Variables

Declare variables with my; scalars use the $ sigil and interpolate into strings.

Variables are declared with my. A single value — a number, a string, anything that is one thing — lives in a variable with the $ sigil:

my $name = 'Alice';
my $age = 30;
say $name;
say $age;

Alice
30

The sigil stays part of the name: it's $name when you declare it, assign to it, and read it. (Raku also has @ for arrays and % for hashes — those get their own lessons soon.)

Interpolation #

Double-quoted strings interpolate variables directly:

my $name = 'Alice';
say "Hello, $name!";
say 'Hello, $name!';

Hello, Alice!
Hello, $name!

Single quotes keep the text literal — a useful pair to remember.

Variables vary #

Assignment with = replaces the value; operators like += and ~= (string append) update it in place.

my $count = 10;
$count = $count + 5;
$count += 5;
say $count;

my $word = 'Ra';
$word ~= 'ku';
say $word;

20
Raku

Try it #

Declare a variable holding your favourite language and print I like <language>! using interpolation.

my $language = ...;

my $language = 'Raku';
say "I like $language!";

I like Raku!