How to loop N times in Python

Looping for N times in Python can be done using both the for and while loops.

This tutorial will show you how to use both loops in practice.

1. Loop N times using the for loop

The most preferred method to loop N times is to use the for loop and range() function.

The range() function allows you to specify a range of numbers stored as a range object, which you can iterate over using a for loop.

For example, here’s how to loop 3 times in Python:

for i in range(3):
    print(i, "Hello")

Output:

0 Hello
1 Hello
2 Hello

Note that the i variable becomes the number 0, 1, and 2 in each iteration because it’s the number inside the range object.

If you want to loop 5 times, just pass 5 to the range() function:

for i in range(5):
    print(i, "Howdy!")

0 Howdy!
1 Howdy!
2 Howdy!
3 Howdy!
4 Howdy!

Next, let’s see how you can loop for N times using the while loop.

2. Loop N times using the while loop

When you need to loop for N times using the while loop, you need to set a counter variable that keeps track of the iteration in your loop.

You can set the counter from 0, and increment it by 1 each time the iteration is finished.

To repeat the while loop N times, just specify counter < N as the condition for the loop. For example, here’s how to loop 3 times using the while loop:

counter = 0

while counter < 3:
    print(counter, "Good morning!")
    counter += 1

Output:

0 Good morning!
1 Good morning!
2 Good morning!

And here’s how to repeat for 5 times:

counter = 0

while counter < 5:
    print(counter, "Good!")
    counter += 1

Output:

0 Good!
1 Good!
2 Good!
3 Good!
4 Good!

Now you’ve learned how to loop for N times using the while loop.

Conclusion

You can use both the for and while loops to loop for N times in Python.

If you need to loop as many times as the length of a list, you can use the range(len()) syntax as shown in this article.

I hope this tutorial is helpful. Happy coding! 👍