Python Operators – The Complete Beginner’s Guide

Last updated 2 weeks, 2 days ago | 35 views 75     5

Tags:- Python

Operators in Python are special symbols or keywords used to perform operations on variables and values. Whether you're doing math, making comparisons, or working with conditions, operators are everywhere in Python.

In this article, you'll learn:

  • What operators are

  • Types of Python operators

  • Detailed usage with examples

  • Tips and common mistakes


What Are Operators?

Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.

Example:

x = 10
y = 5
print(x + y)  # ➡️ 15 (here, `+` is an operator)

Types of Python Operators

Python supports several types of operators:

  1. Arithmetic Operators

  2. Assignment Operators

  3. Comparison Operators

  4. Logical Operators

  5. Identity Operators

  6. Membership Operators

  7. Bitwise Operators

Let’s go through each of them step by step.


1️⃣ Arithmetic Operators

Used for basic mathematical operations.

Operator Description Example Result
+ Addition 3 + 2 5
- Subtraction 5 - 2 3
* Multiplication 3 * 2 6
/ Division 6 / 2 3.0
// Floor Division 7 // 2 3
% Modulus (remainder) 7 % 2 1
** Exponentiation 2 ** 3 8

2️⃣ Assignment Operators

Used to assign values to variables.

Operator Example Equivalent To
= x = 5 x = 5
+= x += 3 x = x + 3
-= x -= 2 x = x - 2
*= x *= 4 x = x * 4
/= x /= 2 x = x / 2
//= x //= 2 x = x // 2
%= x %= 3 x = x % 3
**= x **= 2 x = x ** 2

3️⃣ Comparison (Relational) Operators

Used to compare values; always return True or False.

Operator Description Example Result
== Equal to 5 == 5 True
!= Not equal to 5 != 3 True
> Greater than 5 > 2 True
< Less than 5 < 10 True
>= Greater or equal 5 >= 5 True
<= Less or equal 3 <= 4 True

4️⃣ Logical Operators

Used to combine conditional statements.

Operator Description Example Result
and True if both true True and False False
or True if one is true True or False True
not Inverts result not True False
a = 10
b = 5

if a > 5 and b < 10:
    print("Both conditions are True")

5️⃣ Identity Operators

Used to check if two variables refer to the same object (not just equal values).

Operator Description Example Result
is Same identity x is y True/False
is not Not same identity x is not y True/False
x = [1, 2, 3]
y = x
z = [1, 2, 3]

print(x is y)     # True
print(x is z)     # False (even if values are the same)

6️⃣ Membership Operators

Used to check if a value exists in a sequence.

Operator Description Example Result
in Value in sequence 'a' in 'apple' True
not in Value not in sequence 3 not in [1, 2] True
colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue']
print('red' in colors)      # True

7️⃣ Bitwise Operators

Operate on binary numbers.

Operator Description Example Result (in binary)
& AND 5 & 3 00011
` ` OR `5
^ XOR 5 ^ 3 01106
~ NOT ~5 -(5+1)-6
<< Left Shift 5 << 1 101010
>> Right Shift 5 >> 1 00102

Example: Calculator Program

a = int(input("Enter first number: "))
b = int(input("Enter second number: "))

print(f"Add: {a + b}")
print(f"Subtract: {a - b}")
print(f"Multiply: {a * b}")
print(f"Divide: {a / b}")

Tips

  • Use // if you want an integer result from division.

  • Use parentheses () to control the order of operations.

  • Don’t confuse is with ==: is checks identity, not value.


⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Mistake Problem Correct Way
5 = x Invalid syntax x = 5 (assignment is =)
Using is for value comparison x is 5 may not work Use x == 5
a and b or c confusion Order matters Use parentheses
float // int result Floor division truncates decimals Use / if you want float

Summary Table

Operator Type Examples
Arithmetic +, -, *, /, //, %, **
Assignment =, +=, -=, etc.
Comparison ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=
Logical and, or, not
Identity is, is not
Membership in, not in
Bitwise &, `

What's Next?

After learning operators, you’re ready to explore:

  • Control structures like if, elif, else

  • Loops (for, while)

  • Functions and data structures

 

Tips and Tricks


What is pass in Python?

Python | Pass Statement

The pass statement is used as a placeholder for future code. It represents a null operation in Python. It is generally used for the purpose of filling up empty blocks of code which may execute during runtime but has yet to be written.

 

def myfunction():
    pass

 


How can you generate random numbers?

Python | Generate random numbers

Python provides a module called random using which we can generate random numbers. e.g: print(random.random())

 

 

We have to import a random module and call the random() method as shown below:

 import random

 print(random.random())

The random() method generates float values lying between 0 and 1 randomly.


To generate customized random numbers between specified ranges, we can use the randrange() method
Syntax: randrange(beginning, end, step)
 

import random

print(random.randrange(5,100,2))

 


What is lambda in Python?

Python | Lambda function

A lambda function is a small anonymous function. This function can have any number of parameters but, can have just one statement.
 

 

Syntex: 
lambda arguments : expression
 

a = lambda x,y : x+y

print(a(5, 6))

It also provides a nice way to write closures. With that power, you can do things like this.

def adder(x):
    return lambda y: x + y

add5 = adder(5)

add5(1)    #6

As you can see from the snippet of Python, the function adder takes in an argument x and returns an anonymous function, or lambda, that takes another argument y. That anonymous function allows you to create functions from functions. This is a simple example, but it should convey the power lambdas and closures have.
 


What is swapcase() function in the Python?

Python | swapcase() Function

It is a string's function that converts all uppercase characters into lowercase and vice versa. It automatically ignores all the non-alphabetic characters.
 

string = "IT IS IN LOWERCASE."  

print(string.swapcase())  

 


How to remove whitespaces from a string in Python?

Python | strip() Function | Remove whitespaces from a string 

To remove the whitespaces and trailing spaces from the string, Python provides a strip([str]) built-in function. This function returns a copy of the string after removing whitespaces if present. Otherwise returns the original string.
 

string = "  Python " 
 
print(string.strip())  

 


What is the usage of enumerate() function in Python?

Python | enumerate() Function

The enumerate() function is used to iterate through the sequence and retrieve the index position and its corresponding value at the same time.
 

lst = ["A","B","C"] 
 
print (list(enumerate(lst)))

#[(0, 'A'), (1, 'B'), (2, 'C')]

 


Can you explain the filter(), map(), and reduce() functions?

Python | filter(), map(), and reduce() Functions

  • filter()  function accepts two arguments, a function and an iterable, where each element of the iterable is filtered through the function to test if the item is accepted or not.
    >>> set(filter(lambda x:x>4, range(7)))
    
    # {5, 6}
    
    

     

  • map() function calls the specified function for each item of an iterable and returns a list of result

    >>> set(map(lambda x:x**3, range(7)))
    
    # {0, 1, 64, 8, 216, 27, 125}

     

  • reduce() function reduces a sequence pair-wise, repeatedly until we arrive at a single value..
     

    >>> reduce(lambda x,y:y-x, [1,2,3,4,5])
    
    # 3
    

    Let’s understand this:

    2-1=1
    3-1=2
    4-2=2
    5-2=3

    Hence, 3.

 


What is a namedtuple?

Python | namedtuple

A namedtuple will let us access a tuple’s elements using a name/label. We use the function namedtuple() for this, and import it from collections.

>>> from collections import namedtuple

#format
>>> result=namedtuple('result','Physics Chemistry Maths') 

#declaring the tuple
>>> Chris=result(Physics=86,Chemistry=92,Maths=80) 

>>> Chris.Chemistry
# 92

 


Write a code to add the values of same keys in two different dictionaries and return a new dictionary.

We can use the Counter method from the collections module

from collections import Counter

dict1 = {'a': 5, 'b': 3, 'c': 2}
dict2 = {'a': 2, 'b': 4, 'c': 3}

new_dict = Counter(dict1) + Counter(dict2)


print(new_dict)
# Print: Counter({'a': 7, 'b': 7, 'c': 5})


 


Python In-place swapping of two numbers

 Python | In-place swapping of two numbers

>>> a, b = 10, 20
>>> print(a, b)
10 20

>>> a, b = b, a
>>> print(a, b)
20 10

 


Reversing a String in Python

Python | Reversing a String

>>> x = 'PythonWorld'
>>> print(x[: : -1])
dlroWnohtyP

 


Python join all items of a list to convert into a single string

Python | Join all items of a list to convert into a single string

>>> x = ["Python", "Online", "Training"]
>>> print(" ".join(x))
Python Online Training

 


python return multiple values from functions

Python | Return multiple values from functions

>>> def A():
	return 2, 3, 4

>>> a, b, c = A()

>>> print(a, b, c)
2 3 4

 


Python Print String N times

Python | Print String N times

>>> s = 'Python'
>>> n = 5

>>> print(s * n)
PythonPythonPythonPythonPython

 


Python check the memory usage of an object

Python | Check the memory usage of  an object

>>> import sys
>>> x = 100

>>> print(sys.getsizeof(x))
28