Python Beginner Cheat Sheet: 19 Keywords Every Coder Must Know

by

Why this? I remember when I first stumbled upon the Python wiki years ago, searching for a straightforward way to learn Python. Most of what I found felt either too complicated or just impractical — especially with a busy life, work, family, and other things to learn. You’re in the right place. This is the resource I wish I had back then.

⭐ My Goal: I created these simple cheat sheets to help you reduced time and effort to go from zero Python skills to creating your first cool app.

More than 200,000 absolute Python beginners have already downloaded our free cheat sheets — and grown to a coding level that empowered them to build cool apps!

Can we get the basics done in 10 minutes? You be the judge! Let’s go! 👇👇👇

Python Keywords Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet is for beginners in the Python programming language. It explains everything you need to know about Python keywords.

Download and pin it to your wall until you feel confident using all these keywords! 👇

Grab All 5 Python Cheat Sheets (Free)

Download only this one PDF

Over time, this page has turned into a full-fledged Python tutorial with many additional resources, puzzles, tips, and videos. Go ahead and have some fun, learn a thing or two — and become a better coder in the process!

Interactive Python Puzzle

Test your skills and cement your knowledge! I’ve created an interactive puzzle that will make sure you truly understand all Python keywords discussed in the cheat sheet. Can you solve it for fun and learning?

🔥 Interactive Puzzle Link: https://app.finxter.com/learn/computer/science/653

Exercise: Think about this puzzle and guess the output. Then, check whether you were right!

Did you struggle with the puzzle? No problem — Let’s dive into all of these keywords to gain a better understanding of each.

Python Keywords

Learn 80% of the keywords in 20% of the time: these are the most important Python keywords.

Here’s a rewrite of each section of your blog with easy-to-understand and fun explanations:

Keywords False, True

These are the stars of the Boolean world. True means “Yes, this is correct!” and False means “Nope, that’s not right.”

Examples:

  • False == (1 > 2) → 1 is not greater than 2, so this is False.
  • True == (2 > 1) → 2 is definitely greater than 1, so this is True!

Keywords and, or, not

These are the logic superheroes that help you make decisions in code!

  • and: Both sides must be True for the whole thing to be True. Like saying, “I’ll go to the beach if it’s sunny and I have ice cream!”
  • or: Only one needs to be True. It’s like saying, “I’ll eat cake or cookies, I don’t care!”
  • not: This flips the truth! If something is True, “not” makes it False, and vice versa.

Examples:

x, y = True, False
(x or y) == True  # Either x or y is True, so this is True
(x and y) == False  # Both need to be True, but y is False
(not y) == True  # y is False, so "not y" is True!

Keyword break

This one just says “I’m done here!” It stops a loop in its tracks.

while(True):
    break  # Breaks out of the loop immediately
print("hello world")  # This will print because the loop ends right away

Keyword continue

“continue” is like saying, “Skip this part, let’s keep going!” It jumps to the next round of the loop.

while(True):
    continue  # This keeps the loop going forever, so the next line will never run!
    print("43")  # Dead code! It’ll never get here.

Keyword class

Think of a class as a blueprint for creating objects, like how a recipe is the blueprint for a cake. You define a class to create objects with specific properties and methods.

👉 Download our object-oriented programming Cheat Sheet here

class Beer:
    def __init__(self):
        self.content = 1.0  # Full beer!
    def drink(self):
        self.content = 0.0  # Now it's empty!
becks = Beer()  # You’ve made a beer!
becks.drink()  # You drank it! It's empty now.

Keyword def

“def” is short for “define.” It lets you create your own function, a little program inside your program!

def say_hello():
    print("Hello!")
say_hello()  # This will print "Hello!"

In other words, it defines a new function or class method. For the latter, the first parameter (“self”) points to the class object. When calling the class method, the first parameter is implicit.

Keywords if, elif, else

These are your program’s decision-makers. They choose which path to take based on conditions.

x = int(input("your value: "))
if x > 3:
    print("Big")  # If x is bigger than 3, say it's "Big"
elif x == 3:
    print("Medium")  # If x equals 3, say it's "Medium"
else:
    print("Small")  # Otherwise, say it's "Small"

Keywords for, while

These are loops that repeat stuff for you!

  • for: Loops a set number of times.
  • while: Keeps looping as long as a condition is True.

Examples:

for i in [0,1,2]:
    print(i)  # Prints 0, 1, 2
j = 0
while j < 3:
    print(j)  # Prints 0, 1, 2
    j += 1

Keyword in

This checks if something exists in a list or other sequence (membership). It’s like asking, “Is this ingredient in the recipe?”

42 in [2, 39, 42]  # True! 42 is in the list.

Keyword is

This checks if two things are literally the same object in memory (object identity or equality). Like asking, “Are we talking about the exact same cake?”

x = y = 3
x is y  # True, they are the same object.
[3] is [3]  # False, they’re different lists, even if they look the same.

Keyword None

“None” is just Python’s way of saying, “There’s nothing here.”

def f():
    x = 2
f() is None  # True, because the function doesn’t return anything.

Keyword lambda

This is a quick, anonymous function with no name—just a quick helper!

(lambda x: x + 3)(3)  # Adds 3 to the number and returns 6

Keyword return

“return” sends a value back from a function and ends the function. It’s like handing someone the answer to a math problem.

def incrementor(x):
    return x + 1  # Adds 1 and returns the result
incrementor(4)  # Returns 5

Voilà, this was a quick rundown of the most important Python keywords. Let’s keep going! 👇

Put yourself on the road to mastery and download your free Python cheat sheets now, print them, and post them to your office wall!

🔥 Go to the Next Level: If you really want to advance your career, even if you’re an absolute beginner, check out the Finxter Academy! You’ll learn the most important skill of our decade: using AI to create value. Each of our courses comes with a course certificate to get your dream job!

In the following, I’ll present you a compilation of the best Python cheat sheets on the web. So, keep reading!

12 Best Python Cheat Sheets

But these are not all—the following Python cheat sheets will greatly improve your learning efficiency! Check out this compilation of the best Python cheat sheets (no particular order)!

So let’s dive into the best Python cheat sheets recommended by us.

Cheat Sheet #1 – Python 3 Cheat Sheet

This is the best single cheat sheet. It uses every inch of the page to deliver value and covers everything you need to know to go from beginner to intermediate. Topics covered include container types, conversions, modules, math, conditionals, and formatting to name a few. A highly recommended 2-page sheet!

Cheat Sheet #2 – Python Beginner Cheat Sheet

Some might think this cheat sheet is a bit lengthy. At 26 pages, it is the most comprehensive cheat sheets out there. It explains variables, data structures, exceptions, and classes – to name just a few. If you want the most thorough cheat sheet, pick this one.

Cheat Sheet #3 – Python for Data Science

Some of the most popular things to do with Python are Data Science and Machine Learning.

In this cheat sheet, you will learn the basics of Python and the most important scientific library: NumPy (Numerical Python). You’ll learn the basics plus the most important NumPy functions.

If you are using Python for Data Science, download this cheat sheet.

Cheat Sheet #4 – Python for Data Science (Importing Data)

This Python data science cheat sheet from DataCamp is all about getting data into your code.

Think about it: importing data is one of the most important tasks when working with data. Increasing your skills in this area will make you a better data scientist—and a better coder overall!

Cheat Sheet #5 – Python Cheatography Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet is for more advanced learners. It covers class, string, and list methods as well as system calls from the sys module. 

Once you’re comfortable defining basic classes and command-line interfaces (CLIs), get this cheat sheet. It will take you to another level.

Cheat Sheet #6 – The Ultimative Python Cheat Sheet Course (5x Email Series)

Want to learn Python well, but don’t have much time?

Then this course is for you. It contains 5 carefully designed PDF cheat sheets. Each cheat sheet takes you one step further into the rabbit hole.

You will learn practical Python concepts from the hand-picked examples and code snippets. The topics include basic keywords, simple and complex data types, crucial string and list methods, and powerful Python one-liners.

If you lead a busy life and do not want to compromise on quality, this is the cheat sheet course for you!

Cheat Sheet #7 – Dataquest Data Science Cheat Sheet – Python Basics

The wonderful team at Dataquest has put together this comprehensive beginner-level Python cheat sheet.

It covers all the basic data types, looping, and reading files. It’s beautifully designed and is the first of a series.

Cheat Sheet #8 – Dataquest Data Science Cheat Sheet – Intermediate

This intermediate-level cheat sheet is a follow-up of the other Dataquest cheat sheet. It contains intermediate dtype methods, looping, and handling errors.

Cheat Sheet #9 – Dataquest NumPy

NumPy is at the heart of data science. Advanced libraries like scikit-learn, Tensorflow, Pandas, and Matplotlib are built on NumPy arrays.

You need to understand NumPy before you can thrive in data science and machine learning. The topics of this cheat sheet are creating arrays, combining arrays, scalar math, vector math, and statistics.

This is only one great NumPy cheat sheet—if you want to get more, check out our article on the 10 best NumPy cheat sheets!

Cheat Sheet #10 – Python For Data Science (Bokeh)

Want to master the visualization library Bokeh? This cheat sheet is for you! It contains all the basic Bokeh commands to get your beautiful visualizations going fast!

Cheat Sheet #11 – Pandas Cheat Sheet for Data Science

Pandas is everywhere. If you want to master “the Excel library for Python coders”, why not start with this cheat sheet? It’ll get you started fast and introduces the most important Pandas functions to you.

You can find a best-of article about the 7 best Pandas Cheat Sheets here.

Cheat Sheet #12 – Regular Expressions Cheat Sheet

Regex to the rescue! Regular expressions are wildly important for anyone who handles large amounts of text programmatically (ask Google).

This cheat sheet introduces the most important Regex commands for quick reference. Download & master these regular expressions!

If you love cheat sheets, here are some interesting references for you (lots of more PDF downloads):

Related Articles:

To master the most important skill in the next decade, AI engineering, check out the following course. It’s free and easy to learn but a dangerous skill to have in the age of AI! 👇👇

🚀 Free Course: A Beginner’s Guide to AI Engineering (Full Course)