Python Tutorials

Python Copy Dictionary

Copy Dictionary

You can not copy one dictionary to another dictionary variable by simply assigning it with an equal sign (dictionary_1 == dictionary_2).

In this case, dictionary_2 is the only reference to dictionary_1, and when you make changes to dictionary_1, those changes automatically appear in dictionary_2.

The copy() function in Python allows you to copy a dictionary.

Example

company_dictionary = {
    "name": "Google", 
    "country": "USA", 
    "start_year": 1995
}

company_dictionary_copy = company_dictionary.copy()
print(company_dictionary_copy)

{'name': 'Google', 'country': 'USA', 'start_year': 1995}

In the above example, we copy the company dictionary using the copy() function. In the output, you can see that the new copy company dictionary (copy_company_dictionary) matches the original company dictionary (company_dictionary).

You can also copy the dictionary using Python built-in dict() function.

Example

company_dictionary = {
    "name": "Google", 
    "country": "USA", 
    "start_year": 1995
}

company_dictionary_copy = dict(company_dictionary)
print(company_dictionary_copy)

{'name': 'Google', 'country': 'USA', 'start_year': 1995}

In the above example, we copy the company dictionary using the dict() function.