Top 15 Python Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers (2026)

Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world due to its simplicity, readability, and versatile ecosystem in web development, data science, and automation. If you are preparing for your first technical interview as a fresher, here are the top 15 Python questions you must know.

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1. What is the difference between List and Tuple in Python?

• List: Mutable (can be modified after creation). Declared using square brackets []. Slower execution.
• Tuple: Immutable (cannot be modified after creation). Declared using parentheses (). Faster execution and uses less memory.

# Example of List (Mutable)
my_list = [1, 2, 3]
my_list[0] = 10  # Valid

# Example of Tuple (Immutable)
my_tuple = (1, 2, 3)
# my_tuple[0] = 10  # Raises TypeError

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2. How is memory managed in Python?

Memory management in Python is handled automatically by the Python Memory Manager:

• Heap Space: All Python objects and data structures are stored in a private heap.
• Garbage Collection: Python uses reference counting and a cyclic garbage collector to automatically release memory of objects that are no longer referenced.
• Dynamic Typing: You do not need to declare variables; memory is allocated dynamically at runtime.

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3. What are Decorators in Python?

A decorator is a design pattern in Python that allows you to modify the behavior of a function or class without changing its source code. They are represented by the @decorator_name syntax.

def my_decorator(func):
    def wrapper():
        print("Something before the function runs.")
        func()
        print("Something after the function runs.")
    return wrapper

@my_decorator
def say_hello():
    print("Hello!")

say_hello()
# Output:
# Something before the function runs.
# Hello!
# Something after the function runs.

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4. What is the difference between deepcopy and shallowcopy?

• Shallow Copy: Creates a new object, but inserts references to the original nested objects. Modifying a nested object in the copy will affect the original.
• Deep Copy: Recursively copies everything, creating completely independent copies of nested objects. Modifying the copy will not affect the original.

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5. What are generators in Python? How do they differ from normal functions?

Generators are functions that return an iterator using the yield keyword instead of return. They generate values on-the-fly and do not load the entire list into memory, making them highly memory-efficient.

# Generator Example
def fibonacci(n):
    a, b = 0, 1
    for _ in range(n):
        yield a
        a, b = b, a + b

for num in fibonacci(5):
    print(num)  # Prints 0, 1, 1, 2, 3

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6. What is the difference between range() and xrange()?

• In Python 2, range() returned a list of numbers (consuming memory), while xrange() returned a generator-like sequence object.
• In Python 3, xrange() was removed, and the standard range() function now behaves like xrange(), returning an immutable sequence object that is highly memory-efficient.

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7. What is PEP 8?

PEP 8 stands for Python Enhancement Proposal 8. It is the official style guide for writing Python code. Key guidelines include:

• Use 4 spaces per indentation level.
• Limit all lines to a maximum of 79 characters.
• Use snake_case for functions and variables, and PascalCase for classes.
• Surround top-level function and class definitions with two blank lines.

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8. What is the Difference between is and == operators?

• == compares the equality of values. If values are equal, it returns True.
• is compares the identity/memory location of two objects. It returns True only if both variables point to the exact same object in memory.

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9. How do you handle exceptions in Python?

Python uses try, except, else, and finally blocks for exception handling:

try:
    result = 10 / 0
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("Cannot divide by zero!")
else:
    print("Division successful!")
finally:
    print("Execution complete.")

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10. What is a lambda function?

A lambda function is a small, anonymous, one-line function defined using the lambda keyword. It can take any number of arguments but can only have a single expression.

# Lambda to multiply two numbers
multiply = lambda x, y: x * y
print(multiply(5, 4))  # Output: 20

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11–15: Quick-Fire Concepts

1. What is global interpreter lock (GIL)? A mutex that allows only one thread to execute Python bytecode at a time, ensuring thread safety but limiting CPU-bound multi-threading.
2. How to convert a string to lowercase? Use the .lower() method.
3. What is docstring? A triple-quoted string at the beginning of a function, method, or class used to document its purpose.
4. What are *args and kwargs? *args allows passing variable non-keyword arguments to a function, while kwargs allows passing keyword-value arguments.
5. What is a set? An unordered collection of unique elements. Declared with curly braces {}.

Python interviews evaluate how well you understand core memory management, readability, and clean scripting. Practice writing clean code and explaining the underlying mechanisms.