MariaDB [(none)]> select db from mysql.db where db='test\\_%'; +---------+ | db | +---------+ | test\_% | +---------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec) MariaDB [(none)]> select db from mysql.db where db='test\_%'; +---------+ | db | +---------+ | test\_% | +---------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)