# test a = 1 b = 4 def addto(x, l) : l.append({ "n" : x, "c": [] }) for it in l : if it["n"] == 4 : subl = it["c"] subl.append(x) it['c'] = subl malist = [] malist.append({ "n" : a }) print(malist) addto(b, malist) addto(b, malist) print(malist)