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Reverse a Linked List in groups of given size using Deque

Last Updated : 12 Jul, 2025
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Given a Singly linked list containing n nodes. The task is to reverse every group of k nodes in the list. If the number of nodes is not a multiple of k then left-out nodes, in the end, should be considered as a group and must be reversed.

Examples: 

Input: head: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> NULL, k = 2 
Output: head: 2 -> 1 -> 4 -> 3 -> 6 -> 5 -> NULL 
Explanation : Linked List is reversed in a group of size k = 2.

Reverse-a-Linked-List-in-groups-of-given-size-1


Input: head: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> NULL, k = 4 
Output: head:  4 -> 3 -> 2 -> 1 -> 6 -> 5 -> NULL
Explanation : Linked List is reversed in a group of size k = 4.

Reverse-a-Linked-List-in-groups-of-given-size-2

Approach:

The idea is to reverse a linked list in groups of size k using a deque. For each group of size k, store nodes in the deque, then repeatedly swap the data of the first and last nodes by popping from both ends of the deque. Continue this process until all nodes are traversed.

Follow the steps below to solve the problem:

  • Initialize a deque(double-ended queue) of node type.
  • Store the address of the first k nodes in the deque.
  • Pop first and the last value from the deque and swap the data values at those addresses.
  • Repeat step 3 till the deque is not empty.
  • Repeat step 2 for the next k nodes and till we reach to end of the linked list.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:  

C++ 
// C++ program to reverse a linked list in
// groups of given size

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

class Node {
  public:
    int data;
    Node *next;

    Node(int x) {
        data = x;
        next = nullptr;
    }
};

// Function to reverse the linked list in
// groups using deque
Node *reverseKGroup(Node *head, int k) {
    if (!head || k == 1) {
        return head;
    }

    deque<Node*> dq; 
    Node *curr = head;

    while (curr != nullptr) {
        int count = 0;

        // Push k nodes into the deque
        while (curr != nullptr && count < k) {
            dq.push_back(curr);
            curr = curr->next;
            count++;
        }
        
        // Swap first and last nodes in the deque 
        while (!dq.empty()) {
            Node* front = dq.front();
            Node* last = dq.back();
            swap(front->data, last->data);

            // Pop from the front and back of the deque
            if (!dq.empty()) {
                dq.pop_front();
            }

            if (!dq.empty()) {
                dq.pop_back();
            }
        }
    }
    
    return head;
}

void printList(Node *head) {
    Node *curr = head;
    while (curr != nullptr) {
        cout << curr->data << " ";
        curr = curr->next;
    }
    cout << endl;
}

int main() {
  
    // Creating a sample singly linked list:
    // 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6
    Node *head = new Node(1);
    head->next = new Node(2);
    head->next->next = new Node(3);
    head->next->next->next = new Node(4);
    head->next->next->next->next = new Node(5);
    head->next->next->next->next->next = new Node(6);

    head = reverseKGroup(head, 3);
    
    printList(head);

    return 0;
}
Java 
// Java program to reverse a linked list
// in groups of given size

import java.util.Deque;
import java.util.LinkedList;

class Node {
    int data;
    Node next;

    Node(int x) {
        data = x;
        next = null;
    }
}

class GfG {

    // Function to reverse the linked list
  	// in groups using deque
   	static Node reverseKGroup(Node head, int k) {
        if (head == null || k == 1) {
            return head;
        }

        Deque<Node> dq = new LinkedList<>();
        Node curr = head;

        while (curr != null) {
            int count = 0;

            // Push k nodes into the deque
            while (curr != null && count < k) {
                dq.addLast(curr);
                curr = curr.next;
                count++;
            }

            // Swap first and last nodes in the deque
            while (!dq.isEmpty()) {
                Node front = dq.peekFirst();
                Node last = dq.peekLast();
                swap(front, last); 
              
                if (!dq.isEmpty()) dq.pollFirst();
                if (!dq.isEmpty()) dq.pollLast();
            }
        }

        return head;
    }

    static void swap(Node a, Node b) {
        int temp = a.data;
        a.data = b.data;
        b.data = temp;
    }

    static void printList(Node head) {
        Node curr = head;
        while (curr != null) {
            System.out.print(curr.data + " ");
            curr = curr.next;
        }
        System.out.println();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
      
        // Creating a sample singly linked list:
        // 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 
        Node head = new Node(1);
        head.next = new Node(2);
        head.next.next = new Node(3);
        head.next.next.next = new Node(4);
        head.next.next.next.next = new Node(5);
        head.next.next.next.next.next = new Node(6);

        head = reverseKGroup(head, 3);

        printList(head);
    }
}
Python 
# Python program to reverse a linked list in
# groups of given size

from collections import deque

class Node:
    def __init__(self, x):
        self.data = x
        self.next = None

# Function to reverse the linked list in
# groups using deque
def reverseKGroup(head, k):
    if not head or k == 1:
        return head

    dq = deque()
    curr = head

    while curr:
        count = 0

        # Push k nodes into the deque
        while curr and count < k:
            dq.append(curr)
            curr = curr.next
            count += 1

        # Swap first and last nodes in the deque
        while dq:
            front = dq[0]
            last = dq[-1]
            front.data, last.data = last.data, front.data
            if dq:
                dq.popleft()
            if dq:
                dq.pop()

    return head

def printList(head):
    curr = head
    while curr:
        print(curr.data, end=" ")
        curr = curr.next
    print()

if __name__ == "__main__":
  
    # Creating a sample singly linked list:
    # 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 
    head = Node(1)
    head.next = Node(2)
    head.next.next = Node(3)
    head.next.next.next = Node(4)
    head.next.next.next.next = Node(5)
    head.next.next.next.next.next = Node(6)

    head = reverseKGroup(head, 3)

    printList(head)
C# 
// C# program to reverse a linked list in groups

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Node {
    public int data;
    public Node next;

    public Node(int x) {
        data = x;
        next = null;
    }
}

class GfG {

    // Function to reverse the linked list in groups 
    static Node reverseKGroup(Node head, int k) {
        if (head == null || k == 1)
            return head;

        List<Node> q = new List<Node>();
        Node curr = head;

        while (curr != null) {
            int count = 0;

            // Store addresses of the k nodes in the list
            while (count < k && curr != null) {
                q.Add(curr);
                curr = curr.next;
                count++;
            }

            // Swap first and last nodes in the list
            while (q.Count > 0) {
                Node front = q[0];
                Node last = q[q.Count - 1];

                // Swapping data between the front and last nodes
                int temp = front.data;
                front.data = last.data;
                last.data = temp;

                // Remove from the front and back of the list
                q.RemoveAt(0);
                if (q.Count > 0) {
                    q.RemoveAt(q.Count - 1);
                }
            }
        }

        return head;
    }

    static void printList(Node head) {
        Node curr = head;
        while (curr != null) {
            Console.Write(curr.data + " ");
            curr = curr.next;
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }

    static void Main(string[] args) {
        
        // Creating a sample singly linked list:
        // 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6
        Node head = new Node(1);
        head.next = new Node(2);
        head.next.next = new Node(3);
        head.next.next.next = new Node(4);
        head.next.next.next.next = new Node(5);
        head.next.next.next.next.next = new Node(6);

        head = reverseKGroup(head, 3);

        printList(head);
    }
}
JavaScript 
// JavaScript program to reverse a linked 
// list in groups of given size

class Node {
    constructor(x) {
        this.data = x;
        this.next = null;
    }
}

// Function to reverse the linked list
// in groups using deque
function reverseKGroup(head, k) {
    if (!head || k === 1) {
        return head;
    }

    let dq = [];
    let curr = head;

    while (curr) {
        let count = 0;

        // Push k nodes into the deque
        while (curr && count < k) {
            dq.push(curr);
            curr = curr.next;
            count++;
        }

        // Swap first and last nodes in the deque
        while (dq.length) {
            let front = dq[0];
            let last = dq[dq.length - 1];
            [front.data, last.data] = [last.data, front.data];
            dq.shift(); 
            dq.pop(); 
        }
    }

    return head;
}

// Helper function to print the linked list
function printList(head) {
    let curr = head;
    while (curr) {
        console.log(curr.data);
        curr = curr.next;
    }
    console.log();
}

// Creating a sample singly linked list:
// 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6
let head = new Node(1);
head.next = new Node(2);
head.next.next = new Node(3);
head.next.next.next = new Node(4);
head.next.next.next.next = new Node(5);
head.next.next.next.next.next = new Node(6);

head = reverseKGroup(head, 3);

printList(head);

Output
3 2 1 6 5 4

Time Complexity: O(n), where n is the number of nodes in the linked list.
Auxiliary Space: O(k)

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