This article explains different types of operators in Python — including Arithmetic, Assignment, Comparison, Logical, and Bitwise operators — along with an overview of operator precedence.
What Are Operators?
An operator is a symbol that tells the interpreter to perform a specific action. The values or variables that operators act upon are called operands.a = 10
b = 5
result = a + b
a and b are operands
+ is an operator
The expression a + b evaluates to 15
Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are used to perform mathematical calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.| Operator | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| + | Addition | 10 + 5 | 15 |
| - | Subtraction | 10 - 5 | 5 |
| * | Multiplication | 10 * 5 | 50 |
| / | Division | 10 / 5 | 2.0 |
| // | Floor Division | 10 // 3 | 3 |
| % | Modulus (Remainder) | 10 % 3 | 1 |
| ** | Exponentiation | 2 ** 3 | 8 |
Example:
x = 10
y = 3
print(x + y) # 13
print(x ** y) # 1000
print(x // y) # 3
Assignment Operators
Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. Python supports compound assignment — meaning you can perform an operation and assignment in one step.| Operator | Description | Example | Equivalent To |
|---|---|---|---|
| = | Assigns value | x = 10 | — |
| += | Add and assign | x += 5 | x = x + 5 |
| -= | Subtract and assign | x -= 3 | x = x - 3 |
| *= | Multiply and assign | x *= 2 | x = x * 2 |
| /= | Divide and assign | x /= 4 | x = x / 4 |
| //= | Floor divide and assign | x //= 2 | x = x // 2 |
| %= | Modulus and assign | x %= 3 | x = x % 3 |
| **= | Power and assign | x **= 2 | x = x ** 2 |
Example:
x = 10
x += 5
print(x) # 15
x **= 2
print(x) # 225
Comparison Operators
Comparison operators are used to compare two values. They return either True or False (a Boolean result).| Operator | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| == | Equal to | 5 == 5 | True |
| != | Not equal to | 5 != 3 | True |
| > | Greater than | 7 > 4 | True |
| < | Less than | 7 < 4 | False |
| >= | Greater than or equal to | 5 >= 5 | True |
| <= | Less than or equal to | 4 <= 6 | True |
Example:
a = 10
b = 20
print(a > b) # False
print(a != b) # True
Logical Operators
Logical operators combine multiple conditions and return a Boolean result (True or False).| Operator | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| and | Returns True if both conditions are true | (5 > 2 and 10 > 3) | True |
| or | Returns True if at least one condition is true | (5 > 10 or 3 < 7) | True |
| not | Reverses the result | not(5 > 2) | False |
Example:
a = 10
b = 5
print(a > 5 and b < 10) # True
print(a > 5 or b > 10) # True
print(not(a == 10)) # False
Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operators perform operations on binary representations of numbers (bit level). These are mostly used in low-level programming, such as hardware or performance-based applications.| Operator | Description | Example | Binary Operation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| & | AND | 5 & 3 | 0101 & 0011 | 1 |
| | | OR | 5 | 3 | 0101 | 0011 | 7 |
| ^ | XOR | 5 ^ 3 | 0101 ^ 0011 | 6 |
| ~ | NOT | ~5 | — | -6 |
| << | Left Shift | 5 << 1 | 0101 → 1010 | 10 |
| >> | Right Shift | 5 >> 1 | 0101 → 0010 | 2 |
Example:
a = 5 # 0101
b = 3 # 0011
print(a & b) # 1
print(a | b) # 7
print(a ^ b) # 6
print(a << 1) # 10
Operator Precedence in Python
When multiple operators are used in a single expression, Python follows a specific order of evaluation — known as operator precedence. Operators with higher precedence are executed first.| Precedence Level | Operator | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | () | Parentheses |
| 2 | ** | Exponentiation |
| 3 | +x, -x, ~x | Unary plus, minus, bitwise NOT |
| 4 | *, /, //, % | Multiplication, Division, Modulus |
| 5 | +, - | Addition, Subtraction |
| 6 | <<, >> | Bitwise Shift |
| 7 | & | Bitwise AND |
| 8 | ^ | Bitwise XOR |
| 9 | | | Bitwise OR |
| 10 | ==, !=, >, <, >=, <= | Comparison |
| 11 | not | Logical NOT |
| 12 | and | Logical AND |
| 13 | or | Logical OR |
Example:
x = 10 + 3 * 2
print(x) # 16 → Multiplication (*) has higher precedence than addition (+)
y = (10 + 3) * 2
print(y) # 26 → Parentheses override precedence
Summary
Understanding operators in Python is essential for writing efficient and logical code.| Operator Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic | Perform basic math operations |
| Assignment | Assign and update values |
| Comparison | Compare two values and return Boolean results |
| Logical | Combine multiple conditions |
| Bitwise | Work with binary data |
| Operator Precedence | Defines the order in which operations are evaluated |
In the next article, we'll explore Input and Output in Python — learning how to take user input and display formatted output effectively.