In Python, operators are special symbols or keywords that perform
operations on variables or values.
They are used to carry out tasks like arithmetic calculations,
comparisons, logical operations, and more.
Types of Operators in Python
Python provides a rich set of operators that can be grouped into
various categories. These are –
1. Arithmetic Operators
These operators perform basic mathematical/calculation operations.
Operator Description Example
+ Addition 5 + 3 = 8
- Subtraction 5 - 3 = 2
* Multiplication 5 * 3 = 15
/ Division (float) 5 / 2 = 2.5
// Floor division (integer) 5 // 2 = 2
% Modulus (remainder) 5 % 2 = 1
** Exponentiation (power) 5 ** 2 = 25
2. Comparison (Relational) Operators
These operators compare two values and return a Boolean value
(either True/1 or False/0).
Operator Description Example
== Equal to 5 == 5
!= Not equal to 5 != 3
> Greater than 5 > 3
< Less than 3 < 5
>= Greater than or equal to 5 >= 5
<= Less than or equal to 3 <= 5
3. Logical Operators
These operators perform logical operations and return a Boolean value
(either True/1 or False/0).
Operator Description Example
and Returns True if both operands are true A and B
or Returns True if at least one operand is true A or B
not Returns the negation of the operand not A/ not B
4. Assignment Operators
These operators are used to assign values to variables and can also be
combined with arithmetic operations.
Operator Description Example
= Simple assignment x = 5
+= Add and assign x += 3 ( means x = x + 3)
-= Subtract and assign x -= 3
*= Multiply and assign x *= 3
/= Divide and assign x /= 3
//= Floor divide and assign x //= 3
%= Modulus and assign x %= 3
**= Exponentiate and assign x **= 3
5. Bitwise Operators
These operators perform bit-level internal operations on integers.
Operator Description Example
& Bitwise AND 5 & 3
` ` Bitwise
OR
^ Bitwise XOR 5 ^ 3
~ Bitwise NOT (inverts bits) ~5
<< Left shift (shift bits to the left) 5 << 1
>> Right shift (shift bits to the right) 5 >> 1
6. Identity Operators
These operators check if two objects refer to the same memory location.
Operator Description Example
is Returns True if both variables point to the same object x is y
is not Returns True if both variables point to different objects x is not y
7. Membership Operators
These operators are used to check if a value or variable is found in a
sequence (like a list, string, or tuple).
Operator Description Example
in Returns True if a value is found in a sequence 'a' in 'apple'
not in Returns True if a value is not found in a 'x' not in 'apple'
sequence
8. Ternary/Conditional Operator
This is a shorthand for conditional expressions (if-else).
result = x if x>y else y
9. Special Operators
is ==:
o Here, ‘is’ checks if two variables refer to the same
object in memory, and ‘==’ checks if two variables have the
same value.
o For example –
x = [10, 20, 30]
y = [10, 20, 30]
print(x == y) # Output: – True (because same values)
print(a is b) # Output: – False (because different objects)
Operator Precedence in Python
Operator precedence determines the order in which operations are
performed.
In an expression, operators with higher precedence are evaluated first.
Operator Description
() Parentheses
** Exponentiation
+x, -x, ~x Unary plus, minus, NOT
*, /, //, % Multiplication, division, floor division,
modulus
+, - Addition, subtraction
<<, >> Bitwise shift
& Bitwise AND
^ Bitwise XOR
` `
in, not in, is, is not, ==, !=, <, <=, >, >= Comparisons, identity, membership
operators
not Logical NOT
and Logical AND
or Logical OR