diff --git a/lua/lspconfig/server_configurations/elmls.lua b/lua/lspconfig/server_configurations/elmls.lua
index e3e63bcdb3..62be55516e 100644
--- a/lua/lspconfig/server_configurations/elmls.lua
+++ b/lua/lspconfig/server_configurations/elmls.lua
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ return {
     filetypes = { 'elm' },
     root_dir = function(fname)
       local filetype = api.nvim_buf_get_option(0, 'filetype')
-      if filetype == 'elm' or (filetype == 'json' and fname:match 'elm%.json$') then
+      if util.ft_matches(filetype, 'elm') or (util.ft_matches(filetype, 'json') and fname:match 'elm%.json$') then
         return elm_root_pattern(fname)
       end
     end,
diff --git a/lua/lspconfig/util.lua b/lua/lspconfig/util.lua
index 2fb5e72ba5..1c0707cf5c 100644
--- a/lua/lspconfig/util.lua
+++ b/lua/lspconfig/util.lua
@@ -22,6 +22,21 @@ M.default_config = {
 -- global on_setup hook
 M.on_setup = nil
 
+---@param filetype string the filetype to check (can be a compound, dot-separated filetype; see |'filetype'|)
+---@param expected string|string[] the filetype(s) to match against
+---@return boolean
+function M.ft_matches(filetype, expected)
+  expected = type(expected) == 'table' and expected or { expected }
+  for ft in filetype:gmatch '([^.]+)' do
+    for _, expected_ft in ipairs(expected) do
+      if ft == expected_ft then
+        return true
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  return false
+end
+
 function M.bufname_valid(bufname)
   if bufname:match '^/' or bufname:match '^[a-zA-Z]:' or bufname:match '^zipfile://' or bufname:match '^tarfile:' then
     return true
@@ -348,10 +363,8 @@ function M.get_active_clients_list_by_ft(filetype)
   local clients_list = {}
   for _, client in pairs(clients) do
     local filetypes = client.config.filetypes or {}
-    for _, ft in pairs(filetypes) do
-      if ft == filetype then
-        table.insert(clients_list, client.name)
-      end
+    if M.ft_matches(filetype, filetypes) then
+      table.insert(clients_list, client.name)
     end
   end
   return clients_list
@@ -364,10 +377,8 @@ function M.get_other_matching_providers(filetype)
   for _, config in pairs(configs) do
     if not vim.tbl_contains(active_clients_list, config.name) then
       local filetypes = config.filetypes or {}
-      for _, ft in pairs(filetypes) do
-        if ft == filetype then
-          table.insert(other_matching_configs, config)
-        end
+      if M.ft_matches(filetype, filetypes) then
+        table.insert(other_matching_configs, config)
       end
     end
   end
@@ -379,10 +390,8 @@ function M.get_config_by_ft(filetype)
   local matching_configs = {}
   for _, config in pairs(configs) do
     local filetypes = config.filetypes or {}
-    for _, ft in pairs(filetypes) do
-      if ft == filetype then
-        table.insert(matching_configs, config)
-      end
+    if M.ft_matches(filetype, filetypes) then
+      table.insert(matching_configs, config)
     end
   end
   return matching_configs