What Are String Methods?

You already know how to create strings and combine them. But strings can do so much more! Python gives you string methods — built-in tools that let you transform, search, and slice text.

To use a method, put a dot . after a string (or a variable holding a string), then the method name with parentheses:

HELLO

Changing Case

Use .upper() and .lower() to change all letters to uppercase or lowercase:

ALICE
alice

Use .title() to capitalize the first letter of every word:

The Great Gatsby

Cleaning Up Strings

Use .strip() to remove extra spaces (or other characters) from the beginning and end:

hello

There's also .lstrip() (left only) and .rstrip() (right only).

Replacing Text

Use .replace(old, new) to swap parts of a string:

I like dogs

Splitting and Joining

.split() breaks a string into a list of words:

['one', 'two', 'three']

You can split on any character:

['red', 'green', 'blue']

.join() does the opposite — it glues a list into one string:

hello world

Searching in Strings

Use .find() to get the position of text inside a string. It returns -1 if not found:

6
-1

Use .count() to count how many times something appears:

3

Checking Start and End

.startswith() and .endswith() return True or False:

True
False

The in Operator

Use in to check if a string contains another string:

True
False

String Slicing

You can grab parts of a string using square brackets with [start:end]:

Pyt
thon
Pyth

Use [::-1] to reverse a string:

olleh

Chaining Methods

You can chain methods together — each one works on the result of the previous one:

hello-world