into a cell. Autocomplete suggests the source and its fields.

=VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex")
Microsoft ExcelAdd-in

Same source, same arguments, same key — in Excel on desktop, the web, or mobile. Excel namespaces it as VERVE.CALL. Drag to fill a whole column.

=VERVE.CALL("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex")

Tune the result by adding name=value before the field argument — in any order. Leave one out and its default applies.

  • algorithm

    Algorithm to use

    =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "algorithm", "both")

Add a field name as the last argument to land just that value in the cell.

  • Soundex
    =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex")
  • Metaphone
    =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "metaphone")
  • Word
    =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "word")

Phonetic Codes, answered

Everything you need to wire it into a sheet.

How do I pull Phonetic Codes into Google Sheets?
Install the VerveSheets add-on, sign in once with your key, and type =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "field", "soundex") into any cell. The "field" argument names the value you want back, so the cell resolves to a single number or string you can chart, sort, or feed into another formula.
What data can I pull from Phonetic Codes?
Phonetic Codes returns soundex, metaphone and word — name any one of them as the "field" argument and that value lands in the cell. Leave the field out and the whole record spills into a two-column table instead.
Can I narrow what Phonetic Codes returns?
Yes — Phonetic Codes takes "algorithm" as optional inputs. They go in as "name", value pairs after the required ones, in any order, so =VERVE("phonetic", "smith", "algorithm", "both") shapes the result without changing anything else.
Can I fill a whole column of Phonetic Codes at once?
Yes. Put your word values down a column and point the formula at the range — A2:A50 instead of A2 — and one call returns a value for every row. Dragging the formula down works too, but the range form is a single billed call per column rather than one per cell.
How many credits does each Phonetic Codes cell cost?
Each resolved cell costs 1 credit. A cell only re-bills when it actually refreshes, so a sheet you aren't touching doesn't keep charging.
Does Phonetic Codes work in Excel as well as Google Sheets?
Yes — same arguments, same key, same fields. Excel namespaces custom functions, so the call is =VERVE.CALL() there and =VERVE() in Google Sheets; nothing else about it changes.

Put Phonetic Codes in your next spreadsheet. Add the extension, paste the formula, and the cell keeps itself current.

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