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Python Escape Characters
In Python, escape characters help us include special symbols or behaviors in a string that wouldn’t normally be allowed. They always start with a backslash (\) followed by another character.
Let’s understand some of the most useful escape sequences with examples.
Inserting Quotes Inside Strings
Normally, using quotes inside a string with the same type of quotes will break your code. Escape characters fix that.
quote1 = "She said, \"Let's learn Python!\""
quote2 = 'She said, \'Let\'s learn Python!\''
print(quote1)
print(quote2)
Output:
She said, "Let's learn Python!"
She said, 'Let's learn Python!'
New Line (\n)
To break your string into multiple lines, use \n.
message = "Dear Student,\nPlease submit your assignment by Monday."
print(message)
Output:
Dear Student,
Please submit your assignment by Monday.
Tab (\t)
The \t escape adds a horizontal tab — useful for spacing.
header = "Name\t\tScore\tGrade"
data = "Ali\t\t92\tA"
print(header)
print(data)
Output:
Name Score Grade
Ali 92 A
Backspace (\b)
The \b removes the character just before it. It’s like pressing backspace on your keyboard.
text = "Your PIN is 1234\b5"
print(text)
Output:
Your PIN is 1235
Here, \b removed 4, and 5 took its place.
Backslash (\\)
To include a backslash (\) in your string, escape it with another backslash.
path = "C:\\Users\\Arshyan\\Documents"
print(path)
Output:
C:\Users\Arshyan\Documents
Summary
Escape characters allow you to:
Insert quotes without breaking strings.
Add line breaks or tabs.
Simulate actions like backspace.
Display special characters like backslash.
They’re small but powerful tools for writing clean, readable, and flexible strings in Python.