I’m preparing for a Python interview and looking for a list of good questions that cover both basics and intermediate concepts. So far, I’ve found examples like:
- What is Python, and what are its key features?
- What’s the difference between tuples and lists?
- How do you use environment variables like
PYTHONPATH or PYTHONHOME?
- How can you generate random numbers or pick random items from a list?
I’d love to know what other Python interview questions are frequently asked, especially those that test understanding of data types, operators, or real-world coding logic.
When I was preparing for my Python interviews, I noticed that most questions go beyond just syntax; they test how you think in Python.
Besides the usual ones about lists, tuples, and dictionaries, you’ll often get asked:
-
Explain mutable vs immutable types with examples.
-
How do decorators work, and when would you use one?
-
What’s the difference between @staticmethod, @classmethod, and instance methods?
-
How does Python handle memory management or garbage collection?
-
How are shallow and deep copies different (copy vs deepcopy)?
If the role involves coding rounds, expect small logic-based problems like string reversal, frequency counting, or flattening nested lists, these show how well you use built-ins and control flow.
I also referred to some resources one of them is this : Top 60 Python Interview Questions and Answers [2024]
Having interviewed Python developers, I’ve found these questions most useful for assessing real understanding:
-
How does Python’s Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) affect multi-threading?
-
What’s the difference between is and ==?
-
How do list comprehensions differ from generator expressions?
-
Can you explain exception handling and when to use finally or else?
-
How do you manage dependencies in a project (virtual environments, pip, requirements.txt)?
Bonus tip: I often ask candidates to refactor a simple function, it reveals how well they write clean, Pythonic code.
From my own job hunt, I realized interviewers like mixing conceptual and practical Python questions.
Some that kept showing up were:
-
How does Python handle arguments, by value or by reference?
-
What’s the use of __init__.py files in packages?
-
How do you work with files safely using context managers (with open() as f:)?
-
Explain the difference between @property and normal methods.
-
What’s the output of tricky snippets involving mutable defaults (like def func(a=[]))?
If you’re brushing up, I’d also recommend practicing a few short scripts , things like parsing JSON, sorting custom objects, or merging dictionaries.
These tend to come up in real-world scenarios.