Python – Copy Dictionaries

Copy a Dictionary

You cannot copy a dictionary simply by typing dict2 = dict1, because: dict2 will only be a reference to dict1, and changes made in dict1 will automatically also be made in dict2.

There are ways to make a copy, one way is to use the built-in Dictionary method copy().

Example

Make a copy of a dictionary with the copy() method:

thisdict = {
  "brand": "Ford",
  "model": "Mustang",
  "year": 1964
}
mydict = thisdict.copy()
print(mydict)

Another way to make a copy is to use the built-in function dict().

Example

Make a copy of a dictionary with the dict() function:

thisdict = {
  "brand": "Ford",
  "model": "Mustang",
  "year": 1964
}
mydict = dict(thisdict)
print(mydict)