my %dbhash = ( name => 'revdiablo', prize => 'pony', ); my $template = 'Hello $dbhash{name}, you won a $dbhash{prize}.'; #$template =~ s/\$dbhash{([^}]+)}/$dbhash{$1}/ge; # unnecessary $template =~ s/\$dbhash{([^}]+)}/$dbhash{$1}/g; print "$template\n";