%hash = ( 1 => { 2 => { 3 => 1, 4 => 2, }, 3 => { 2 => 3, } } ); # Equivalent to ( 123 => 1, 124 => 2, 132 => 3 ) sub find_result { my $number = shift; my $position = 0; my $pointer = \%hash; while (defined(my $current = substr($number, $position++, 1))) { return $current unless ref($pointer->{$current}); $pointer = $pointer->{$current}; } return; }