Split String into List of characters in Python

We are given a string and our task is to split this string into a list of its individual characters, this can happen when we want to analyze or manipulate each character separately. For example, if we have a string like this: 'gfg' then the output will be ['g', 'f', 'g'].

Using List

The simplest way to convert a string into a list of characters in Python is to use the built-in list() function, which directly converts each character in the string to a list element.

s = "hello"
a = list(s)
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation:

• list(s) splits the string into individual characters.
• 'hello' becomes ['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o'].

Using List Comprehension

List comprehension provides a shorter and clearer syntax compared to the traditional loop approach.

s = "hello"
a = [char for char in s]
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation:

• [char for char in s] iterates over each character in s.
• char is added to the list for each iteration, producing the list of characters.

Using Unpacking Operator *

The unpacking operator * can be used to split a string into a list of characters in a single line. This approach is compact and works well for quickly converting a string to a list.

s = "hello"
a = [*s]
print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation: [ *s ] unpacks each character in the string s into a list.

Using a Loop

We can also use a simple loop (for loop) to convert string into list of characters. This method is useful when we want to include additional logic within the loop.

s = "hello"
a = []       

for char in s:
  
  a.append(char)  

print(a)

['h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o']

Explanation: This code splits the string s = "hello" into a list of characters by iterating through each character and appending it to the list a.

Related Articles:

• Python list() Function
• Python For Loops
• List Comprehension in Python
• Packing and Unpacking Arguments in Python