def string_check_shape(question, valid_ans_list=('circle', 'square', 'triagle','rectangle','xxx'),
                 num_letter=1):
    """checks the users enter the full word or the first letter of a word
    from a list of responces"""

    while True:
        response = input(question).lower()


        for item in valid_ans_list:


            #checks if the response is the entire word
            if response == item:
                return item

            #checks if the responce is the first letter
            elif response == item [:num_letter]:
                return item

        print(f"please choose an option from {valid_ans_list}")

#main routine
levels = ['easy', 'medium', 'hard']

like_coffe = string_check_shape("do you like coffee", ['yes','no'])
print(f"you chose {like_coffe}")
chose_level = string_check_shape("chose a level", levels)
print(f"you chose {chose_level}")