isinstance() method - Python
Last Updated : 22 Apr, 2025
isinstance() is a built-in Python function that checks whether an object or variable is an instance of a specified type or class (or a tuple of classes), returning True if it matches and False otherwise, making it useful for type-checking and ensuring safe operations in dynamic code. Example:
Python x = 10 print(isinstance(x, int)) # x is int class Animal: pass dog = Animal() print(isinstance(dog, Animal)) # dog is Animal
Explanation:
- isinstance(x, int) returns True as x is an integer.
- isinstance(dog, Animal) returns True as dog is an instance of the Animal class.
Syntax of isinstance()
isinstance(obj, classinfo)
Parameters:
- obj: The object to check.
- classinfo: A class, type or a tuple of classes/types.
Returns:
- True if obj is an instance of classinfo or any type in the tuple and otherwise False.
Raises: TypeError if classinfo is not a valid class or type.
Examples of isinstance()
Example 1: In this example, we use isinstance() to check if an integer and a list are instances of the int or str types.
Python a = 5 b = [10,20,37] print(isinstance(a, int)) print(isinstance(b, list)) print(isinstance(b, (int, list,str)))
Explanation:
- isinstance(a, int) returns True because a is an integer.
- isinstance(b, list) returns True because b is a list.
- isinstance(b, (int, list, str)) returns True because b is a list, which is one of the types in the tuple.
Example 2: In this example, we check if an object is an instance of a specific class or its parent class.
Python class Animal: pass class Dog(Animal): pass dog = Dog() print(isinstance(dog, Dog)) print(isinstance(dog, Animal))
Explanation:
- isinstance(dog, Dog) returns True as dog is an instance of the Dog class.
- isinstance(dog, Animal) returns True as dog is also an instance of the parent class Animal.
Example 3: In this example, we check if an object is an instance of a specific type, such as a Python string or a dictionary.
Python a = "Hello" print(isinstance(a, str)) b = {"apple": 1} print(isinstance(b, dict)) Explanation:
- isinstance(a, str) returns True as a is a string.
- isinstance(b, dict) returns True as b is a dictionary.
Example 4: In this example, we check if an object is an instance of a class or its derived class.
Python class MyClass: def method(self): return "Hello" obj = MyClass() print(isinstance(obj.method(), str))
Explanation: isinstance(obj.method(), str) returns True as obj.method() returns the string "Hello".
Difference between isinstance() and type() methods in Python
The following table highlights the differences between the isinstance() and type() methods, both used for type checking. Knowing when to use each helps write more efficient and reliable code.
isinstance() | type() |
|---|
| Syntax: isinstance(object, class) | Syntax: type(object) |
It checks if an object is of a specific class type | It returns the class type of an object |
It can check if the object belongs to a class and its subclasses | It cannot deal with inheritance |
| It is faster as compared to type() | It is slower than isinstance() |
| It returns either True or False | It returns the type of the object |
| It can check for multiple classes at a time | It cannot do this |
| Example: isinstance(10, (int, str)) | Example: type(10) |