# Referencing IRIs in queries
<a name="rdf-handling-iri-ref"></a>

 There are two ways to reference an IRI in an openCypher query: 
+  Wrap the full IRI inside `<` and `>` . Depending on where in the query this IRI is referenced, the IRI is then provided as a String, such as `"<http://example.com/Alice>"` (when the IRI is the value of property `~id`), or in backticks such as ``<http://example.com/Alice>`` (when the IRI is a label, or property key). 

  ```
  CREATE (:`<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person>` {`~id`: "<http://example.com/Alice>"})
  ```
+  Define a PREFIX at the start of the query, and inside the query reference an IRI using `prefix::suffix`. For example, after `PREFIX ex: <http://example.com/>` the reference `ex::Alice` also references the full IRI `<http://example.com/Alice>`. 

  ```
  PREFIX foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/>
  PREFIX ex: <http://example.com/>
  CREATE (: foaf::Person {`~id`: ex::Alice})
  ```

 Additional query examples below show the use of both full IRIs and the prefix syntax.