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How to Fix: print Is No Longer a Function in Python

How to Fix: Print Is No Longer a Function in Python

Have you ever encountered this strange error in Python?

TypeError: 'bytes' object is not callable

Or maybe this one?

TypeError: 'str' object is not callable

If you’re trying to use the print() function and suddenly Python complains that it’s not callable, there’s a good chance you’ve accidentally overwritten the built-in print function.

Let’s walk through what happened, how to fix it, and how to avoid it in the future.

 What Went Wrong?

Here’s a simple example of how the problem starts:

print = "Hello"
print("World")

Python responds with:

TypeError: 'str' object is not callable

Why? Because you did this:

print = "Hello"

Now, the name print is no longer referring to Python’s built-in function. It’s now a string variable, so when you try to use print("World"), Python thinks you’re trying to “call” a string — which is not possible.

✅ How to Fix It

To fix the problem, you need to delete the variable assignment that shadowed the built-in function.

Step 1: Use del to Remove the Reassignment

del print

This deletes your custom variable and restores access to the original built-in print() function.

Step 2: Try Again

print("Now it works!")

Output:

Now it works!

 What If You Assigned It to Another Type?

Sometimes, people assign it to other types like int, list, or bytes, which causes the same issue:

print = b"binary"
print("oops")
# TypeError: 'bytes' object is not callable

Again, fix it with:

del print

 Pro Tips to Avoid This Mistake

  1. Never name your variables after built-in functions, like:

  • print
  • input
  • str
  • list
  • sum
  • max, etc.

  1. If you’re unsure, you can check the type of a name using:

print(type(print))

If it says <class 'str'> or <class 'bytes'>, you’ve overwritten it!

 Summary

Problem Cause Fix
print() not working You assigned a value to print del print
TypeError: 'str' object is not callable print = "hello" happened earlier del print
Output doesn’t show print is now a variable, not a function del print

Final Word

Python is a very friendly language, but it’s easy to shoot yourself in the foot if you accidentally redefine built-in functions. Now that you know how to fix it, you’re one step closer to writing cleaner and safer Python code.

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