# than

> English word · Conjunction · IPA /ðæn/ · frequency rank #77

## Definitions
1. Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
2. Because; for.

## Etymology
From Middle English than, thanne, from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne (“then, since, because”), from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic *þan (“at that, at that time, then”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“demonstrative pronoun, that”).
Cognate with Dutch dan (“than”), German denn (“than”), German dann (“then”). Doublet of then.

## Easily confused with
- **TN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tn)
- **the** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-the)
- **tho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tho)
- **ton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-ton)
- **thy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-thy)
- **tin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tin)
- **TSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tsa)
- **THC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-thc)
- **Tia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tia)
- **Thi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-thi)
- **Thu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-thu)
- **tra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tra)
- **tun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tun)
- **TWA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-twa)
- **toa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-toa)
- **THT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-tht)
- **that** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-that)
- **this** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-this)
- **they** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-they)
- **them** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/than-vs-them)

## Common misspellings (6)
`htan`, `tahn`, `thann`, `thhan`, `thna`, `tthan`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/than