Operators in Python

In Python, operators are special symbols or keywords that perform operations on values and variables. They are the foundation of any computation — helping you perform tasks like addition, comparison, or logical evaluation.

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

Here:
- 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

By mastering arithmetic, comparison, logical, and bitwise operations, you’ll be able to create dynamic and powerful expressions.

In the next article, we'll explore Input and Output in Python — learning how to take user input and display formatted output effectively.

Operators in Python

What Are Operators?

Arithmetic Operators

Example:

Assignment Operators

Example:

Comparison Operators

Example:

Logical Operators

Example:

Bitwise Operators

Example:

Operator Precedence in Python

Example:

Summary

Nagesh Chauhan

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