Remove First Character from String in Python

Sometimes, we run into a problem where we need to remove the first character of each String using a Python programming language. This character may have been created by accident, and we need to do this for the single String or the whole list. This kind of utility is often used when developing websites or web applications.

To have shortcuts or methods for removing initial character is always a beneficial factor. There are three methods to delete or remove the first character of the given String or list.

Method #1: Using list comprehension with list slicing

The task works by using list slicing to eliminate the characters. List comprehension is used to apply the logic to the whole list.

Syntax

The following syntax shows how to remove the initial character of the String.

input_list = [values]
remove_char = [sub[1 : ] for sub in input_list]

Examples

The following examples show how to remove the initial character of the single String or list.

Example1

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the single String.

# initializing Single String
input_list  = ['SAGAR']
print("The original string value : " + str(input_list))
# use list comprehension with list slicing method
# Remove the first character of the single String 
remove_char  = [sub[1 : ] for sub in input_list]
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : " + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.

Remove First Character from String in Python

Example2

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the whole list.

# initializing whole string list
input_list  = ['SAGAR',  'ASADH',  'TINA',  'SANVI']
print("The original string value : \n" + str(input_list))
# use list comprehension with list slicing method
# Remove the first character of the whole String list
remove_char  = [sub[1 : ] for sub in input_list]
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : \n" + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.

Method #2: Using map() with lambda

The lambda feature uses list comprehension to remove the input string's first element. The map function works to get the operation to run for all of the list's members.

Syntax

The following syntax shows how to remove the initial character of the String.

input_list = [values]
remove_char = list(map(lambda i: i[ 1 : ], input_list))

Examples

The following examples show how to remove the initial character of the single String or list.

Example1

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the single String.

# initializing Single String
input_list  = ['SAGAR']
print("The original string value : " + str(input_list))
# use a list map with the Lamba method
# Remove the first character of the single String 
remove_char = list(map(lambda i: i[ 1 : ], input_list))
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : " + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.

Example2

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the whole list.

# initializing whole string list
input_list  = ['SAGAR',  'ASADH',  'TINA',  'SANVI']
print("The original string value : \n" + str(input_list))
# use a list map with the Lamba method
# Remove the first character of the single String 
remove_char = list(map(lambda i: i[ 1 : ], input_list))
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : \n" + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.

Method #3: Using replace() method

The replace() method is used with for loop. The method replaces the first String with the empty and null values.

Syntax

The following syntax shows how to remove the initial character of the String.

input_list = [values]
arr = []
for y in input_list:
      y=y.replace(y[0], "", 1)
      arr.append(y)

Examples

The following examples show how to remove the initial character of the single String or list.

Example1

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the single String.

# initializing Single String
input_list  = ['SAGAR']
print("The original string value : " + str(input_list))
# use a list map with the Lamba method
# Remove the first character of the single String 
remove_char = []
for y in input_list:
      y=y.replace(y[0], "", 1)
      remove_char.append(y)
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : " + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.

Example2

The following example shows how to remove the initial character of the whole string list.

# initializing Single String
input_list  = ['SAGAR',  'ASADH',  'TINA',  'SANVI']
print("The original string value : \n" + str(input_list))
# use a list map with the Lamba method
# Remove the first character of the single String 
remove_char = []
for y in input_list:
      y=y.replace(y[0], "", 1)
      remove_char.append(y)
# print final output
print("The value after deleting first character : \n" + str(remove_char))

Output

The given image shows the original and final output of the function.