how to display first 5 character

[raven1001]

hi, I wonder how to display first 5 or 6 characters within one sentences or even one word.
For example

word1="1234odfke"
I just want to display 1234o instead of 12340dfke.

can any expert php user help me to solve this kind of problem?

Thanks!

[Anon]

check out substr()

http://php.net/substr

something like $newstr = substr($oldstr,0,5); should work