Split string into list of characters in Python

In Python, we often need to split a string into individual characters, resulting in a list where each element is a single character. In this article we’ll explore various method to split a string into a list of characters.

Using List

The simplest way to convert a string into a list of characters in Python is to use the built-in list() function, which directly converts each character in the string to a list element.

s = "hello"
a = list(s)
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Let’s explore other different methods to split string into list of characters:

Using a Loop

We can also use a simple loop (for loop) to convert string into list of characters. This method is useful when we want to include additional logic within the loop.

s = "hello"

# Initialize an empty list 'a' to store characters
a = []       

# Loop through each character in the string 's'
for char in s:
  
  # Append current character to the list 'a'
  a.append(char)  

print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Using List Comprehension

List comprehension provides a shorter and clearer syntax compared to the traditional loop approach.

s = "hello"
a = [char for char in s]
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation:

• [char for char in s] iterates over each character in s.
• char is added to the list for each iteration, producing the list of characters.

Using Unpacking Operator *

The unpacking operator * can be used to split a string into a list of characters in a single line. This approach is compact and works well for quickly converting a string to a list.

s = "hello"
a = [*s]
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation: [ *s ] unpacks each character in the string s into a list.

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Article Tags :

• Python
• Python Programs
• Python string-programs
• python-list
• python-string

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