🐍PRINT STATEMENT

Python print() — From Basics to Pro

Not just for strings: print variables, expressions, and even function results. Learn every useful variation — and the common errors beginners actually make.

Why print() matters

print() is the quickest way to see what your code is doing. It can display strings, numbers, variables, expressions, and even the return values of functions/methods. It’s also where beginners hit their first errors — so we’ll learn the right usage and the common mistakes (with real error messages).

1) Quick start

print("Hello, Python!")

Output:

Hello, Python!

2) Strings vs Variables

Strings need quotes; variables do not.

# String literal (quotes)
print("alice")

# Variable (no quotes)
alice = "Alice Wonderland"
print(alice)

Output:

alice
Alice Wonderland

Key idea: print(alice) is perfectly correct if alice is a variable. It’s only a mistake when you meant to print the literal text "alice".

3) Common beginner errors (and why they happen)

3.1 Case matters: print ≠ Print

Print("Hello")  # wrong: capital P

NameError: name 'Print' is not defined

Why? Python is case-sensitive. Print looks like a variable/function you never defined.

3.2 Parentheses are required (Python 3)

print "Hello"    # wrong in Python 3

SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print("Hello")?

3.3 Forgot the quotes around text

print(alice)     # alice is NOT defined as a variable yet

NameError: name 'alice' is not defined

Fix: use quotes if you mean the word “alice”:

print("alice")

3.4 Mismatched quotes

print("Hello')   # opens with " but closes with '

SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Fix: match your quotes:

print("Hello")

4) Printing multiple values, separators, and endings

print() can take many arguments and auto-spaces them:

print("Name:", "Alice", "Age:", 25)  # auto spaces between args

Change the separator with sep=

print("2025", "08", "25", sep="-")     # 2025-08-25
print("apple", "banana", "cherry", sep=" | ")

Change the line ending with end=

print("Loading", end="...")   # no newline yet
print(" done")                 # continues on same line

Unpacking iterables

nums = [1, 2, 3]
print(*nums)                   # 1 2 3 (honors sep= if provided)
print(*nums, sep=", ")         # 1, 2, 3

5) Printing variables, expressions, and function/method results

Anything that produces a value can go inside print().

Variables and expressions

x = 7
y = 5
print("Sum:", x + y)              # Sum: 12
print("Is x > y?", x > y)         # Is x > y? True

Function calls in print()

def area(w, h):
    return w * h

print(area(3, 4))                 # prints 12 (return value)

Method chains in print()

print("  hello  ".strip().upper())   # HELLO
print(sorted([3, 1, 2]))             # [1, 2, 3]
print(len("python"))                  # 6

Beware: printing the result of a function that returns None

def shout(msg):
    print(msg.upper())   # side-effect print, but returns None

print(shout("hi"))       # prints "HI" then prints "None"

Why “None”? print() always prints the value you give it. shout() didn’t return anything, so it returns None by default.

6) Pretty output with f-strings (and alternatives)

f-strings (recommended)

name = "Alice"
age = 25
pi = 3.14159
print(f"My name is {name} and I am {age}.")
print(f"Pi rounded to 2 decimals: {pi:.2f}")
print(f"Zero-padded: {42:05d}")        # 00042
print(f"With commas: {1234567:,}")     # 1,234,567

str.format() and % (older styles)

print("My name is {} and I am {}.".format(name, age))
print("Pi is %.2f" % pi)

str() vs repr() (human vs developer view)

s = 'Alice'
print(str(s))   # Alice
print(repr(s))  # 'Alice' (shows quotes)
print([1, 2, 3])        # uses str() on elements
print(repr([1, 2, 3]))  # developer-friendly representation

7) Strings, quotes, and escape sequences

print("She said, \"Python is fun!\"")
print('It\'s easy to learn.')
print("Line1\nLine2")
print("Column1\tColumn2")
print(r"C:\Users\Alice\Docs")     # raw string, backslashes not treated specially
print("Emoji:", "🐍")

8) Printing lists & dicts nicely

Join strings

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
print(", ".join(fruits))  # apple, banana, cherry

Pretty-print nested data

from pprint import pprint
data = {"user": "alice", "scores": [92, 85, 97]}
pprint(data)      # nicely formatted for humans

JSON style

import json
print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))

9) Printing without newlines, progress, and redirecting output

Progress lines

import time
for i in range(3):
    print(f"Step {i+1}/3", end="\r", flush=True)  # overwrite same line
    time.sleep(0.5)
print("Done!        ")

Force output immediately

print("Writing now...", flush=True)

Print to files or stderr

import sys

# to a file
with open("output.txt", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    print("Saved to file", file=f)

# to error stream
print("Something went wrong!", file=sys.stderr)

10) Do & Don’t (pro tips)

• Do keep print() lowercase and always use parentheses.
• Do use quotes for text; no quotes for variables.
• Do prefer f-strings for readable formatting.
• Do use sep=, end=, and *-unpacking for neat output.
• Don’t use + to concatenate non-strings (it can error); let print() convert values for you or use f-strings.
• Don’t rely on print() for serious apps — learn logging later.

11) Practice time

1. Set name = "Alex" and score = 95, then print Alex scored 95/100 using an f-string.
2. Print the list [1, 2, 3, 4] as 1-2-3-4 using unpacking and sep="-".
3. Write and print the result of a function double(n) that returns 2 * n.
4. Call a function that does not return anything and show that print() would display None.
5. Pretty-print a dictionary with pprint and with json.dumps(..., indent=2) — compare.

Wrap-up

print() is more than a “Hello, World!” tool. You can print variables, expressions, return values, and format output beautifully. Remember: lowercase p, parentheses required, quotes for text, and use f-strings for clarity.

➡️ Next: Variables & Data Types

⬅️ Back to main page

You can run the  codes here and practice: