Python Program to Replace the Spaces of a String with a Specific Character

In Python, spaces in a string can be replaced with specific characters using the replace() method. The replace() method substitutes all occurrences of a specified substring with a new substring. This article demonstrates how to use replace() to replace spaces with various characters.

Syntax

The syntax of the replace() method is ?

string.replace(old, new[, count])

Parameters

  • old The substring to be replaced
  • new The replacement substring
  • count (optional) Number of occurrences to replace. If omitted, all occurrences are replaced

Example 1: Replace Spaces with Hyphens

To replace spaces with hyphens, pass a space ' ' as the old string and a hyphen '-' as the new string ?

text = "Hello World Python"
result = text.replace(' ', '-')
print("Original:", text)
print("Modified:", result)

The output of the above code is ?

Original: Hello World Python
Modified: Hello-World-Python

Example 2: Replace Spaces with Underscore

Similarly, spaces can be replaced with underscores by passing '_' as the replacement character ?

sentence = "This is a Python tutorial"
modified_sentence = sentence.replace(' ', '_')
print("Original:", sentence)
print("Modified:", modified_sentence)

The output of the above code is ?

Original: This is a Python tutorial
Modified: This_is_a_Python_tutorial

Example 3: Replace Limited Number of Spaces

Use the count parameter to replace only a specific number of spaces. This example replaces only the first two spaces ?

text = "I am learning Python programming language"
result = text.replace(' ', '_', 2)
print("Original:", text)
print("Modified:", result)

The output of the above code is ?

Original: I am learning Python programming language
Modified: I_am_learning Python programming language

Example 4: Replace Spaces with Special Characters

Spaces can be replaced with any character, including special symbols ?

text = "Python Data Science"
result1 = text.replace(' ', '*')
result2 = text.replace(' ', '@')
result3 = text.replace(' ', '|')

print("With asterisk:", result1)
print("With at symbol:", result2)
print("With pipe:", result3)

The output of the above code is ?

With asterisk: Python*Data*Science
With at symbol: Python@Data@Science
With pipe: Python|Data|Science

Comparison of Methods

Method Use Case Example
replace(' ', '-') All spaces to hyphens "Hello World" ? "Hello-World"
replace(' ', '_', 1) First space only "Hello World Python" ? "Hello_World Python"
replace(' ', '*') All spaces to special chars "Hello World" ? "Hello*World"

Conclusion

The replace() method provides a simple way to substitute spaces with any character. Use the optional count parameter to limit replacements when needed.

Updated on: 2026-03-27T01:14:43+05:30

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