diff --git a/crates/polars-plan/src/dsl/function_expr/strings.rs b/crates/polars-plan/src/dsl/function_expr/strings.rs
index 205ecb6f0527..46d4b524c14a 100644
--- a/crates/polars-plan/src/dsl/function_expr/strings.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-plan/src/dsl/function_expr/strings.rs
@@ -466,6 +466,7 @@ fn extract_many(
     ascii_case_insensitive: bool,
     overlapping: bool,
 ) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "extract_many")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let patterns = &s[1];
 
@@ -524,6 +525,7 @@ pub(super) fn len_bytes(s: &Column) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
 
 #[cfg(feature = "regex")]
 pub(super) fn contains(s: &[Column], literal: bool, strict: bool) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "contains")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat = s[1].str()?;
     ca.contains_chunked(pat, literal, strict)
@@ -532,6 +534,7 @@ pub(super) fn contains(s: &[Column], literal: bool, strict: bool) -> PolarsResul
 
 #[cfg(feature = "regex")]
 pub(super) fn find(s: &[Column], literal: bool, strict: bool) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "find")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat = s[1].str()?;
     ca.find_chunked(pat, literal, strict)
@@ -539,6 +542,7 @@ pub(super) fn find(s: &[Column], literal: bool, strict: bool) -> PolarsResult<Co
 }
 
 pub(super) fn ends_with(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "ends_with")?;
     let ca = &s[0].str()?.as_binary();
     let suffix = &s[1].str()?.as_binary();
 
@@ -546,6 +550,7 @@ pub(super) fn ends_with(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
 }
 
 pub(super) fn starts_with(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "starts_with")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let prefix = s[1].str()?;
     Ok(ca.starts_with_chunked(prefix).into_column())
@@ -579,6 +584,7 @@ pub(super) fn pad_end(s: &Column, length: usize, fill_char: char) -> PolarsResul
 
 #[cfg(feature = "string_pad")]
 pub(super) fn zfill(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "zfill")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let length_s = s[1].strict_cast(&DataType::UInt64)?;
     let length = length_s.u64()?;
@@ -586,30 +592,35 @@ pub(super) fn zfill(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
 }
 
 pub(super) fn strip_chars(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "strip_chars")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat_s = &s[1];
     ca.strip_chars(pat_s).map(|ok| ok.into_column())
 }
 
 pub(super) fn strip_chars_start(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "strip_chars_start")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat_s = &s[1];
     ca.strip_chars_start(pat_s).map(|ok| ok.into_column())
 }
 
 pub(super) fn strip_chars_end(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "strip_chars_end")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat_s = &s[1];
     ca.strip_chars_end(pat_s).map(|ok| ok.into_column())
 }
 
 pub(super) fn strip_prefix(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "strip_prefix")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let prefix = s[1].str()?;
     Ok(ca.strip_prefix(prefix).into_column())
 }
 
 pub(super) fn strip_suffix(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "strip_suffix")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let suffix = s[1].str()?;
     Ok(ca.strip_suffix(suffix).into_column())
@@ -1023,11 +1034,17 @@ fn _ensure_lengths(s: &[Column]) -> bool {
         .all(|series| series.len() == 1 || series.len() == len)
 }
 
-pub(super) fn str_slice(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+fn _check_same_length(s: &[Column], fn_name: &str) -> Result<(), PolarsError> {
     polars_ensure!(
         _ensure_lengths(s),
-        ComputeError: "all series in `str_slice` should have equal or unit length",
+        ComputeError: "all series in `str.{}()` should have equal or unit length",
+        fn_name
     );
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+pub(super) fn str_slice(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "slice")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let offset = &s[1];
     let length = &s[2];
@@ -1035,20 +1052,14 @@ pub(super) fn str_slice(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
 }
 
 pub(super) fn str_head(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
-    polars_ensure!(
-        _ensure_lengths(s),
-        ComputeError: "all series in `str_head` should have equal or unit length",
-    );
+    _check_same_length(s, "head")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let n = &s[1];
     Ok(ca.str_head(n)?.into_column())
 }
 
 pub(super) fn str_tail(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
-    polars_ensure!(
-        _ensure_lengths(s),
-        ComputeError: "all series in `str_tail` should have equal or unit length",
-    );
+    _check_same_length(s, "tail")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let n = &s[1];
     Ok(ca.str_tail(n)?.into_column())
@@ -1092,6 +1103,7 @@ pub(super) fn json_decode(
 
 #[cfg(feature = "extract_jsonpath")]
 pub(super) fn json_path_match(s: &[Column]) -> PolarsResult<Column> {
+    _check_same_length(s, "json_path_match")?;
     let ca = s[0].str()?;
     let pat = s[1].str()?;
     Ok(ca.json_path_match(pat)?.into_column())
diff --git a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_pad.py b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_pad.py
index 06df899e41ff..9e076f0521c9 100644
--- a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_pad.py
+++ b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_pad.py
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import pytest
+
 import polars as pl
+from polars.exceptions import ComputeError
 from polars.testing import assert_frame_equal
 
 
@@ -88,6 +91,12 @@ def test_str_zfill_expr() -> None:
     assert_frame_equal(out, expected)
 
 
+def test_str_zfill_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.zfill(pl.Series([1, 2])))
+
+
 def test_pad_end_unicode() -> None:
     lf = pl.LazyFrame({"a": ["Café", "345", "東京", None]})
 
diff --git a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_string.py b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_string.py
index 4649897644b4..f951629f15ad 100644
--- a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_string.py
+++ b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/namespaces/string/test_string.py
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ def test_str_slice_expr() -> None:
         df.select(pl.col("a").str.slice(0, -1))
 
 
+def test_str_slice_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.slice(pl.Series([1, 2])))
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("input", "n", "output"),
     [
@@ -115,6 +121,12 @@ def test_str_head_expr() -> None:
     assert_frame_equal(out, expected)
 
 
+def test_str_head_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.head(pl.Series([1, 2])))
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("input", "n", "output"),
     [
@@ -176,6 +188,12 @@ def test_str_tail_expr() -> None:
     assert_frame_equal(out, expected)
 
 
+def test_str_tail_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.tail(pl.Series([1, 2])))
+
+
 def test_str_slice_multibyte() -> None:
     ref = "你好世界"
     s = pl.Series([ref])
@@ -212,6 +230,12 @@ def test_str_contains() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(s.str.contains("mes"), expected)
 
 
+def test_str_contains_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.contains(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))  # type: ignore [arg-type]
+
+
 def test_count_match_literal() -> None:
     s = pl.Series(["12 dbc 3xy", "cat\\w", "1zy3\\d\\d", None])
     out = s.str.count_matches(r"\d", literal=True)
@@ -338,6 +362,12 @@ def test_str_find_escaped_chars() -> None:
     )
 
 
+def test_str_find_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.find(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))  # type: ignore [arg-type]
+
+
 def test_hex_decode_return_dtype() -> None:
     data = {"a": ["68656c6c6f", "776f726c64"]}
     expr = pl.col("a").str.decode("hex")
@@ -515,6 +545,12 @@ def test_str_strip_chars() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(s.str.strip_chars(" hwo"), expected)
 
 
+def test_str_strip_chars_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.strip_chars(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_str_strip_chars_start() -> None:
     s = pl.Series([" hello ", "\t world"])
     expected = pl.Series(["hello ", "world"])
@@ -527,6 +563,12 @@ def test_str_strip_chars_start() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(s.str.strip_chars_start("hw "), expected)
 
 
+def test_str_strip_chars_start_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.strip_chars_start(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_str_strip_chars_end() -> None:
     s = pl.Series([" hello ", "world\t "])
     expected = pl.Series([" hello", "world"])
@@ -539,6 +581,12 @@ def test_str_strip_chars_end() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(s.str.strip_chars_end("odl \t"), expected)
 
 
+def test_str_strip_chars_end_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.strip_chars_end(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_str_strip_whitespace() -> None:
     s = pl.Series("a", ["trailing  ", "  leading", "  both  "])
 
@@ -579,6 +627,12 @@ def test_str_strip_prefix_suffix_expr() -> None:
     }
 
 
+def test_str_strip_prefix_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.strip_prefix(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_str_strip_suffix() -> None:
     s = pl.Series(["foo:bar", "foo:barbar", "foo:foo", "bar", "", None])
     expected = pl.Series(["foo:", "foo:bar", "foo:foo", "", "", None])
@@ -588,6 +642,12 @@ def test_str_strip_suffix() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(s.str.strip_suffix(pl.lit(None, dtype=pl.String)), expected)
 
 
+def test_str_strip_suffix_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.strip_suffix(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_str_split() -> None:
     a = pl.Series("a", ["a, b", "a", "ab,c,de"])
     for out in [a.str.split(","), pl.select(pl.lit(a).str.split(",")).to_series()]:
@@ -730,6 +790,12 @@ def test_json_path_match() -> None:
     assert_frame_equal(out, expected)
 
 
+def test_str_json_path_match_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.json_path_match(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_extract_regex() -> None:
     s = pl.Series(
         [
@@ -1799,6 +1865,12 @@ def test_extract_many() -> None:
     assert f2.to_list() == [[0], [0, 5]]
 
 
+def test_str_extract_many_wrong_length() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"num": ["-10", "-1", "0"]})
+    with pytest.raises(ComputeError, match="should have equal or unit length"):
+        df.select(pl.col("num").str.extract_many(pl.Series(["a", "b"])))
+
+
 def test_json_decode_raise_on_data_type_mismatch_13061() -> None:
     assert_series_equal(
         pl.Series(["null", "null"]).str.json_decode(infer_schema_length=1),