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How to Get Value of Multidimensional Array in C?

Last Updated : 26 Jul, 2025
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Prerequisite: Array in C

An array is a type of data structure where we can store multiple elements of similar data types. A multidimensional array can be termed an array of arrays that stores homogeneous data in tabular form. Data in multidimensional arrays are stored in row-major order.

Declaration of Array

Declaration or Initialisation of an array is where we declare the size, data_type, and name of an array.

Syntax:

data_type name_of_the_array [size 1][size 2]....[size N];

Here, 

data_type  :  data type of elements to be  inserted, like int , float ,etc.

size1 : size of 1D array

size2 : size of 2D array

..... Similarly, sizeN for N dimensional array.

Example with 2D and 3D array as defined below:

2-dimensional array

A two-dimensional array is an array where we can insert an array in place of elements.

char two[m][n];         //store upto m*n number of characters

3-dimensional array 

int three[p][q][r];     //store upto p*q*r number of integers

Getting Value For a Multi-Dimensional Array

Elements in two-dimensional arrays are commonly referred to by x[i][j] where i is the row number and ā€˜jā€™ is the column number.

Example:

C 
// C program to Get value for
// a multi-dimensional array
#include <stdio.h>

// Driver code
int main()
{

    // integers array with 3 rows and 4 columns

    int arr1[3][4] = { { 1, 2, 3, 4 },
                       { 5, 6, 7, 8 },
                       { 9, 10, 11, 12 } };

    // brackets is not mandatory except the edges
    int arr2[3][4]
        = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 };

    printf("Printing the value of the array 1 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
            printf("%d ", arr1[i][j]);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    printf("----------\n");
    printf("Printing the value of the array 2 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
            printf("%d ", arr2[i][j]);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
}
JavaScript 
// integers array with 3 rows and 4 columns
const arr1 = [[1, 2, 3, 4],
              [5, 6, 7, 8],
              [9, 10, 11, 12]];

// brackets is not mandatory except the edges
const arr2 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12];

console.log("Printing the value of the array 1");
for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    for (let j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
        console.log(arr1[i][j]);
    }
    console.log(" ");
}
console.log("----------");
console.log("Printing the value of the array 2");
for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
    for (let j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
        console.log(arr2[i * 4 + j]);
    }
    console.log(" ");
}

Output
Printing the value of the array 1 
1 2 3 4 
5 6 7 8 
9 10 11 12 
----------
Printing the value of the array 2 
1 2 3 4 
5 6 7 8 
9 10 11 12

Brackets are not mandatory for every dimension compiler allocates a consecutive block of memory. We will need one more dimension in order to declare a 3d array and we will need one more nested loop in order to print the values

Example:

C 
// C implementation for a three-dimensional array
#include<stdio.h>

int main(){

     // integers array with 2 * 2 * 3 dimensions
    
    int arr1[2][2][3] = { { {1,2,3} , {4,5,6} }, { {7,8,9} , {10,11,12} } };
    
    int arr2[2][2][3] = { 1,2,3,4 , 5,6,7,8 , 9,10,11,12 };  
    
    printf("Printing the value of the array 1 \n");
    for(int i=0; i< 2 ; i++){
        for(int j = 0; j < 2; j++){
            for(int k=0; k < 3; k++)
                printf("%d ", arr1[i][j][k]);
            printf("\n");
        }
    }
    printf("----------\n");
    printf("Printing the value of the array 2 \n");
    
    for(int i=0; i< 2 ; i++){
        for(int j = 0; j < 2; j++){
            for(int k=0; k < 3; k++)
                printf("%d ", arr2[i][j][k]);
            printf("\n");
        }
    }
  
}

Output
Printing the value of the array 1 
1 2 3 
4 5 6 
7 8 9 
10 11 12 
----------
Printing the value of the array 2 
1 2 3 
4 5 6 
7 8 9 
10 11 12

Using Pointers

We can create a multidimensional array of pointers. Pointers are one of the most useful features where we can point to some other address. So, it is quite beneficial to use an array of pointers in conditions where we want to store more than one address.

Example:

int *arr[5][5];        //creating a 2D integer pointer array of 5 rows and 5 columns.
int *arr[5][5][5];    //creating a 3D integer pointer array of 5 * 5 * 5 dimensions

Example 1:

C 
// implementation for 2d array
#include<stdio.h>

int main(){

    // integers array with 3 rows and 4 columns
    
    int arr1[3][4] = { {1,2,3,4} , {5,6,7,8} , {9,10,11,12} };
    
    int (*arr2)[4] = arr1; // arr2 pointing to the address of arr1
    int *arr3[3][4];
    
    printf("Printing the value of the array 2 \n");
    for(int i=0; i< 3 ; i++){
        for(int j = 0; j < 4; j++){
            printf("%d ", *(*(arr2 + i) + j)); 
            arr3[i][j ] = &arr1[i][j];  // assigning the address to array 3

        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    printf("Printing the value of the array 3 \n");
    for(int i=0; i< 3 ; i++){
        for(int j = 0; j < 4; j++){
            printf("%d ", *arr3[i][j]);
            

        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    
}

Output
Printing the value of the array 2 
1 2 3 4 
5 6 7 8 
9 10 11 12 
Printing the value of the array 3 
1 2 3 4 
5 6 7 8 
9 10 11 12

Example 2:

C 
// C implementation for 3d array
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{

    // integers array with 2 * 2 * 3 dimensions

    int arr1[2][2][3] = { { { 1, 2, 3 }, { 4, 5, 6 } },
                          { { 7, 8, 9 }, { 10, 11, 12 } } };

    // arr2 pointing to the address of arr1
    int(*arr2)[2][3] = arr1;
    int* arr3[2][2][3];

    printf("Printing the value of the array 2 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
            for (int k = 0; k < 3; k++) {
                printf("%d\t", *(*(*(arr2 + i) + j) + k));

                // assigning the address to array 3
                arr3[i][j][k] = &arr1[i][j][k];
            }
            printf("\n");
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    printf("\n");

    printf("Printing the value of the array 3 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
            for (int k = 0; k < 3; k++) {
                printf("%d\t", *arr3[i][j][k]);
            }
            printf("\n");
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
}

Output
Printing the value of the array 2 
1    2    3    
4    5    6    

7    8    9    
10    11    12    


Printing the value of the array 3 
1    2    3    
4    5    6    

7    8    9    
10    11    12

Dynamic Memory Allocation

A two-dimensional array of pointers can also be created using Dynamic Memory Allocation. Dynamic Memory Allocation means that the memory allocated to the array or any other element will be heap memory rather than stack memory. We can use the malloc() function to dynamically allocate memory. To know more about Dynamic memory refer to Dynamic Memory Allocation.

Declaration:

ptr = (cast-type*) malloc(byte-size)

Example 1:

C 
// C Program to implement 2-D array
// using Dynamic Memory Allocation
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main()
{

    // integers array with 3 rows and 4 columns

    int arr1[3][4] = { { 1, 2, 3, 4 },
                       { 5, 6, 7, 8 },
                       { 9, 10, 11, 12 } };

    int*** arr2 = malloc(3 * sizeof(int**));
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        arr2[i] = malloc(4 * sizeof(int*));
    }

    // assigning the value to the array 2
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
            arr2[i][j] = &arr1[i][j];
        }
    }

    printf("printing the value to the array 2 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
            printf("%d\t", *arr2[i][j]);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    free(arr2); // deallocating the memory
}

Output
printing the value to the array 2 
1    2    3    4    
5    6    7    8    
9    10    11    12

Example 2:

C 
// C Program to implement 3-D array
// using Dynamic Memory Allocation
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main()
{

    // integers array with 2 * 2 * 3 dimensions

    int arr1[2][2][3] = { { { 1, 2, 3 }, { 4, 5, 6 } },
                          { { 7, 8, 9 }, { 10, 11, 12 } } };

    int**** arr2 = malloc(2 * sizeof(int***));
    for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        arr2[i] = malloc(2 * sizeof(int**));
        for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
            arr2[i][j] = malloc(3 * sizeof(int*));
        }
    }

    // assigning the value to the array 2
    for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
            for (int k = 0; k < 3; k++) {
                arr2[i][j][k] = &arr1[i][j][k];
            }
        }
    }

    printf("printing the value to the array 2 \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
            for (int k = 0; k < 3; k++) {
                printf("%d\t", *arr2[i][j][k]);
            }
            printf("\n");
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    free(arr2); // deallocating the memory
}

Output
printing the value to the array 2 
1    2    3    
4    5    6    

7    8    9    
10    11    12

Next Article
C Language Introduction

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