Essential Python String Examples for Beginners: Master Slicing, Methods, and Formatting

Working with strings is a fundamental skill every Python programmer needs. Whether you’re just starting out or brushing up on your knowledge, practicing with real-world string exercises can take your coding skills to the next level. In this blog post, you’ll find beginner-friendly Python string examples that cover key concepts such as string operators, slicing, formatting for output, and built-in string methods like capitalize(), join(), replace(), find(), and more. These examples are perfect for learning by doing, helping you build a strong foundation in string manipulation — a skill you’ll use in almost every Python project.

# Problem: Ask the user for their first and last name. Combine them and print a formatted message.

first_name = input('Enter your first name: ')
last_name = input('Enter your last name: ')
first_name_count = len(first_name)
last_name_count = len(last_name)
print(f'Welcome, {first_name} {last_name}! Your name has {first_name_count + last_name_count} letters.')

# Problem: Count how many times the letter 'o' appears (case-insensitive).

text = "Python programming is fun and powerful."
count = text.lower().count('o')
print(f'The letter "o" appears {count} times.')

# output
# The letter "o" appears 3 times.

# Problem: Extract and print the first and last words of a sentence.

sentence = "The quick brown fox jumps"
words = sentence.split()
first_word = words[0]
print(f'First word: {first_word}')
last_word = words[-1]
print(f'Last word: {last_word}')

# output
# First word: The
# Last word: jumps

# Problem: Show only the first and last character of a password and mask the rest.

password = "SuperSecret123"
print(password[0], end='')

for i in range(1, len(password) - 1):
    print('*', end='')

print(password[-1])

# output
# S************3

# Problem: Validate an email string.

email = "student@example.com"
output = ''

if '@' in email and email.endswith('.com'):
    output = 'Valid'
else:
    output = 'Invalid'

print(f'{output} email')

# output
# Valid email

# Problem: Reverse a given string using slicing.

text = 'Python'

print(text[::-1])

# output
# nohtyP

More slicing examples

# Problem: Format a table of products and prices.

products = [("T-shirt", 4.99), ("Hat", 6.99), ("Scarf", 2.49)]

print(f'{"Product":<10}{"Price":<5}')
print('=' * 15)
for product, price in products:
    print(f'{product:<10}{price:<5}')

# output
# Product   Price
# ===============
# T-shirt   4.99
# Hat       6.99
# Scarf     2.49

# Problem: Check if a given word is a palindrome.

word = 'madam'

if word == word[::-1]:
    print(f'{word} is a palindrome')
else:
    print(f'{word} is not a palindrome')

# output
# madam is a palindrome

# Problem: Replace all instances of "bad" with "good" in a given text.

text = "This is a bad example of bad behavior."

text_new = text.replace("bad", "good")
print(text_new)

# output
# This is a good example of good behavior.

# .join() is a string method that concatenates the elements of an iterable (like a list or tuple)
# into a single string, placing the calling string between each element.
# 'separator'.join(iterable)

words = ['Python', 'is', 'fun']
separator = ' '
sentence = separator.join(words)
print(sentence)

# output
# Python is fun

More .join() examples

# Problem: Convert the input sentence to all uppercase letters.

sentence = "Python is awesome!"
print(sentence.upper())

# output
# PYTHON IS AWESOME!

# Problem: Strip leading and trailing whitespaces from a string.

sentence = "   Hello World!   "
strip_sentence = sentence.strip()
print(strip_sentence)

# output
# Hello World!

# Problem: Count the number of words in a sentence.

sentence = "Data science is fun and useful"
words = sentence.split()
print(len(words))

# output
# 6

# Problem: Check if the string starts with "Hello" and ends with "World!".

message = 'Hello there, World!'
print(f'Starts with Hello: {message.startswith("Hello")}')
print(f'Ends with World!: {message.endswith("World!")}')

# output
# Starts with Hello: True
# Ends with World!: True

# Problem: Determine if a string contains only letters.

word = 'Python3'
print(f'Contains only letters: {word.isalpha()}')

# output
# Contains only letters: False

# Problem: Find the position (index) of the word "open" in a sentence.

sentence = "Please open the door."
print(f'Position of "open": {sentence.find("open")}')

# output
# Position of "open": 7

# Problem: Ask the user for input and check if it contains only digits.

entry = '098765'
print(f'Is all digits: {entry.isdigit()}')

# output
# Is all digits: True