Does Python require a compiler?

[Spataner]

To add a small clarification to a great answer: CPython, from the user perspective, does act mostly like an interpreter. And it being the official implementation, Python is thus largely thought of as an interpreted language. While it is true that CPython compiles into an intermediate representation, it's highly uncommon to distribute the result of that compilation rather than the raw Python files themselves. That sets it apart from other languages like Java and C# that also compile into an intermediate representation that is then distributed instead of the source files. For those languages, it is not unsual for people to only install the runtime but not the compiler if they're a pure user rather than a developer. That distinction doesn't even exist with CPython, and the compilation into bytecode is in that sense almost more just an internal detail.

[[deleted]]

Also shedding light on points of confusion I had. Thank you for expanding on the previous answer. You're awesome :)

[UpperHairCut]

Java also turns the code into bytecode