Than

[taːn]

/[taːn]/ noun

The verdict

“Than” has 6 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #13,037. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,037
frequency rank, German
2,684
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Gefolgsmann des Königs oder eines Fürsten bei den Angelsachsen; seit dem 10. Jahrhundert erblicher Großgrundbesitzer

Corpus desk

Index DE-than · Than · German

Than · rank #13,037 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,037
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,684
  • PHOTO-FINISH Themas

Nearest frequency peer: Themas (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Than“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Than“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Than vs tun
25% similar
Than vs Ton
50% similar
Than vs tja
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Than
PropertyValue
HeadwordThan
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[taːn]
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,037
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Than“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Thanliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Themas“ (#13,038), „Tarife“ (#13,035), „tiefsten“ (#13,039). Unter 2,684 „T“-Lemmata liegt „Than“ bei #13,037. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around Than (IPA [taːn]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,037 among 2,684 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Gefolgsmann des Königs oder eines Fürsten bei den Angelsachsen; seit dem 10. Jahrhundert erblicher Großgrundbesitzer".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Than, with forms such as "htan", "tahn", and "thann". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tun", "Ton", "tja", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Than, spelled T-H-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gefolgsmann des Königs oder eines Fürsten bei den Angelsachsen; seit dem 10. Jahrhundert erblicher Großgrundbesitzer

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Than appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Zum Pfande nur der größern Ehren, die er dir bestimmt, befahl uns der Monarch, dich Than von Cawdor zu grüßen, und in diesem neuen Titel heil dir, ruhmwürd’ger Cawdor, denn du bist’s!
  2. Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Hüte dich vor Macduff ! Hüte dich vor dem Than von Fife! - - Entlaßt mich - - Genug!

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htan
  • tahn
  • thann
  • thhan
  • thna
  • tthan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Than - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

htan2tahn2thann1thhan1thna2tthan1
Edit distance from "Than"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Than"?
"Than" is spelled T-H-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is [taːn].
What does "Than" mean?
As a noun, "Than" means: Gefolgsmann des Königs oder eines Fürsten bei den Angelsachsen; seit dem 10. Jahrhundert erblicher Großgrundbesitzer
What words are commonly confused with "Than"?
"Than" is commonly confused with "tun", "Ton", "tja". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Than"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Than" is [taːn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Than" come from?
"Than" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Than", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list