Check if given string can be split into four distinct strings

Last Updated : 27 Feb, 2026

Given a string, check if we can split it into 4 strings such that each string is non-empty and different from the other.

Examples:  

Input : str[] = "geeksforgeeks"
Output : Yes
"geeks", "for", "gee", "ks" are four distinct strings that can form from given string.

Input : str[] = "aaabb"
Output : No

Try It Yourself
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[Approach] Brute force - O(n^3)  Time and O(n) Space

Observe if the length of the string is greater than or equal to 10, then every time can split into four parts. Suppose, the length is of 10, then string of length 1, 2, 3, 4 can be made. For string having length less than 10, we can use brute force i.e iterate through all possible ways of splitting the string and check each one. 

C++
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;

bool check(string s)
{

    if (s.size() >= 10)
        return true;

    for (int i =1; i < s.size(); i++)
    {
        for (int j = i + 1; j < s.size(); j++)
        {
            for (int k = j + 1; k < s.size(); k++)
            {
                // Making 4 string from the given string
                string s1 = s.substr(0, i);
                string s2 = s.substr(i, j - i);
                string s3 = s.substr(j, k - j);
                string s4 = s.substr(k, s.size() - k);

                // Checking if they are distinct or not.
                if (s1 != s2 && s1 != s3 && s1 != s4 &&
                        s2 != s3 && s2 != s4 && s3 != s4)
                    return true;
            }
        }
    }

    return false;
}

int main()
{
    string str = "aaabb";

    (check(str))? (cout << "Yes" << endl):
                  (cout << "No" << endl);

    return 0;
}
Java
class GFG
{
    // Return true if both strings are equal
    public static boolean strcheck(String s1, String s2) 
    {
        if (s1 != s2)
            return false;
        return true;
    }

    // Return if the given string can be split or not.
    public static boolean check(String s) 
    {
        if (s.length() >= 10)
            return true;

        for (int i = 1; i < s.length(); i++) 
        {
            for (int j = i + 1; j < s.length(); j++) 
            {
                for (int k = j + 1; k < s.length(); k++) 
                {
                    
                    // Making 4 string from the given string
                    String s1 = "", s2 = "", s3 = "", s4 = "";
                    try
                    {
                        s1 = s.substring(0, i);
                        s2 = s.substring(i, j - i);
                        s3 = s.substring(j, k - j);
                        s4 = s.substring(k, s.length() - k);
                    } 
                    catch (StringIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
                    }

                    // Checking if they are distinct or not.
                    if (strcheck(s1, s2) && strcheck(s1, s3) && 
                        strcheck(s1, s4) && strcheck(s2, s3) && 
                        strcheck(s2, s4) && strcheck(s3, s4))
                        return true;
                }
            }
        }

        return false;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        String str = "aaabb";
        if (check(str))
            System.out.println("Yes");
        else
            System.out.println("No");
    }
}
Python
def check(s):

    if (len(s) >= 10):
        return True

    for i in range(1, len(s)): 
    
        for j in range(i + 1, len(s)): 
        
            for k in range(j + 1, len(s)):
            
                # Making 4 from the given 
                s1 = s[0:i] 
                s2 = s[i:j - i]
                s3 = s[j: k - j]
                s4 = s[k: len(s) - k]
                
                # Checking if they are distinct or not. 
                if (s1 != s2 and s1 != s3 and s1 != s4 and
                    s2 != s3 and s2 != s4 and s3 != s4): 
                    return True
            
    return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    str = "aaabb"

    print("Yes") if(check(str)) else print("NO")
C#
using System;

class GFG
{

    // Return if the given string
    // can be split or not.
    public static Boolean check(String s) 
    {
        // We can always break a string of size 10 or
        // more into four distinct strings.
        if (s.Length >= 10)
            return true;

        for (int i = 1; i < s.Length; i++) 
        {
            for (int j = i + 1; j < s.Length; j++) 
            {
                for (int k = j + 1; k < s.Length; k++) 
                {
                    
                    // Making 4 string from the given string
                    String s1 = s.Substring(0, i);
                    String s2 = s.Substring(i, j - i);
                    String s3 = s.Substring(j, k - j);
                    String s4 = s.Substring(k);

                    // Checking if they are distinct or not.
                    if (s1 != s2 && s1 != s3 && s1 != s4 &&
                        s2 != s3 && s2 != s4 && s3 != s4)
                        return true;
                }
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
        String str = "aaabb";

        if (check(str))
            Console.WriteLine("Yes");
        else
            Console.WriteLine("No");
    }
}
JavaScript
    function strcheck(s1, s2) 
    {
        if (s1.localeCompare(s2) != 0)
            return false;
        return true;
    }
  
    // Return if the given string can be split or not.
    function check(s) 
    {
        if (s.length >= 10)
            return true;
  
        for (let i = 1; i < s.length; i++) 
        {
            for (let j = i + 1; j < s.length; j++) 
            {
                for (let k = j + 1; k < s.length; k++) 
                {
                      
                    // Making 4 string from the given string
                    let s1 = "", s2 = "", s3 = "", s4 = "";
                    s1 = s.substring(0, i);
                    s2 = s.substring(i, i + j - i);
                    s3 = s.substring(j, j + k - j);
                    s4 = s.substring(k, k + s.length - k);
  
                    // Checking if they are distinct or not.
                    if (strcheck(s1, s2) && strcheck(s1, s3) && 
                        strcheck(s1, s4) && strcheck(s2, s3) && 
                        strcheck(s2, s4) && strcheck(s3, s4))
                        return true;
                }
            }
        }
  
        return false;
    }
    
    //Driver Code
    let str = "aaabb";
    if (check(str))
      console.log("Yes");
    else
      console.log("No");
    

Output
No
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