Check if Two Strings are Anagrams in Java (With Code & Explanation)

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to check if two strings are anagrams of each other in Java. This is a frequently asked question in Java interviews and string-related coding problems.

🔍 What is an Anagram?

Two strings are anagrams if they contain the same characters in the same quantity but in any order.

📌 Examples

• "listen" and "silent" → ✅ Anagrams
• "hello" and "world" → ❌ Not Anagrams

✅ Java Program to Check Anagram (Using Sorting)

import java.util.Arrays;

public class AnagramCheck {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String str1 = "listen";
        String str2 = "silent";

        boolean result = areAnagrams(str1, str2);
        System.out.println("Are they anagrams? " + result);
    }

    static boolean areAnagrams(String s1, String s2) {
        if (s1.length() != s2.length())
            return false;

        char[] arr1 = s1.toCharArray();
        char[] arr2 = s2.toCharArray();

        Arrays.sort(arr1);
        Arrays.sort(arr2);

        return Arrays.equals(arr1, arr2);
    }
}

✅ Output

Are they anagrams? true

💡 Alternate Approach (Using Frequency Counting)

You can also use a HashMap or integer array (for lowercase English letters) to count character frequencies.

🧠 Interview Tip

This question tests your knowledge of string manipulation, sorting, and data structures. Be ready to explain both time complexity and space complexity of your approach.

📚 Conclusion

We’ve seen how to check if two strings are anagrams using sorting. This is a foundational string question often asked in technical interviews for Java developers.