How to use variables

Updated September 2026 · Beginner-friendly guide

Assign values

Assignment binds a name to a value. Python determines the type at runtime, so no type declaration is required.

course = "Python"
lessons = 29
price = 0.0
print(course, lessons, price)

Names may contain letters, digits, and underscores but cannot begin with a digit. They are case-sensitive. Python style uses snake_case.

student_name = "Ada"
completed_lessons = 4
# student_name and Student_Name would be different names

Reassignment makes a name refer to a new value. Augmented assignment is a concise way to update a numeric or collection value.

score = 10
score = score + 5
score += 2
print(score)  # 17

Iterable unpacking assigns matching items at once. The number of names must match the number of values.

width, height = 8, 5
first, second = ["red", "blue"]
print(width * height, first, second)