korean-text-matcher 0.2.0
A Python package for phonetic Korean text matching with enhanced first-character weighting.
Requires Python: >=3.8
Keywords: korean, text matching, similarity, 한글, 유사도, phonetic

# korean-text-matcher

A Python package for phonetic Korean text matching with enhanced first-character weighting. This package provides a custom similarity ratio function (`korean_word_matching_ratio`) specifically designed for comparing Korean strings, especially useful for names, product names (like drug names), or any text where phonetic similarity and initial character importance are key.

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## Features

* **Korean Phonetic Decomposition**: Internally decomposes Korean characters into their initial, medial, and final consonants (초성, 중성, 종성) for more granular and phonetically aware similarity comparison.
* **Partial Ratio Calculation**: Utilizes `difflib.SequenceMatcher` to find the similarity of the most similar substring, making it robust for partial matches.
* **Enhanced First Character Weighting**: Applies a custom weight adjustment based on whether the first *meaningful* character (Korean, English, or number) of the original strings matches. This is particularly useful for distinguishing between similar-sounding but different entries.
* **Robust Handling**: Designed to safely process various inputs, including mixed Korean/English/numeric strings and edge cases like empty inputs or unusual characters.

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## Installation

You can install this package via pip (once it's uploaded to PyPI):

```bash
pip install korean-text-matcher

# Usage
from korean_text_matcher import korean_word_matching_ratio

#Example 1: Similar Korean words
score1 = korean_word_matching_ratio("안녕하세요", "안녕하세용")
print(f"Similarity ('안녕하세요' vs '안녕하세용'): {score1}")
# Expected output: High score (e.g., ~90s)

# Example 2: Drug names with mixed characters
score2 = korean_word_matching_ratio("에페른정50mg", "이페른정50mg")
print(f"Similarity ('에페른정50mg' vs '이페른정50mg'): {score2}")
# Expected output: High score due to phonetic similarity of '에'/'이' and exact match of '페른정50mg'

score3 = korean_word_matching_ratio("에페른정50mg", "아피토정40mg")
print(f"Similarity ('에페른정50mg' vs '아피토정40mg'): {score3}")
# Expected output: Lower score due to significant differences, and potentially -5 first char weight

#Example 3: Different first characters
score4 = korean_word_matching_ratio("사과", "바나나")
print(f"Similarity ('사과' vs '바나나'): {score4}")
# Expected output: Very low score (likely 0 due to -5 first char weight)

#Example 4: English and numbers
score5 = korean_word_matching_ratio("Cefaclor 250mg", "Cefaclor 500mg")
print(f"Similarity ('Cefaclor 250mg' vs 'Cefaclor 500mg'): {score5}")
# Expected output: High score (e.g., ~80-90s)
```

## Contribution

If you find any bugs or have suggestions for improvement, send e-mail to me

## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Kim Jeon-hee

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
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SOFTWARE.
If you find any bugs or have suggestions for improvement, please open an issue or submit a pull request on the GitHub repository.