# Accessing ARRAY elements in BigQuery


So here's 3 ways we can access elements in a BigQuery array.

\- by index: array\[index\], starting at 0  
\- using OFFSET(index): array\[OFFSET(index)\], also starting at 0  
\- using ORDINAL(1-based index)), starting at 1

The above will return an "index out of range" error if they are out of bounds, so to get around that you can using SAFE\_OFFSET and SAFE\_ORDINAL.

If you'd like to see what position each elements resides at in the array, check [WITH OFFSET](https://hashnode.com/post/cluf8ekzm000608l61vvhf85w).

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1711899643049/e2566935-c617-4ba9-898d-e18472e7624a.png align="center")

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