Python Interview Questions and Answers 2025 – 45 Most Asked Questions

Friends Python is one of the most popular programming languages today. It is easy to learn, powerful, and widely used in web development, data science, and artificial intelligence. If you are preparing for a Python interview in 2025, you need to know the latest questions and answers to do well.

In this article, we will cover important Python Interview Questions and Answers 2025 along with simple and clear answers. Whether you are a beginner or have some experience, these questions will help you understand Python better and improve your chances of success. Let’s get started!

Python Interview Questions and Answers 2025

1. What is Python?

Answer: Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its simple syntax and readability. It is widely used in web development, data science, artificial intelligence, and automation.

2. What are the key features of Python?

Answer:

• Easy to read and write
• Open-source and free
• Interpreted language (no need to compile)
• Supports object-oriented and functional programming
• Large community and vast libraries

3. What is PEP 8?

Answer: PEP 8 is the official style guide for writing Python code. It provides guidelines to improve code readability and consistency.

4. What are Python data types?

Answer: Python has several built-in data types, including:

• int (e.g., 10, -5)
• float (e.g., 3.14, -0.99)
• str (e.g., "Hello", 'Python')
• bool (e.g., True, False)
• list (e.g., [1, 2, 3])
• tuple (e.g., (1, 2, 3))
• set (e.g., {1, 2, 3})
• dict (e.g., {"name": "John", "age": 25})

5. What is the difference between a list and a tuple?

Answer:

Feature	List ([])	Tuple (())
Mutability	Can be changed	Cannot be changed
Speed	Slower	Faster
Example	[1, 2, 3]	(1, 2, 3)

6. How do you create a function in Python?

Answer: Use the def keyword. Example:

def greet(name):
    return "Hello, " + name

print(greet("Alice"))

7. What is the difference between == and is in Python?

Answer:

• == checks if values are the same.
• is checks if objects are the same in memory.

Example:

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [1, 2, 3]
print(a == b)  # True (values are the same)
print(a is b)  # False (different objects in memory)

8. What is the purpose of self in Python?

Answer: self represents the instance of a class. It allows access to class attributes and methods inside the class.

9. What is the difference between break, continue, and pass?

Answer:

• break exits the loop completely.
• continue skips the current iteration and moves to the next.
• pass does nothing, just a placeholder.

Example:

for i in range(5):
    if i == 2:
        continue  # Skips 2
    print(i)

10. What is a lambda function?

Answer: A lambda function is a small anonymous function written in one line.
Example:

square = lambda x: x * x
print(square(4))  # Output: 16

11. What is the difference between deepcopy() and copy()?

Answer:

• copy() creates a shallow copy (changes in nested objects affect both copies).
• deepcopy() creates a completely independent copy.

Example:

import copy
a = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
b = copy.deepcopy(a)  # Creates a true copy

12. How do you handle exceptions in Python?

Answer: Use try-except blocks.
Example:

try:
    x = 10 / 0  # Error
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("Cannot divide by zero")

13. What is the difference between append() and extend() in lists?

Answer:

• append(x) adds x as a single element.
• extend(iterable) adds elements from an iterable.

Example:

lst = [1, 2]
lst.append([3, 4])  # [1, 2, [3, 4]]
lst.extend([3, 4])  # [1, 2, 3, 4]

14. What are Python decorators?

Answer: Decorators modify the behavior of functions without changing their code.
Example:

def decorator(func):
    def wrapper():
        print("Before function call")
        func()
        print("After function call")
    return wrapper

@decorator
def say_hello():
    print("Hello!")

say_hello()

15. What is the difference between __str__ and __repr__?

Answer:

• __str__() returns a user-friendly string representation of an object.
• __repr__() returns an unambiguous string used for debugging.

Example:

class Person:
    def __str__(self):
        return "Friendly Person"

    def __repr__(self):
        return "Person()"

p = Person()
print(str(p))  # Friendly Person
print(repr(p))  # Person()

Python Interview Questions for freshers

16. What is the difference between Python 2 and Python 3?

Answer: Python 3 is the latest version and has many improvements over Python 2. Key differences:

• print is a function in Python 3: print("Hello") vs. print "Hello" (Python 2).
• Integer division in Python 3 returns a float: 5/2 = 2.5, while in Python 2, it returns 2.
• Unicode is the default string type in Python 3.

---

17. What is a Python module?

Answer: A module is a file containing Python code (functions, classes, or variables) that can be reused in other programs.
Example:

import math  
print(math.sqrt(16))  # Output: 4.0

---

18. What is a package in Python?

Answer: A package is a collection of Python modules grouped together in a directory with an __init__.py file. It helps organize related modules.

---

19. What is the difference between a shallow copy and a deep copy?

Answer:

• Shallow Copy: Creates a new object, but references the original nested objects.
• Deep Copy: Creates a completely independent copy, including nested objects.

Example:

import copy  
a = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]  
b = copy.deepcopy(a)  # Creates a full copy  

---

20. What is the __init__ method in Python?

Answer: The __init__ method is a constructor used to initialize an object’s attributes.
Example:

class Car:
    def __init__(self, brand):
        self.brand = brand

my_car = Car("Tesla")
print(my_car.brand)  # Output: Tesla

---

21. What is recursion in Python?

Answer: Recursion is when a function calls itself to solve a problem.
Example (Factorial using recursion):

def factorial(n):
    if n == 1:
        return 1
    return n * factorial(n - 1)

print(factorial(5))  # Output: 120

---

22. What are Python built-in functions?

Answer: Python has many built-in functions, like:

• len() – Get the length of a sequence.
• type() – Get the type of a variable.
• range() – Generate a sequence of numbers.

Example:

print(len("Python"))  # Output: 6

---

23. What is list comprehension in Python?

Answer: List comprehension is a shorter way to create lists.
Example:

squares = [x**2 for x in range(5)]
print(squares)  # Output: [0, 1, 4, 9, 16]

---

24. How do you open and read a file in Python?

Answer: Use the open() function.
Example:

with open("file.txt", "r") as file:
    content = file.read()
    print(content)

---

25. What is a Python set?

Answer: A set is an unordered collection of unique elements.
Example:

numbers = {1, 2, 3, 3, 2}
print(numbers)  # Output: {1, 2, 3} (duplicates removed)

---

Python Interview questions for experienced

26. What is the difference between isinstance() and type()?

Answer:

• type(obj) returns the exact type of an object.
• isinstance(obj, class) checks if an object belongs to a class or subclass.

Example:

print(type(5))  # Output: <class 'int'>
print(isinstance(5, int))  # Output: True

---

27. What is the map() function in Python?

Answer: map() applies a function to each item in an iterable.
Example:

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
squared = list(map(lambda x: x**2, numbers))
print(squared)  # Output: [1, 4, 9]

---

28. What is the filter() function in Python?

Answer: filter() removes items that don’t meet a condition.
Example:

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
even = list(filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers))
print(even)  # Output: [2, 4]

---

29. What is the difference between pop() and remove() in lists?

Answer:

• pop(index) removes an item at a given index and returns it.
• remove(value) removes the first occurrence of a value.

Example:

lst = [1, 2, 3, 4]
lst.pop(2)  # Removes 3
lst.remove(2)  # Removes 2

---

30. How do you generate a random number in Python?

Answer: Use the random module.
Example:

import random  
print(random.randint(1, 10))  # Output: Random number between 1 and 10  

31. What is the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) in Python?

Answer: The GIL is a mechanism that allows only one thread to execute Python bytecode at a time, even on multi-core processors. It prevents multiple native threads from running Python code in parallel.

Example:

import threading

def worker():
    print("Thread running")

t1 = threading.Thread(target=worker)
t1.start()
t1.join()

Even if multiple threads are created, only one executes Python code at a time due to the GIL.

32. What is the difference between deepcopy() and copy()?

Answer:

• copy.copy() creates a shallow copy (changes in nested objects affect both copies).
• copy.deepcopy() creates a fully independent copy.

Example:

import copy

a = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
b = copy.copy(a)  # Shallow copy
c = copy.deepcopy(a)  # Deep copy

a[0][0] = 99
print(b[0][0])  # Output: 99 (affected)
print(c[0][0])  # Output: 1 (not affected)

33. What are Python generators and how do they differ from normal functions?

Answer: Generators are functions that yield values one at a time using yield, instead of returning all values at once. They save memory by generating values lazily.

Example:

def my_generator():
    for i in range(3):
        yield i

gen = my_generator()
print(next(gen))  # Output: 0
print(next(gen))  # Output: 1

Calling next() retrieves the next value without storing all values in memory.

34. What is the difference between __str__ and __repr__ in Python?

Answer:

• __str__() provides a readable string representation (for end-users).
• __repr__() provides an unambiguous representation (for debugging).

Example:

class Car:
    def __str__(self):
        return "Car object"

    def __repr__(self):
        return "Car()"

c = Car()
print(str(c))   # Output: Car object
print(repr(c))  # Output: Car()

35. What is metaprogramming in Python?

Answer: Metaprogramming means writing code that manipulates Python classes or functions dynamically at runtime. Python’s type() and metaclasses allow metaprogramming.

Example of a simple metaclass:

class Meta(type):
    def __new__(cls, name, bases, dct):
        dct['greet'] = lambda self: "Hello!"
        return super().__new__(cls, name, bases, dct)

class MyClass(metaclass=Meta):
    pass

obj = MyClass()
print(obj.greet())  # Output: Hello!

36. What is the difference between staticmethod and classmethod?

Answer:

• staticmethod doesn’t take self or cls as the first argument.
• classmethod takes cls as the first argument and can modify class variables.

Example:

class MyClass:
    class_var = "Class Variable"

    @staticmethod
    def static_method():
        return "I don’t access class variables."

    @classmethod
    def class_method(cls):
        return f"Class method accessing: {cls.class_var}"

print(MyClass.static_method())
print(MyClass.class_method())

37. What is duck typing in Python?

Answer: Duck typing is a concept where the type of an object is determined by its behavior, not its class.

Example:

class Dog:
    def speak(self):
        return "Woof!"

class Cat:
    def speak(self):
        return "Meow!"

def animal_sound(animal):
    return animal.speak()

print(animal_sound(Dog()))  # Output: Woof!
print(animal_sound(Cat()))  # Output: Meow!

As long as the method speak() exists, Python doesn’t care about the object’s class.

38. What is memoization in Python?

Answer: Memoization is an optimization technique that stores computed values to avoid redundant calculations.

Example using functools.lru_cache:

from functools import lru_cache

@lru_cache(maxsize=None)
def fib(n):
    if n < 2:
        return n
    return fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)

print(fib(10))  # Output: 55

This speeds up recursive Fibonacci calculation by caching results.

39. What is the difference between is and ==?

Answer:

• == compares values.
• is compares memory addresses.

Example:

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [1, 2, 3]
print(a == b)  # Output: True (same values)
print(a is b)  # Output: False (different memory locations)

40. How do you create a thread-safe program in Python?

Answer: Use the threading.Lock() to prevent race conditions in multi-threaded programs.

Example:

import threading

lock = threading.Lock()
counter = 0

def increment():
    global counter
    with lock:
        counter += 1

threads = [threading.Thread(target=increment) for _ in range(100)]

[t.join() for t in threads] print(counter) # Ensures correct count with locking

41. What is a weak reference in Python?

Answer: A weak reference (weakref) allows objects to be garbage collected while still being referenced.

Example:

import weakref

class MyClass:
    pass

obj = MyClass()
weak_obj = weakref.ref(obj)
print(weak_obj())  # Output: <__main__.MyClass object>
del obj
print(weak_obj())  # Output: None (garbage collected)

42. What is the difference between bytes and bytearray?

Answer:

• bytes are immutable sequences of bytes.
• bytearray is mutable.

Example:

b = bytes([65, 66, 67])
ba = bytearray([65, 66, 67])
ba[0] = 97  # Changing first byte

print(b)   # Output: b'ABC'
print(ba)  # Output: bytearray(b'aBC')

43. How does Python’s garbage collection work?

Answer: Python uses reference counting and a cyclic garbage collector to free unused memory.
Example:

import gc
gc.collect()  # Manually trigger garbage collection

44. What is the difference between del, clear(), and pop()?

Answer:

• del removes a variable completely.
• clear() empties a collection.
• pop() removes and returns an element.

Example:

my_dict = {"a": 1, "b": 2}
del my_dict["a"]
print(my_dict)  # Output: {'b': 2}

45. What is the purpose of the super() function in Python?

Answer: super() calls the parent class’s methods.

Example:

class Parent:
    def greet(self):
        return "Hello from Parent"

class Child(Parent):
    def greet(self):
        return super().greet() + " and Child"

print(Child().greet())  # Output: Hello from Parent and Child

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