> ## 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 table aliases > How to give a MySQL table a short name with AS, why a join needs qualified column names, and the 2 errors that tell you an alias is missing or wrong. All examples on this page work on VillageSQL. Install Now → A table alias is a short name for a table, for the length of 1 query. It saves typing in a join, and there are 2 situations where a query does not work without one. Open the client with `mysql -u root -p sakila` before you start. ## How a table alias works ```sql theme={null} SELECT ALIAS_NAME.COLUMN_NAME FROM TABLE_NAME AS ALIAS_NAME; ``` Replace `TABLE_NAME` with the table, `ALIAS_NAME` with the short name you want, and `COLUMN_NAME` with a column of that table. From that point on the alias is the name of the table in this query, and you write `ALIAS_NAME.COLUMN_NAME` to name a column in it. `AS` is optional here as it is with a column alias, so `FROM film f` means the same as `FROM film AS f`. Writing `AS` makes the intent plain. ## The same join, written both ways Without aliases, every qualified column carries the full table name. ```sql theme={null} SELECT film.title, language.name FROM film JOIN language ON film.language_id = language.language_id ORDER BY film.title LIMIT 3; ``` ```text theme={null} +------------------+---------+ | title | name | +------------------+---------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | English | | ACE GOLDFINGER | English | | ADAPTATION HOLES | English | +------------------+---------+ 3 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` With aliases, the same query is shorter and the shape is easier to see. ```sql theme={null} SELECT f.title, l.name FROM film AS f JOIN language AS l ON f.language_id = l.language_id ORDER BY f.title LIMIT 3; ``` ```text theme={null} +------------------+---------+ | title | name | +------------------+---------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | English | | ACE GOLDFINGER | English | | ADAPTATION HOLES | English | +------------------+---------+ 3 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` Identical rows. An alias changes nothing about the answer. ## A column that exists in both tables has to be qualified `film` and `language` both have a `language_id`. Naming it bare gives the server no way to choose. ```sql theme={null} SELECT language_id FROM film JOIN language ON film.language_id = language.language_id LIMIT 1; ``` ```text theme={null} ERROR 1052 (23000): Column 'language_id' in field list is ambiguous ``` `ERROR 1052` means the server found more than 1 thing the name could refer to. In a join that is nearly always a column 2 tables share, and qualifying it with the table or alias you meant fixes it. A column name that only 1 table has needs no qualification, which is why `title` and `name` work bare in the queries above. ## The alias replaces the table name Once a table has an alias, the original name is gone for the rest of the query. ```sql theme={null} SELECT film.title FROM film AS f JOIN language AS l ON f.language_id = l.language_id LIMIT 1; ``` ```text theme={null} ERROR 1054 (42S22): Unknown column 'film.title' in 'field list' ``` The table is still `film` in the database. Inside this query it answers to `f` and nothing else. `ERROR 1054` on a name you can see in the schema is usually this. ## The case that cannot be written without an alias A query that names the same table twice has 2 things called `actor` and no way to tell them apart. Aliases are what make that query possible, and the [Self join](/docs/tutorial/self-join) lesson is built on it. ## A table alias is not a column alias They use the same keyword and do different jobs. A column alias renames a column of the result and appears in the heading. A table alias renames a table inside the query and never appears in the output at all. See [Column aliases](/docs/tutorial/column-aliases) for the other one. ## Summary * Use `TABLE_NAME AS ALIAS_NAME` to give a table a short name for 1 query. * Qualify any column name that more than 1 table in the query has. * Read `ERROR 1052` in a join as a column name you need to qualify. * Suspect a forgotten alias when `ERROR 1054` names a column you know exists. * Expect an alias to change nothing about the result. ## See also * [How joins work](/docs/tutorial/joins) — where aliases start to pay off * [Column aliases](/docs/tutorial/column-aliases) — the other thing `AS` does * [Self join](/docs/tutorial/self-join) — the query that cannot be written without one * [MySQL JOIN performance and common mistakes](/docs/guides/joins) — the joins these aliases end up in