TanzvsThanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Tanz” and “Than” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,488
“Tanz” frequency rank
#13,037
“Than” frequency rank
16525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tanz Than
Definition (rhythmischer) Bewegungsablauf, der zu Musik oder rhythmischen Geräuschen ausgeführt wird Gefolgsmann des Königs oder eines Fürsten bei den Angelsachsen; seit dem 10. Jahrhundert erblicher Großgrundbesitzer

Where the eye mixes Tanz and Than

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Tanz
4 ch
Than

Look-alike desk: Tanz vs Than

A purely visual mix-up. Tanz ([tant͡s]) and Than ([taːn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tanz is recorded at frequency rank #3,488, classified as anoun, pronounced [tant͡s]. Than is at rank #13,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced [taːn].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 16525, this pair ranks #1,935,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tanz vs Than

Shared letters: ant. Private to "Tanz": z. Private to "Than": h.

"Tanz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Than" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tanzatnz · tannz · tanzz · tazn · tnaz · ttanz
  • Thanhtan · tahn · thann · thhan · thna · tthan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Tanz" for "Than" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([tant͡s] versus [taːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Tanz" or "Than"?
"Tanz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,488 in our German list, against #13,037 for "Than". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Tanz" and "Than" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tanz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Than" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,935,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tanz" and "Than" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Than vs thy". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,935,139 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list