---
title: "str.lower"
space: "Student Handbook"
url: "https://portal.cs17.org/student-handbook/python-manual/strings/lower"
updated: "2026-10-05"
---

Returns a copy of a string in lowercase.

## Synopsis

```python
text.lower()
```

## Description

Use `lower` to compare answers without caring about capitals.

It is a **method**: a function that belongs to the string, called with a dot. It does not change the original string. It returns a new one.

## Return value

A new `str`.

## Example

```python
answer = input("Do you agree? ").lower()
if answer in ["y", "yes"]:
    print("Agreed.")
```

It prints:

```text
Do you agree? YES
Agreed.
```

## Common mistake

```python
word = "HELLO"
word.lower()
print(word)
```

It prints:

```text
HELLO
```

Strings never change. Keep the result: `word = word.lower()`.

## See also

[str.upper](/student-handbook/python-manual/strings/upper), [in](/student-handbook/python-manual/strings/in), [str.strip](/student-handbook/python-manual/strings/strip)

[str.lower in the Python documentation](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str.lower)