{"id":3235,"date":"2021-12-04T00:56:29","date_gmt":"2021-12-04T00:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/?page_id=3235"},"modified":"2025-03-30T08:20:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T08:20:48","slug":"python-backslash","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/python-basics\/python-backslash\/","title":{"rendered":"Python Backslash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you\u2019ll learn about the Python backslash character as a part of a special sequence character or to escape characters in a string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to the Python backslash #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Python, the backslash(\\<\/code>) is a special character. If you use the backslash in front of another character, it changes the meaning of that character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the t<\/code> is a literal character. But if you use the backslash character in front of the letter t<\/code>, it\u2019ll become the tab character (\\t<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, the backslash has two main purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the backslash character is a part of special character sequences such as the tab character \\t<\/code> or the new line character \\n<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following example prints a string that has a newline character:<\/p>\n\n\n

print<\/span>('Hello,\\n World'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
Hello,\nWorld<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
The \\n is a single character, not two. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
s = '\\n'<\/span>\nprint<\/span>(len(s)) # 1<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Second, the backslash (\\<\/code>) escape other special characters. For example, if you have a string that has a single quote inside a single-quoted string like the following string, you need to use the backslash to escape the single quote character:<\/p>\n\n\n
s = '\"Python\\'s awesome\" She said'<\/span>\nprint<\/span>(s)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
\"Python's awesome\"<\/span> She said<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Backslash in f-strings #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
PEP-498 specifies that an f-string<\/a> cannot contain a backslash character as a part of the expression inside the curly braces {}<\/code>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following example will result in an error:<\/p>\n\n\n
colors = ['red'<\/span>,'green'<\/span>,'blue'<\/span>]\ns = f'The RGB colors are:\\n {'<\/span>\\n'.join(colors)}'<\/span>\nprint<\/span>(s)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Error:<\/p>\n\n\n
SyntaxError<\/span>: f-string expression part cannot include a backslash<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To fix this, you need to join the strings in the colors<\/code> list before placing them in the curly braces:<\/p>\n\n\n
colors = ['red'<\/span>,'green'<\/span>,'blue'<\/span>]\nrgb = '\\n'<\/span>.join(colors)\ns = f\"The RGB colors are:\\n{rgb}\"<\/span>\nprint<\/span>(s)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
The RGB colors are:\nred\ngreen\nblue<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Backslash in raw strings #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Raw strings<\/a> treat the backslash character (\\<\/code>) as a literal character. The following example treats the backslash character \\<\/code> as a literal character, not a special character:<\/p>\n\n\n
s = r'\\n'<\/span>\nprint<\/span>(s)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
\\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Summary #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n