df[df.columns[df.columns.str.contains(pat = 'WORDABC9')]] WORDABC9N123 WORDABC99N123 0 13 16 1 14 17 2 15 18 df[df.columns[df.columns.str.contains(pat = 'WORDABC9\\b')]] Empty DataFrame Columns: [] Index: [0, 1, 2]
df[df.columns[df.columns.str.contains(pat = 'WORDABC9')]] WORDABC9N123 WORDABC99N123 0 13 16 1 14 17 2 15 18 df[df.columns[df.columns.str.contains(pat = 'WORDABC9\\b')]] Empty DataFrame Columns: [] Index: [0, 1, 2]