Fix - NameError: name 'nltk' is not defined in Python

Fix - NameError: name 'nltk' is not defined in Python #

The Python "NameError: name 'nltk' is not defined" occurs when we use the nltk module without importing it first. To solve the error, install the module and import it (import nltk) before using it.

nameerror name nltk is not defined

Open your terminal in your project's root directory and install the nltk module.

shell

Copied!
# 👇️ in a virtual environment or using Python 2
pip install nltk

# 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version)
pip3 install nltk

# 👇️ if you get permissions error
sudo pip3 install nltk

# 👇️ if you don't have pip in your PATH environment variable
python -m pip install nltk

# 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version)
python3 -m pip install nltk

# 👇️ for Anaconda
conda install -c anaconda nltk

After you install the nltk module, make sure to import it before using it.

main.py

Copied!
# ✅ import nltk first
import nltk

# 👇️ download nltk libraries if necessary
nltk.download()

sentence = """At eight o'clock on Thursday morning
 Arthur didn't feel very good."""

tokens = nltk.word_tokenize(sentence)

print(tokens)

You can remove the nltk.download() line if you don't have to download any nltk-related libraries.

Make sure you haven't misspelled the module you are importing because module names are case-sensitive.

Also, make sure you haven't imported from nltk in a nested scope, e.g. a function. Import the module at the top level to be able to use it throughout your code.

Fix - NameError: name 'nltk' is not defined in Python

Fix - NameError: name 'nltk' is not defined in Python #

Borislav Hadzhiev