escape sequence
In Python, an escape sequence is a series of characters that represents a special character or action in a string. They allow you to include characters in strings that are otherwise difficult or impossible to express directly, such as newlines, tabs, or quotes.
Escape sequences start with a backslash (\), followed by a character that has a special meaning. For instance, \n represents a newline, \t represents a tab, and \\ represents a literal backslash.
Using escape sequences can make your strings more readable and easier to manage, especially when dealing with special characters or formatting requirements.
Example
Here’s a quick example of how to use escape sequences in Python:
>>> text = "Hello, Pythonistas!\nWelcome to Real Python!\tLet's learn Python!"
>>> print(text)
Hello, Pythonistas!
Welcome to Real Python! Let's learn Python!
When you run this code, you’ll see that \n creates a new line, and \t adds a tab space.
Related Resources
Tutorial
What Are Python Raw Strings?
In this tutorial, you'll learn the nuances of using raw string literals in your Python source code. Raw strings offer convenient syntax for including backslash characters in string literals without the complexity of escape sequences.
For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources:
- Strings and Character Data in Python (Tutorial)
- Unicode & Character Encodings in Python: A Painless Guide (Tutorial)
- Strings and Character Data in Python (Course)
- Python Raw Strings (Quiz)
- Python Strings and Character Data (Quiz)
- Unicode in Python: Working With Character Encodings (Course)
By Leodanis Pozo Ramos • Updated July 3, 2026
