To return a node, list it in the return statemenet.

Query

START n=node(2)
RETURN n

The node.

To return a relationship, just include it in the return list.

Query

START n=node(1)
MATCH (n)-[r:KNOWS]->(c)
RETURN r

The relationship.

To return a property, use the dot separator, like this:

Query

START n=node(1)
RETURN n.name

The the value of the property name.

To introduce a placeholder that is made up of characters that are outside of the english alphabet, you can use the ` to enclose the identifier, like this:

Query

START `This isn't a common identifier`=node(1)
RETURN `This isn't a common identifier`.`<<!!__??>>`

The node indexed with name "A" is returned

If the name of the column should be different from the expression used, you can rename it by using AS <new name>.

Query

START a=node(1)
RETURN a.age AS SomethingTotallyDifferent

Returns the age property of a node, but renames the column.

If a property might or might not be there, you can select it optionally by adding a questionmark to the identifier, like this:

Query

START n=node(1, 2)
RETURN n.age?

The age when the node has that property, or null if the property is not there.

DISTINCT retrieves only unique rows depending on the columns that have been selected to output.

Query

START a=node(1)
MATCH (a)-->(b)
RETURN distinct b

The node named B, but only once.