Shuffle a List, String, Tuple in Python: random.shuffle, sample

In Python, you can shuffle (i.e., randomly reorder) sequences using random.shuffle() and random.sample().

While random.shuffle() modifies a list in place, random.sample() returns a new randomized list and also supports immutable types such as strings and tuples.

For information on sorting or reversing a list, refer to the following articles.

• Sort a List, String, Tuple in Python: sort, sorted
• Reverse a List, String, Tuple in Python: reverse, reversed

Shuffle a List in Place: random.shuffle()

You can shuffle a list in place with random.shuffle().

• random.shuffle() — Generate pseudo-random numbers — Python 3.13.3 documentation

import random

l = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

random.shuffle(l)
print(l)
# [0, 3, 2, 4, 1]

Create a New Shuffled List: random.sample()

random.sample() returns a new list containing randomly selected elements from a list. The original list remains unchanged.

• Random Sampling from a List in Python: random.choice, sample, choices

To create a fully shuffled list, pass the total number of elements as the second argument. You can find the total number of elements using len().

• Get the Size (Length, Number of Items) of a List in Python

import random

l = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

l_shuffled = random.sample(l, len(l))
print(l_shuffled)
# [4, 3, 0, 1, 2]

print(l)
# [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

Shuffle a String and Tuple

Since strings and tuples are immutable, using random.shuffle() on them will result in a TypeError.

import random

s = 'abcde'

# random.shuffle(s)
# TypeError: 'str' object does not support item assignment

t = (0, 1, 2, 3, 4)

# random.shuffle(t)
# TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item assignment

To shuffle a string or tuple, use random.sample() to generate a list of randomly ordered elements, then convert it back to the original type.

When used on a string, random.sample() returns a list of characters. Use the join() method to convert it back into a string.

• Concatenate Strings in Python: + Operator, join, etc.

s_shuffled = ''.join(random.sample(s, len(s)))
print(s_shuffled)
# aedcb

To convert a list back into a tuple, use tuple().

• Convert Between a List and a Tuple in Python

t_shuffled = tuple(random.sample(t, len(l)))
print(t_shuffled)
# (4, 1, 2, 0, 3)

The above examples demonstrate how to shuffle an individual string or tuple. If you have a list of strings or tuples, you can use random.sample() or random.shuffle() to shuffle the list.

l = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date']

l_shuffled = random.sample(l, len(l))
print(l_shuffled)
# ['cherry', 'banana', 'apple', 'date']

random.shuffle(l)
print(l)
# ['date', 'apple', 'cherry', 'banana']

Fix the Random Seed: random.seed()

You can fix the random seed and initialize the random number generator with random.seed().

• random.seed() — Generate pseudo-random numbers — Python 3.13.3 documentation

Setting the same seed ensures that the shuffle produces the same result each time, which is useful for reproducibility.

l = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
random.seed(0)
random.shuffle(l)
print(l)
# [2, 1, 0, 4, 3]

l = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
random.seed(0)
random.shuffle(l)
print(l)
# [2, 1, 0, 4, 3]