> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://villagesql.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MySQL RIGHT JOIN > How a MySQL RIGHT JOIN keeps every row of the second table, why it is a LEFT JOIN with the tables swapped, and why most SQL is written with LEFT JOIN instead. All examples on this page work on VillageSQL. Install Now → `RIGHT JOIN` keeps every row of the table on the right, matched or not. It is the mirror image of [LEFT JOIN](/docs/tutorial/left-join) and it does nothing a `LEFT JOIN` cannot do, so this lesson is short. It exists because you will read it in other people's SQL. Open the client with `mysql -u root -p sakila` before you start. ## How RIGHT JOIN works ```sql theme={null} SELECT COLUMN_LIST FROM LEFT_TABLE RIGHT JOIN RIGHT_TABLE ON LEFT_TABLE.COLUMN_NAME = RIGHT_TABLE.COLUMN_NAME; ``` Replace `COLUMN_LIST` with the columns you want, `LEFT_TABLE` with the table you start from, `RIGHT_TABLE` with the table every row of which you want to keep, and each `COLUMN_NAME` with the column on that side that links them. A right row that matches nothing comes back with every column of the left table set to NULL. `RIGHT OUTER JOIN` is the same clause spelled out. ## Examples ### 1) Keep every row of the second table `film` is on the left and `language` on the right, so this keeps all 6 languages. ```sql theme={null} SELECT l.name, f.title FROM film AS f RIGHT JOIN language AS l ON f.language_id = l.language_id ORDER BY l.name, f.title; ``` ```text theme={null} +----------+-----------------------------+ | name | title | +----------+-----------------------------+ | English | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | | English | ACE GOLDFINGER | | English | ADAPTATION HOLES | ... +----------+-----------------------------+ 1005 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` 1,005 rows, the same count the `LEFT JOIN` lesson got from the same 2 tables in the other order. ### 2) List the rows that matched nothing The same pattern as a left join, with the NULL test on the left table now. ```sql theme={null} SELECT f.title, l.name FROM film AS f RIGHT JOIN language AS l ON f.language_id = l.language_id WHERE f.film_id IS NULL ORDER BY l.name; ``` ```text theme={null} +-------+----------+ | title | name | +-------+----------+ | NULL | French | | NULL | German | | NULL | Italian | | NULL | Japanese | | NULL | Mandarin | +-------+----------+ 5 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` The 5 languages no film is in. ## Every RIGHT JOIN can be written as a LEFT JOIN `a RIGHT JOIN b` returns the same rows as `b LEFT JOIN a`. Swap the 2 table names, swap the keyword, and the answer does not move. With `SELECT *` the columns come back in a different order, because `*` expands in the order the tables appear in `FROM`, so name your columns if the order matters. Most SQL you read is written with `LEFT JOIN` for that reason: a query is easier to follow when every join in it leans the same way. Everything else about it, including the `WHERE` trap, works exactly as the [LEFT JOIN](/docs/tutorial/left-join) lesson describes, with left and right exchanged. ## Summary * Use `RIGHT JOIN` to keep every row of the table named second. * Expect NULL in every left-hand column of a row that matched nothing. * Read `a RIGHT JOIN b` as `b LEFT JOIN a`, and name your columns rather than using `*`. * Prefer `LEFT JOIN` in SQL you write, so the joins in a query all lean the same way. ## See also * [LEFT JOIN](/docs/tutorial/left-join) — the same behavior, and the traps that come with it * [INNER JOIN](/docs/tutorial/inner-join) — the join that keeps only matches * [How joins work](/docs/tutorial/joins) — what separates the kinds of join * [MySQL JOIN performance and common mistakes](/docs/guides/joins) — why a reviewer asks you to rewrite it