#!/usr/local/bin/python f1 = open("data") dict = {} dict2={} for line in f1: for i in line: if not dict.get(i): dict[i] = int(0) dict[i] += 1 print dict print "\n\n" f1 = open('data') for line in f1: for x in line.strip().split(' '): if not dict2.get(x): dict2[x] = int(0) dict2[x] += 1 print dict2