hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · SemanticException

Trim character for trim() function must be single character,

Error message

Trim character for trim() function must be single character, found '{trimCharText}'

What it means

Error "Trim character for trim() function must be single character, found '{trimCharText}'" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/query/hql/internal/SemanticQueryBuilder.java:5568

	}

	@Override
	public SqmExpression<Character> visitTrimCharacter(HqlParser.TrimCharacterContext ctx) {
		final String trimCharText;
		if ( ctx == null ) {
			// JPA says space is the default
			trimCharText = " ";
		}
		else {
			final var parameter = ctx.parameter();
			if ( parameter != null ) {
				//noinspection unchecked
				return (SqmExpression<Character>) parameter.accept( this );
			}
			else {
				trimCharText = unquoteStringLiteral( ctx.getText() );
				if ( trimCharText.length() != 1 ) {
					throw new SemanticException( "Trim character for trim() function must be single character, found '"
							+ trimCharText + "'",
							query );
				}
			}
		}
		return new SqmLiteral<>(
				trimCharText.charAt( 0 ),
				nodeBuilder().getCharacterType(),
				nodeBuilder()
		);
	}

	@Override
	public SqmCollectionSize visitCollectionSizeFunction(HqlParser.CollectionSizeFunctionContext ctx) {
		return new SqmCollectionSize(
				consumeDomainPath( (HqlParser.PathContext) ctx.getChild( 2 ) ),
				nodeBuilder().getIntegerType(),
				nodeBuilder()

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. The trim character argument of trim() must be a single character. Pass a single-character string literal.

When it happens

Trigger: A multi-character literal is passed where a single character is required: Trim character for trim() function must be single character, found '<value>'

Common situations: Calling pad() or trim() in HQL with a pad/trim character literal longer than one character.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/df8c2a963df2579f. Report an issue: GitHub.