str.count()

str.count(sub[, start[, end]])

The count() method searches for a substring and returns how many times it appears. It only counts non-overlapping occurrences, meaning each match starts after the previous one ends.

Syntax

str.count(sub[, start[, end]])

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
sub	str	—	The substring to search for
start	int	None	Index to start searching from (defaults to 0)
end	int	None	Index to stop searching at (defaults to len(string))

Examples

Basic usage

text = "hello hello hello"
print(text.count("hello"))
# 3

print(text.count("world"))
# 0

Using start and end

text = "abababab"
print(text.count("ab"))
# 4

# Only count from index 4 onwards
print(text.count("ab", 4))
# 2

Case sensitivity

text = "Hello hello HELLO"
print(text.count("Hello"))
# 1

print(text.count("hello"))
# 1

print(text.lower().count("hello"))
# 3

Common Patterns

Counting characters

text = "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
vowels = sum(1 for c in text if c in "aeiou")
print(vowels)
# 11

Counting words in a sentence

sentence = "the cat sat on the mat"
word = "the"
count = sentence.split().count(word)
print(count)
# 2

Checking if a substring appears

text = "import this"
if text.count("import") > 0:
    print("Found 'import'")
# Found 'import'

See Also

• str.find()
• str.rfind()
• str.startswith()