#!/usr/bin/perl -- use strict; use warnings; my $rtag = 'WHAT'; my $pp = { FEATURES => { WHAT => {} } }; my $pdi = { 1,1,2,2,3,3 }; @{ $pp->{'FEATURES'}{$rtag} } { keys(%$pdi) } = values(%$pdi); use Data::Dump; dd $pp; dd $pdi; __END__ { FEATURES => { WHAT => { 1 => 1, 2 => 2, 3 => 3 } } } { 1 => 1, 2 => 2, 3 => 3 }