Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025
String equals() method in Java compares the content of two strings. It compares the value's character by character, irrespective of whether two strings are stored in the same memory location. The String equals() method overrides the equals() method of the object class.
Example: Basic Comparision
Java
class Geeks
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String str1 = "Learn Java";
String str2 = "Learn Java";
String str3 = "Learn Kotlin";
boolean result;
// Comparing str1 with str2
result = str1.equals(str2);
System.out.println(result);
// Comparing str1 with str3
result = str1.equals(str3);
System.out.println(result);
// Comparing str3 with str1
result = str3.equals(str1);
System.out.println(result);
}
}
Syntax
string.equals(object)
Return Type: The return type for the equals method is Boolean.
Case-Insensitive Comparison of StringsIt compares the difference between uppercase and lowercase characters. We compare three strings using the equalsIgnoreCase() method of str1, str2, and str3 to check case-insensitive comparison.
Example:
Java
// Working equalsIgnoreCase() Method
import java.io.*;
public class Geeks
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// Define three strings
String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = "hello";
String str3 = "WORLD";
// Comparison between str1 and str2
System.out.println("str1.equals(str2): "+ str1.equals(str2));
// Comparison between str1 and str2(Case Insensitive)
System.out.println("str1.equalsIgnoreCase(str2): "+ str1.equalsIgnoreCase(str2));
// Comparison between str2 and str3
System.out.println("str2.equalsIgnoreCase(str3): "+ str2.equalsIgnoreCase(str3));
}
}
str1.equals(str2): false str1.equalsIgnoreCase(str2): true str2.equalsIgnoreCase(str3): false
RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo
HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.4