Possible Words using given characters in Python (original) (raw)
Last Updated : 12 Nov, 2025
Given a list of words and a list of characters, print all valid words that can be formed using those characters. Repetition of characters is not allowed. For Example:
**Input: [ "go", "bat", "me", "eat", "goal", "boy", "run" ], arr = [ 'e', 'o', 'b' ,'a', 'm', 'g', 'l' ]
**Output: go, me, goal
Below are the different methods to perform this task:
Using Set and Subsets
This method converts the list of available characters to a set and checks whether each word’s characters form a subset of it.
Python `
d = ["go", "bat", "me", "eat", "goal", "boy", "run"] ch = ['e', 'o', 'b', 'a', 'm', 'g', 'l'] c1 = set(ch) res = [w for w in d if set(w).issubset(c1)] print(res)
`
Output
['go', 'me', 'goal']
**Explanation:
- **set(ch): converts characters to a set for quick lookup.
- **set(w).issubset(c1): checks if all letters of the word exist in the given characters.
**Note: This method only works correctly when there is no repetition of characters, since sets do not track how many times a character appears.
Using Dictionary Count Comparison
This method counts the frequency of each character in the word and compares it with the available characters.
Python `
d = ['go', 'bat', 'me', 'eat', 'goal', 'boy', 'run'] ch = ['e', 'o', 'b', 'a', 'm', 'g', 'l']
for word in d: valid = True for c in word: if c not in ch or word.count(c) > ch.count(c): valid = False break if valid: print(word)
`
**Explanation:
- **for c in word: iterates each character in the word.
- **c not in ch or word.count(c) > ch.count(c): ensures the letter exists and isn’t used more times than available.
- Prints words that can be formed using given characters.
Using List Filtering
This method filters words by checking each character manually without using sets or recursion.
Python `
d = ["go", "bat", "me", "eat", "goal", "boy", "run"] ch = ['e', 'o', 'b', 'a', 'm', 'g', 'l']
for w in d: if all(w.count(c) <= ch.count(c) for c in set(w)): print(w)
`
**Explanation:
- **for w in d: checks each word in the list.
- **all(w.count(c) <= ch.count(c) for c in set(w)): ensures every character in the word exists within the available characters and isn’t overused.
Recursive Combination Approach
This method recursively builds all possible words using the given characters and prints the ones found in the dictionary.
Python `
d = ["go", "bat", "me", "eat", "goal", "boy", "run"] ch = ['e', 'o', 'b', 'a', 'm', 'g', 'l']
def fun(chars, word=''): if word in d: print(word) for c in chars: n1 = chars.copy() n1.remove(c) fun(n1, word + c)
fun(ch)
`
**Explanation:
- **fun(chars, word=''): recursively builds all combinations of characters.
- **if word in d: prints if the formed string exists in dictionary.
- **chars.copy() and remove(c): prevent reuse of the same letter.
- **fun(n1, word + c): continues forming longer words recursively.