---
title: Stop token filter
description: Removes stop words from a token stream. When not customized, the filter removes the following English stop words by default: a, an, and, are, as, at,...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/text-analysis/analysis-stop-tokenfilter
products:
  - Elasticsearch
---

# Stop token filter
Removes [stop words](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_words) from a token stream.
When not customized, the filter removes the following English stop words by default:
`a`, `an`, `and`, `are`, `as`, `at`, `be`, `but`, `by`, `for`, `if`, `in`, `into`, `is`, `it`, `no`, `not`, `of`, `on`, `or`, `such`, `that`, `the`, `their`, `then`, `there`, `these`, `they`, `this`, `to`, `was`, `will`, `with`
In addition to English, the `stop` filter supports predefined [stop word lists for several languages](#analysis-stop-tokenfilter-stop-words-by-lang). You can also specify your own stop words as an array or file.
The `stop` filter uses Lucene’s [StopFilter](https://lucene.apache.org/core/10_0_0/analysis/common/org/apache/lucene/analysis/core/StopFilter.md).

## Example

The following analyze API request uses the `stop` filter to remove the stop words `a` and `the` from `a quick fox jumps over the lazy dog`:
```json

{
  "tokenizer": "standard",
  "filter": [ "stop" ],
  "text": "a quick fox jumps over the lazy dog"
}
```

The filter produces the following tokens:
```text
[ quick, fox, jumps, over, lazy, dog ]
```


## Add to an analyzer

The following [create index API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-indices-create) request uses the `stop` filter to configure a new [custom analyzer](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/manage-data/data-store/text-analysis/create-custom-analyzer).
```json

{
  "settings": {
    "analysis": {
      "analyzer": {
        "my_analyzer": {
          "tokenizer": "whitespace",
          "filter": [ "stop" ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```


## Configurable parameters

<definitions>
  <definition term="stopwords">
    (Optional, string or array of strings) Language value, such as `_arabic_` or `_thai_`. Defaults to [`_english_`](#english-stop-words).
  </definition>
</definitions>

Each language value corresponds to a predefined list of stop words in Lucene. See [Stop words by language](#analysis-stop-tokenfilter-stop-words-by-lang) for supported language values and their stop words.
Also accepts an array of stop words.
For an empty list of stop words, use `_none_`.
<definitions>
  <definition term="stopwords_path">
    (Optional, string) Path to a file that contains a list of stop words to remove.
  </definition>
</definitions>

This path must be absolute or relative to the `config` location, and the file must be UTF-8 encoded. Each stop word in the file must be separated by a line break.
<definitions>
  <definition term="ignore_case">
    (Optional, Boolean) If `true`, stop word matching is case insensitive. For example, if `true`, a stop word of `the` matches and removes `The`, `THE`, or `the`. Defaults to `false`.
  </definition>
  <definition term="remove_trailing">
    (Optional, Boolean) If `true`, the last token of a stream is removed if it’s a stop word. Defaults to `true`.
  </definition>
</definitions>

This parameter should be `false` when using the filter with a completion suggester. This would ensure a query like `green a` matches and suggests `green apple` while still removing other stop words. For more information about completion suggesters, refer to [Suggester examples](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/elasticsearch/rest-apis/search-suggesters)

## Customize

To customize the `stop` filter, duplicate it to create the basis for a new custom token filter. You can modify the filter using its configurable parameters.
For example, the following request creates a custom case-insensitive `stop` filter that removes stop words from the [`_english_`](#english-stop-words) stop words list:
```json

{
  "settings": {
    "analysis": {
      "analyzer": {
        "default": {
          "tokenizer": "whitespace",
          "filter": [ "my_custom_stop_words_filter" ]
        }
      },
      "filter": {
        "my_custom_stop_words_filter": {
          "type": "stop",
          "ignore_case": true
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

You can also specify your own list of stop words. For example, the following request creates a custom case-insensitive `stop` filter that removes only the stop words `and`, `is`, and `the`:
```json

{
  "settings": {
    "analysis": {
      "analyzer": {
        "default": {
          "tokenizer": "whitespace",
          "filter": [ "my_custom_stop_words_filter" ]
        }
      },
      "filter": {
        "my_custom_stop_words_filter": {
          "type": "stop",
          "ignore_case": true,
          "stopwords": [ "and", "is", "the" ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```


## Stop words by language

The following list contains supported language values for the `stopwords` parameter and a link to their predefined stop words in Lucene.

<definitions>
  <definition term="_arabic_">
    [Arabic stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/ar/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_armenian_">
    [Armenian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/hy/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_basque_">
    [Basque stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/eu/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_bengali_">
    [Bengali stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/bn/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_brazilian_ (Brazilian Portuguese)">
    [Brazilian Portuguese stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/br/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_bulgarian_">
    [Bulgarian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/bg/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_catalan_">
    [Catalan stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/ca/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_cjk_ (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean)">
    [CJK stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/cjk/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_czech_">
    [Czech stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/cz/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_danish_">
    [Danish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/danish_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_dutch_">
    [Dutch stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/dutch_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_english_">
    [English stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/java/org/apache/lucene/analysis/en/EnglishAnalyzer.java#L48)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_estonian_">
    [Estonian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/et/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_finnish_">
    [Finnish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/finnish_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_french_">
    [French stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/french_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_galician_">
    [Galician stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/gl/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_german_">
    [German stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/german_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_greek_">
    [Greek stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/el/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_hindi_">
    [Hindi stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/hi/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_hungarian_">
    [Hungarian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/hungarian_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_indonesian_">
    [Indonesian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/id/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_irish_">
    [Irish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/ga/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_italian_">
    [Italian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/italian_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_latvian_">
    [Latvian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/lv/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_lithuanian_">
    [Lithuanian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/lt/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_norwegian_">
    [Norwegian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/norwegian_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_persian_">
    [Persian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/fa/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_portuguese_">
    [Portuguese stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/portuguese_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_romanian_">
    [Romanian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/ro/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_russian_">
    [Russian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/russian_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_serbian_">
    [Serbian stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/sr/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_sorani_">
    [Sorani stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/ckb/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_spanish_">
    [Spanish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/spanish_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_swedish_">
    [Swedish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/snowball/swedish_stop.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_thai_">
    [Thai stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/th/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>


<definitions>
  <definition term="_turkish_">
    [Turkish stop words](https://github.com/apache/lucene/blob/main/lucene/analysis/common/src/resources/org/apache/lucene/analysis/tr/stopwords.txt)
  </definition>
</definitions>