do it with matchend(): :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]') :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]') Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches. The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for |match()|. :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2) results in "7". :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5) result is "-1". When {expr} is a |List| the result is equal to |match()|. Can also be used as a |method|: GetText()->matchend('word')