Python's most commonly used built-in functions, organized by alphabet. Each function is explained with a brief description, an example, and some fun 🎉 emojis to make it easier and more enjoyable to learn.

🔤 A

abs() – Absolute value

Returns the absolute value of a number

abs(-7)  # 7

all() – Checks if all items are True

Returns True if all elements in an iterable are true

all([1, 2, 3])  # True

any() – Any item True?

Returns True if at least one element is True

any([False, 0, 5])  # True

ascii() – String representation

Returns a string containing a printable representation

ascii("café")  # "'caf\\xe9'"

🧮 B

bin() – Binary representation

Returns binary version of a number

bin(5)  # '0b101'

bool() – Boolean value

Converts a value to Boolean (True or False)

bool(0)  # False

bytearray() – Mutable byte sequence

Creates a mutable array of bytes

bytearray('hello', 'utf-8')  # bytearray(b'hello')

bytes() – Immutable byte sequence

Creates an immutable bytes object

bytes('hello', 'utf-8')  # b'hello'

📞 C

chr() – Character from ASCII

Returns the character corresponding to an ASCII code

chr(65)  # 'A'

complex() – Complex numbers

Creates a complex number

complex(2, 3)  # (2+3j)

🗑️ D

delattr() – Delete attribute

Deletes an attribute from an object

class Car:
    color = "red"
delattr(Car, "color")

dict() – Dictionary

Creates a dictionary

dict(name="Alice", age=25)  # {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 25}

dir() – List attributes

Returns list of attributes of an object

dir([])  # Shows list methods like append(), sort(), etc.

divmod() – Division & Modulus

Returns quotient and remainder

divmod(10, 3)  # (3, 1)

🔁 E

enumerate() – Index + Value

Returns index and value pairs

for i, val in enumerate(['a','b','c']): print(i, val)

eval() – Evaluate expression

Evaluates a string as Python code

eval("2 + 3")  # 5

exec() – Execute code

Executes a block of Python code

exec("x = 5\nprint(x)")  # 5

🧹 F

filter() – Filter items

Filters iterable using a function

list(filter(lambda x: x > 3, [1,2,3,4,5]))  # [4,5]

float() – Float conversion

Converts a value to float

float("3.14")  # 3.14

format() – Format values

Formats a string

"{} {}".format("Hello", "World")  # 'Hello World'

frozenset() – Immutable set

Creates an immutable set

frozenset([1,2,3])  # frozenset({1,2,3})

💡 G

getattr() – Get attribute

Returns the value of a named attribute

class Dog: name = "Buddy"
getattr(Dog, "name")  # 'Buddy'

globals() – Global variables

Returns dictionary of global variables

globals()

🔍 H

hasattr() – Check attribute

Returns True if object has that attribute

hasattr(str, "upper")  # True

hash() – Hash value

Returns hash of an object

hash("hello")  # Some integer

help() – Documentation

Shows help documentation

help(list)

hex() – Hexadecimal

Returns hexadecimal representation

hex(255)  # '0xff'

🔢 I

id() – Identity

Returns memory address of object

id("hello")

input() – User input

Takes input from user

name = input("Enter name: ")

int() – Integer conversion

Converts to integer

int("123")  # 123

isinstance() – Type check

Returns True if object is instance of class

isinstance(5, int)  # True

issubclass() – Inheritance check

Returns True if class is subclass

issubclass(bool, int)  # True

iter() – Iterator

Returns iterator object

it = iter([1,2,3])
next(it)  # 1

📏 L

len() – Length

Returns length of object

len("hello")  # 5

list() – List

Converts to list

list((1,2,3))  # [1,2,3]

locals() – Local variables

Returns local variable dict

locals()

🔄 M

map() – Apply function

Applies function to all items

list(map(lambda x: x.upper(), ["a"]))  # ['A']

max() – Maximum

Returns maximum value

max([1,2,3])  # 3

min() – Minimum

Returns minimum value

min([1,2,3])  # 1

memoryview() – Memory view

Access internal data without copying

mv = memoryview(b'Hello')

⏭️ N

next() – Next item

Returns next item from iterator

it = iter([1,2])
next(it)  # 1

📦 O

object() – Base class

Returns a new featureless object

obj = object()

oct() – Octal

Returns octal representation

oct(8)  # '0o10'

open() – File opener

Opens a file

with open("file.txt") as f: content = f.read()

ord() – ASCII code

Returns ASCII code for a character

ord('A')  # 65

🔥 P

pow() – Power

Raises a number to a power

pow(2, 3)  # 8

print() – Output

Prints output to console

print("Hello!")

property() – Property

Used in classes to create managed attributes

class Circle:
    def __init__(self, radius):
        self._radius = radius

    @property
    def radius(self):
        return self._radius

🔄 R

range() – Range of numbers

Generates sequence of numbers

list(range(1, 5))  # [1,2,3,4]

repr() – Representation

Returns string representation

repr("hello")  # "'hello'"

reversed() – Reverse iterator

Returns reversed iterator

list(reversed([1,2,3]))  # [3,2,1]

round() – Round number

Rounds a number to n digits

round(3.1415, 2)  # 3.14

🛠️ S

set() – Set

Creates a set

set([1,2,2])  # {1,2}

setattr() – Set attribute

Sets an attribute on an object

class Car: pass
setattr(Car, "color", "blue")

slice() – Slice object

Represents slicing

s = slice(1, 4)
[0,1,2,3,4][s]  # [1,2,3]

sorted() – Sort

Returns sorted list

sorted([3,1,2])  # [1,2,3]

staticmethod() – Static method

Marks a method as static

class Math:
    @staticmethod
    def add(a, b): return a + b

str() – String

Converts to string

str(123)  # '123'

sum() – Summation

Adds all items

sum([1,2,3])  # 6

super() – Parent class

Calls parent class method

class Child(Parent):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

📦 T

tuple() – Tuple

Converts to tuple

tuple([1,2])  # (1,2)

type() – Type

Returns type of object

type(5)  # <class 'int'>

📥 V

vars() – Object attributes

Returns __dict__ of an object

class Person: pass
p = Person()
vars(p)  # {}

📦 Z

zip() – Pair items

Pairs items from multiple iterables

list(zip([1,2], ['a','b']))  # [(1,'a'), (2,'b')]

🧠 Special

__import__() – Import module

Used by import system internally

math = __import__('math')  # Same as import math

🚀 Summary Table