🚀 Top Python Interview Questions (With Answers) – Crack Your Next Python Interview

Python continues to dominate the programming world, and whether you're aiming for your first internship or applying to top companies like Google or Microsoft, strong Python skills are a must. To help you crack your next interview, we've compiled a list of frequently asked Python interview questions—from basic syntax to advanced concepts like decorators and generators.

This blog isn't just a copy-paste Q&A. Instead, we'll go deep where it matters, explain why behind the what, and give real-world examples where possible.

✅ Why Prepare for Python Interviews?

Python is used in web development, automation, AI/ML, and even cybersecurity. Interviewers test not just your syntax knowledge, but your understanding of problem-solving, core concepts, and real-world applications.

Let’s dive in.

1. What are Python's key features?

• Easy-to-read, English-like syntax.

• Dynamically typed.

• Interpreted (not compiled).

• Supports multiple paradigms (OOP, functional, procedural).

• Massive standard library + third-party packages (like NumPy, Flask, Django, etc.)

🧠 Pro Tip: Interviewers like to follow up with "Why would you choose Python over Java or C++?"

2. What’s the difference between is and == in Python?

1a = [1, 2, 3]
2b = a
3c = [1, 2, 3]
4
5print(a == c)  # True: Same content
6print(a is c)  # False: Different memory location

✅ == checks value equality
✅ is checks reference equality (same object in memory)

3. Explain list comprehensions with an example.

A compact way to generate lists.

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

🧠 Why it matters: Shows you're comfortable with Pythonic code and understand readability.

4. What are Python decorators?

Decorators are functions that modify the behavior of another function.

1def decorator(func):
2    def wrapper():
3        print("Before function call")
4        func()
5        print("After function call")
6    return wrapper
7
8@decorator
9def say_hello():
10    print("Hello!")
11
12say_hello()

Use cases: logging, authentication, timing functions, etc.

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

Feature List Tuple Mutability Mutable Immutable Syntax [] () Performance Slower Faster

🧠 Use tuple when your data should not change (e.g., coordinates, fixed settings).

6. **What are *args and kwargs?

They allow you to pass a variable number of arguments into a function.

1def demo(*args, **kwargs):
2    print(args)    # tuple
3    print(kwargs)  # dictionary
4
5demo(1, 2, 3, name="Lakshay", age=22)

Perfect for writing flexible APIs.

7. Explain Python's memory management.

• Uses reference counting and garbage collection.

• Every object has a reference count; when it hits zero, the memory is deallocated.

• Circular references are handled by cyclic GC in the gc module.

8. What are generators?

Generators are iterators written like functions using yield.

1def countdown(n):
2    while n > 0:
3        yield n
4        n -= 1
5
6for i in countdown(3):
7    print(i)

✅ Memory-efficient
✅ Lazy evaluation

9. What are Python’s data types?

• Basic: int, float, str, bool, None

• Collections: list, tuple, set, dict

• Others: complex, bytes, frozenset, range

🧠 Tip: Know their real-world use cases (e.g., use set to remove duplicates).

10. What are Python's scopes?

Python uses the LEGB Rule:

• Local

• Enclosing

• Global

• Built-in

Example:

1x = "global"
2
3def outer():
4    x = "enclosing"
5    def inner():
6        x = "local"
7        print(x)
8    inner()
9
10outer()  # Output: local

🔥 Bonus Round: Quick Fire Questions

• Immutable types? int, str, tuple, frozenset

• Mutable types? list, dict, set

• Lambda functions? One-liner anonymous functions: lambda x: x + 1

• PEP 8? Python’s style guide.

• What is __init__? Constructor method for classes.

💼 Final Interview Tips

• Master built-in functions like map, filter, zip, enumerate.

• Practice DSA problems in Python (LeetCode, HackerRank).

• Read and write clean, readable code—interviewers love that.

• Know about exception handling, file I/O, modules, and OOP basics.

💡 Wrap-up

Interviews don’t just test your Python skills—they test your approach. Understand the logic, don’t just memorize syntax. Use this guide as your cheat sheet, and you’ll go in with confidence. ✨

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