#!/usr/bin/env perl use strict; use warnings; my @array = qw(dog cat sheep dog dog cat); my ( $temp, $count ) = ( "@array", 0 ); ( $count = $temp =~ s/($_)//g ) and printf "%2d:%s\n", $count, $_ for @array; __END__ karls-mac-mini:monks karl$ ./1138451.pl 3:dog 2:cat 1:sheep