How to Print a Newline in Python

Do you know how to print a newline in Python? Do you struggle with multiple print() statements whenever you want to start a new line in your Python script? In this article, we’ll explore how to overcome this pitfall.

Newline is a feature related to the Python print() function. Maybe you already understand why you should learn Python but you’re unsure about Python printing techniques. That’s okay; this article will help you out.

To print multiple lines of text in Python, you can use either multiple print() statements or a single print() statement with newline characters (\n) inserted between the lines. We’ll give you some examples of these.

If you’re not familiar with the print() statement in Python, now might be a good time to take a look at our Python Basics track. It will give you the necessary foundations to start coding with confidence. Its 3 interactive courses will teach you Python data structures, control flow statements, and how to manipulate files. By the end of the course, you will know how to write and call your very own Python functions.

Ok, let’s suppose you know the basics of Python and you want to control how your results are displayed on the screen. For this, you’ll need the newline character.

Print a Newline Character Using print() Statements

The most basic way to print multiple lines of text in Python is to use multiple print() statements:

>>> print("Hello Pythonista!") 
>>> print("We love LearnPython.com")
>>> print("Python is so fun!")

Output:

Hello Pythonista!
We love LearnPython.com
Python is so fun!

In this example, each line of text is printed using a separate print() statement, causing each line to be printed on a separate line.

Note that you can use the end parameter of the print() function to change the default line-ending character. By default, the end parameter is set to "\n", but you can set it to an empty string "" to remove the newline character. Or you can use a different character or string for a different line ending. 

Using an Escape Sequence to Print a Newline

In Python, escape sequences are special characters that begin with a backslash (\) and are used to represent certain special characters or behaviors. These escape sequences allow you to include characters in your strings that might otherwise be difficult or impossible to type directly in your code.

One common use of escape sequences is to include newline characters (\n) in your strings.

A newline character is a special character that represents the end of a line of text. It causes the next characters to be printed on a new line.

When a newline character is encountered in a string, it tells Python to start a new line in the output. This can be useful for formatting text in your Python programs or creating multi-line strings.

Here are some examples of how to use the escape sequence to print newlines in Python:

Example 1: Use the \n escape sequence to print a newline:

>>> print("Hello\nWorld")

Output:

Hello 
World

Example 2: Use multiple \n escape sequences to print multiple newlines: 

>>> print("Hello Pythonista!\n\nWelcome to LearnPython.com!"")

Output:

Hello Pythonista! 


Welcome to LearnPython.com!

Example 3: Use an f-string and include a newline character in a formatted string:

>>> name = "Alice"
>>> print(f"Hello, {name}!\nHow are you today?")

Output:

Hello, Alice! 
How are you today?

In each of these examples, the \n escape sequence is used to insert a newline character into the output produced by the print() function. This causes the following characters to be printed on a new line. You can use as many \n escape sequences as you like to produce multiple lines.

But at the end of the day, the main advantage of the newline character is to print multiple lines with a single Python print() statement.

>>> print("Hello Pythonista!\nWe love LearnPython.com\nPython is so fun!")

Output:

Hello Pythonista!
We love LearnPython.com
Python is so fun!

In the example above, a single print() statement prints multiple lines of text by including newline characters (\n) between the lines. This causes the text to be printed with each line on a separate line.

Newlines can also be used to separate logical sections of code or data, such as in the case of a CSV or a text file where each row of data is separated by a newline character. You can verify this by opening a .txt file in Python, such as:

>>> file = open("example.txt", "rb")
>>> print(file.readlines())

Output:

['Hello Pythonista! \n', 'Welcome to LearnPython.com!\n', 'Python is awesome! ']

And if we type the following …

>>> print(f.read()) 

… then we get:

Hello Pythonista!
Welcome to LearnPython.com!
Python is awesome!

Overall, the newline character is an important concept in Python. It’s used extensively in text formatting and manipulation.

Practice Printing a Newline in Python!

In this article, we explored how to print a newline in Python. It’s good practice to use newlines in your Python code. This can make it easier to read and understand, especially for code containing multiple lines or long strings. It also avoids the pitfall of writing multiple print() statements.

Once you’re confident using newlines in your code, I encourage you to read our tips for Python scripts. You may also want to practice your Python skills using our practice set, which is specifically designed to help you reach the next level of programming proficiency.

Last but not least, remember to regularly visit LearnPython.com and keep learning!