Labels and property maps

A node or edge can have several labels. Patterns support conjunction (&), alternative (|), negation (!) and wildcard (%) label expressions. Each stored fragment has one label set. A pattern reads only fragments that can satisfy that set, so another type’s columns are not scanned and do not change the property types of this match.

MATCH (p:Person & !Admin {name: 'Alice'})
RETURN p.name AS name;

A property map matches specified values. Inline WHERE allows more general supported expressions:

MATCH (p:Person WHERE p.age >= 30)
RETURN p.name AS name ORDER BY name;

A missing property is read as a typed null when layouts are combined. It does not equal an ordinary value. PROPERTY_EXISTS distinguishes a non-null property from a missing or null one.

INSERT labels have a narrower meaning: creation needs concrete labels, so only names joined by & are accepted. A pattern expression such as Person | Company cannot tell INSERT which label to create.