Python Logical Operators: and, or, not

Real decisions rarely depend on just one thing. You can board a flight if you have a ticket and a passport. You get free dessert if it's your birthday or you're a loyalty member. Python logical operators, and, or and not, let your code combine conditions like these. In this lesson, you'll learn their truth tables, how Python takes shortcuts when checking them, and a surprising trick: they don't always return True or False.

What are logical operators in Python?

Logical operators combine or flip boolean conditions. You had a short preview in Python booleans; now let's look at them properly.

Unlike many languages that use &&, || and !, Python spells these operators as plain English words.

Truth tables for and, or and not

A truth table lists every possible combination of inputs and the result. With two sides that can each be True or False, there are only four combinations, so these tables are easy to learn:

print(True and True)
print(True and False)
print(False or True)
print(False or False)
print(not False)

True
False
True
False
True

How does the and operator work?

Use and when every condition must be met. Here's a simple login check: the username must match and the password must match.

saved_user = "maya"
saved_password = "sunset42"

typed_user = "maya"
typed_password = "sunset24"

can_log_in = typed_user == saved_user and typed_password == saved_password
print(can_log_in)

False

The username is right, but the password isn't, so the whole and is False. Notice that you don't need brackets around each comparison: comparison operators run before and. (More on this in operator precedence.)

How does the or operator work?

Use or when any one condition is enough. A store gives a discount to students, seniors (65+), or anyone spending over $100:

is_student = False
age = 70
order_total = 45

gets_discount = is_student or age >= 65 or order_total > 100
print(gets_discount)

True

Only the middle condition is true, and for or, one is all it takes.

How does the not operator work?

not works on a single value and flips it. It's useful when your variable describes the opposite of what you want to check:

is_sold_out = False
print("Can buy:", not is_sold_out)

is_weekend = True
alarm_on = not is_weekend
print("Alarm on:", alarm_on)

Can buy: True
Alarm on: False

Combining and, or and not

You can mix all three in one condition. Python evaluates not first, then and, then or. When you mix and with or, add parentheses so the meaning is obvious to anyone reading:

has_ticket = True
has_passport = True
is_banned = False

can_board = has_ticket and has_passport and not is_banned
print(can_board)

is_member = False
coupon_code = "SAVE10"
is_holiday_sale = True

gets_deal = (is_member or coupon_code == "SAVE10") and is_holiday_sale
print(gets_deal)

True
True

What is short-circuit evaluation?

Python is lazy in a clever way. It checks the left side first and stops as soon as the answer is certain. This is called short-circuit evaluation:

• A and B: if A is false, the result must be false, so Python never looks at B.
• A or B: if A is true, the result must be true, so Python never looks at B.

You can prove it: the right side below would crash with a division by zero, but Python never runs it.

guests = 0

print(guests > 0 and 60 / guests > 10)
print(guests == 0 or 60 / guests > 10)

False
True

This is a real, everyday pattern: put the safety check first (guests > 0) so the risky part only runs when it's safe.

Do and and or always return True or False?

Surprisingly, no. and and or return one of their operands, the actual value that decided the answer. They use truthy and falsy rules to decide:

• or returns the first truthy value, or the last value if none are truthy.
• and returns the first falsy value, or the last value if all are truthy.

print("" or "Guest")
print("Sam" or "Guest")
print(0 and 99)
print(5 and 99)
print(not "hello")

Guest
Sam
0
99
False

Only not always returns a real boolean. The or behavior gives a popular shortcut for default values:

nickname = ""
display_name = nickname or "Anonymous player"
print("Welcome,", display_name)

Welcome, Anonymous player

If the user left their nickname empty (falsy), the default is used instead.

Real-world example: an online store checkout

cart_total = 74.50
is_member = True
in_stock = True
address = "221B Baker Street"

free_shipping = cart_total >= 50 or is_member
can_checkout = in_stock and address != ""
needs_address = not address

print("Free shipping:", free_shipping)
print("Can check out:", can_checkout)
print("Needs address:", needs_address)

Free shipping: True
Can check out: True
Needs address: False

Common mistakes with logical operators

1. Writing x == "a" or "b"

size = "small"
print(size == "large" or "medium")

medium

This looks like "is size large or medium?", but Python reads it as (size == "large") or "medium". The left side is False, so or returns "medium", which is truthy, so this check would always pass. Repeat the comparison: size == "large" or size == "medium".

2. Using &&, || or ! from other languages

print(True && False)

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Python uses the words and, or and not.

3. Mixing and with or without parentheses

a or b and c means a or (b and c), because and runs first. If you meant (a or b) and c, write the parentheses.

Practice exercise

height = 112
is_pregnant = False
with_adult = True

can_ride = (height >= 120 or with_adult) and not is_pregnant
print("Can ride:", can_ride)

Can ride: True

What's next?

You can now combine conditions like a pro. Next, meet two special kinds of operators: is, which checks whether two names point to the same object, and in, which checks whether something is inside a collection, in identity and membership operators.