$_ = "X1aaX2bbX3heeX4...X5loveU" ; @match = /X\d.+?/g; print "String: " . $_; foreach $word (@match){ print "\n$word"; } #### X1aaX2bbX3heeX4...X5loveU X1a X2b X3h X4. X5l #### X1aaX2bbX3heeX4...X5loveU X1aa X2bb X3hee X4... X5loveU