How to Access Values in a Dictionary in Python

A Python dictionary stores data as key-value pairs. To get a value, you use its key.

This page shows the most common ways to access dictionary values:

Direct access with square brackets
Safer access with get()
Checking whether a key exists
Accessing nested dictionary values
Looping through all key-value pairs

Quick answer

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

print(person["name"])      # Ana
print(person.get("age"))   # 25
print(person.get("city"))  # None

Use square brackets when the key must exist. Use get() when the key might be missing.

What this page helps you do

Access a value by its key
Use a safer method when a key may not exist
Understand the difference between [] and get()
Avoid common dictionary access errors

Access a value with square brackets

Use dictionary_name[key] to get a value from a dictionary.

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

print(person["name"])
print(person["age"])

Output:

Ana
25

This is the most direct way to access a value.

Use this when:

You know the key exists
The key is required for your program to work

If the key does not exist, Python raises a KeyError.

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

print(person["city"])

This causes an error because "city" is not a key in the dictionary.

If you want to learn more about this problem, see how to fix KeyError when accessing dictionary values.

Access a value with get()

Use dictionary_name.get(key) when the key may be missing.

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

print(person.get("name"))
print(person.get("city"))

Output:

Ana
None

If the key is not found, get() returns None instead of raising an error.

You can also provide a default value:

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

print(person.get("city", "Unknown"))

Output:

Unknown

This is useful when:

Data is optional
You are working with user input
You are reading data from an API or file
Missing keys are normal

If you want a full method reference, see Python dictionary get() method.

Check if a key exists before accessing it

Use key in dictionary_name to check whether a key exists.

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25}

if "name" in person:
    print(person["name"])

if "city" in person:
    print(person["city"])
else:
    print("city was not found")

Output:

Ana
city was not found

This helps you avoid KeyError and lets you run different code depending on whether the key is present.

Use this approach when:

You need different logic for missing keys
You want to show a custom message
You only want to access the value if the key exists

For a full beginner guide, see how to check if a key exists in a dictionary in Python.

Access nested dictionary values

Sometimes a dictionary value is another dictionary.

data = {
    "user": {
        "name": "Ana",
        "age": 25
    }
}

print(data["user"]["name"])

Output:

Ana

This works when all keys exist.

If nested keys may be missing, get() is safer:

data = {
    "user": {
        "name": "Ana"
    }
}

user = data.get("user", {})
print(user.get("name"))
print(user.get("age", "Not provided"))

Output:

Ana
Not provided

Breaking nested access into steps often makes your code easier to read.

Loop through a dictionary to access many values

If you want to access all entries, loop through the dictionary.

Use .items() to get both the key and the value:

person = {"name": "Ana", "age": 25, "city": "Madrid"}

for key, value in person.items():
    print(key, "->", value)

Output:

name -> Ana
age -> 25
city -> Madrid

This is useful when you want to:

Print all data
Process each key-value pair
Build reports or summaries

To learn more, see Python dictionary items() method.

When to use each approach

Use the method that matches your situation:

Use [] when the key must exist
Use get() when missing keys are normal
Use in when you need to branch based on whether a key exists
Use .items() when you need all key-value pairs

A simple rule:

Required key → use []
Optional key → use get()

Common mistakes

These are common reasons dictionary access fails:

Using a key that is not in the dictionary
Using the wrong spelling or capitalization for a key
Assuming nested keys always exist
Confusing dictionary keys with list indexes
Trying to access values before the dictionary is fully built

These quick checks can help when debugging:

print(my_dict)
print(my_dict.keys())
print("name" in my_dict)
print(my_dict.get("name"))
print(type(my_dict))

What these do:

print(my_dict) shows the full dictionary
print(my_dict.keys()) shows all available keys
print("name" in my_dict) checks whether "name" exists
print(my_dict.get("name")) safely tries to get the value
print(type(my_dict)) confirms that the object is really a dictionary

If you are new to dictionaries, see Python dictionaries explained.

FAQ

What is the safest way to access a dictionary value?

Use get() if the key may be missing. It avoids a KeyError.

What happens if I use square brackets with a missing key?

Python raises a KeyError.

How do I return a default value if a key is missing?

Use my_dict.get("key", default_value).

How do I get all values from a dictionary?

Use my_dict.values() to view all values. You can also read how to get all values from a dictionary in Python.

How do I access a nested dictionary value?

Use multiple keys, such as data["user"]["name"], or safer chained get() calls.