Than in Different Languages
Discover 'Than' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'than' is a small but mighty conjunction that plays a significant role in comparative statements in English. It's the word that allows us to make distinctions and comparisons between things, people, and ideas. For example, 'She is taller than her sister' or 'I would rather read a book than watch TV.'
But did you know that the word 'than' has fascinating cultural importance and historical contexts? In Old English, 'than' was originally spelled 'þanne,' and it has evolved over time to become the 'than' we know today. Moreover, its significance extends beyond English, as many languages have their own way of expressing comparisons.
Understanding the translation of 'than' in different languages can open up a world of cultural exploration and communication. For instance, in Spanish, 'than' is translated as 'que,' while in French, it's 'que' or 'plus que.' In German, 'als' is the word used to express 'than,' and in Japanese, ' yori' is the particle used to indicate comparison.
Than
Than in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | as | ||
| "As' as a conjunction meaning 'than' in Afrikaans comes from the Dutch word 'als', and in that language it can also have the sense of 'like' and 'as if'. | |||
| Amharic | ይልቅ | ||
| The word "ይልቅ" can also mean "instead" or "rather" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | fiye da | ||
| The word "fiye da" can also mean "to compare" or "to compete". | |||
| Igbo | karịa | ||
| The Igbo word "karịa" can also mean "except" or "other than". | |||
| Malagasy | noho ny | ||
| The word "noho ny" is used not only to express comparison, but also in a number of additional syntactic structures and as the basis for other Malagasy words. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuposa | ||
| Kuposa is used to compare two or more items, but can also be used to mean 'to surpass' or 'to excel'. | |||
| Shona | kupfuura | ||
| In Shona, "kupfuura" is cognate with other Bantu languages' words for "more" or "beyond". | |||
| Somali | ka badan | ||
| While commonly translated as "than", "ka badan" also means "more" or "larger." | |||
| Sesotho | ho feta | ||
| The word is also a pronoun meaning “it's that one over there”. | |||
| Swahili | kuliko | ||
| In the Great Lakes region in Tanzania, "kuliko" can also mean "because". | |||
| Xhosa | kunokuba | ||
| The word "kunokuba" can also mean "aside" or "except" in certain contexts. | |||
| Yoruba | ju | ||
| The Yoruba word "ju" can also mean "except". | |||
| Zulu | kune | ||
| The Zulu word 'kune' also means 'to be located' or 'to exist in a particular place'. | |||
| Bambara | ni... | ||
| Ewe | wu | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kuruta | ||
| Lingala | koleka | ||
| Luganda | okusinga | ||
| Sepedi | go feta | ||
| Twi (Akan) | sene | ||
Than in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | من | ||
| In Arabic, the word "من" (min) can also mean "from" or "of" and is derived from the Semitic root "m-n" meaning "to separate". | |||
| Hebrew | מאשר | ||
| מאשר may derive from the noun "אשר" meaning "place" in Biblical Hebrew, implying comparison or location. | |||
| Pashto | څخه | ||
| The Pashto word "څخه" can also mean "from" or "out of". | |||
| Arabic | من | ||
| In Arabic, the word "من" (min) can also mean "from" or "of" and is derived from the Semitic root "m-n" meaning "to separate". | |||
Than in Western European Languages
| Albanian | sesa | ||
| The word "sesa" in Albanian can also mean "because" or "since" | |||
| Basque | baino | ||
| The word "baino" in Basque can also mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of". | |||
| Catalan | que | ||
| The Catalan word "que" derives from the Latin "quam" and also means "who" or "whom" in relative clauses. | |||
| Croatian | od | ||
| Croatian "od" originated in a Proto-Slavic preposition denoting starting point. | |||
| Danish | end | ||
| "End" in Danish is used to express a smaller quantity, as an alternative to "mindre end" | |||
| Dutch | dan | ||
| In Indonesian, "dan" is a conjunction meaning "and", but in Dutch, "dan" is preposition meaning "than" | |||
| English | than | ||
| The word 'than' can also mean 'from' or 'away from', as in 'the sun than the moon' or 'he ran than the house'. | |||
| French | que | ||
| French "que" derives from Proto-Indo-European *kʷe, meaning "and" or "how". | |||
| Frisian | as | ||
| In Frisian, "as" can also refer to the cardinal direction of the south. | |||
| Galician | que | ||
| In Galician, "que" is also a relative pronoun with meanings similar to English "that" and "who" | |||
| German | als | ||
| "Als" can also mean "as", "since" or "when" in certain contexts. | |||
| Icelandic | en | ||
| Icelandic word "en" can also mean "but" in English. | |||
| Irish | ná | ||
| 'Ná' derives from the Irish word for a negative, 'ní' or 'nach'—and its literal translation is closer to 'if it not', 'it's not that', or 'rather than'. Interestingly, in modern Irish 'nach' and 'ná' are interchangeable. | |||
| Italian | di | ||
| Di also means 'of' or 'from' when it appears between a noun and a verb, as in "la porta di casa" (the door of the house) or "vengo di Roma" (I come from Rome). | |||
| Luxembourgish | wéi | ||
| In French the cognate word "ouais!" (meaning "well, yes!" in English) is often used to mean | |||
| Maltese | minn | ||
| The word "minn" in Maltese can also mean "from", "of", or "through". | |||
| Norwegian | enn | ||
| 'enn' is a Norwegian word that can also mean 'while' or 'when' | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | do que | ||
| The word "do que" ("than") in Portuguese can also be used to express comparisons, preferences, or conditions, like "better than", "rather than", or "if not". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | na | ||
| The word "na" can also be used in Gaelic as a pronoun meaning "she". | |||
| Spanish | que | ||
| The word 'que' in Spanish has several meanings, including 'that', 'who', and 'which'. | |||
| Swedish | än | ||
| 'Än' can also mean 'before,' 'yet' or 'as' and can be a preposition or a conjunction. | |||
| Welsh | na | ||
| The word "na" can also be used to mean "or". | |||
Than in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | чым | ||
| In Belarusian, "чым" can also mean "with what" or "by what means." | |||
| Bosnian | nego | ||
| The word "nego" can also mean "except" or "without" in Bosnian. | |||
| Bulgarian | отколкото | ||
| The word "отколкото" in Bulgarian can also have the meaning of "rather than" and is often used in comparisons. | |||
| Czech | než | ||
| In some contexts, "než" also means "before" and its cognate in German "nie" means "never" | |||
| Estonian | kui | ||
| The word "kui" can also have the meanings "as," "if," or "when." | |||
| Finnish | kuin | ||
| The Finnish word "kuin" derives from the same Proto-Uralic root as the Hungarian word "hogy" (meaning "that"). | |||
| Hungarian | mint | ||
| The Hungarian word "mint" can also mean "now" as a shortened form of "mostan" (currently). | |||
| Latvian | nekā | ||
| The word "nekā" can also mean "nothing" in Latvian, creating sentences with double meanings. | |||
| Lithuanian | nei | ||
| In most of the Lithuanian dialects, "nei" also means "until". | |||
| Macedonian | отколку | ||
| The Macedonian word "отколку" also means "from" or "since". | |||
| Polish | niż | ||
| The word "niż" in Polish also means "lower" or "lesser" in comparison to something else. | |||
| Romanian | decât | ||
| The Romanian word "decât" originates from the Persian "kadat" which means "amount". | |||
| Russian | чем | ||
| The Russian word "чем" can also be used in the sense of "that" or "as." | |||
| Serbian | него | ||
| The Serbian word "него" (nego) also has the alternate meaning of "against" or "in defiance of." | |||
| Slovak | než | ||
| In Slovak, the word "než" means both "than" and "not yet". | |||
| Slovenian | kot | ||
| The word 'kot' has Indo-European roots and is cognate with the English word 'quid', both originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷid | |||
| Ukrainian | ніж | ||
| "Ніж" also means "knife" in Ukrainian. Thus it is not recommended to use this word when speaking of knives, as this could lead to a misunderstanding. | |||
Than in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | চেয়ে | ||
| Although 'চেয়ে' commonly means 'than' in terms of comparison, it can also mean 'to see' or 'to look at'. | |||
| Gujarati | કરતાં | ||
| કરતાં is also a verb meaning "to do" or "to make". | |||
| Hindi | से | ||
| In Sanskrit, "से" also means 'from', 'out of' or 'after'. | |||
| Kannada | ಗಿಂತ | ||
| The word "ಗಿಂತ" can also mean "in comparison to" or "in relation to". | |||
| Malayalam | എന്നതിനേക്കാൾ | ||
| Marathi | पेक्षा | ||
| "पेक्षा" is also used to mean "on account of" or "because of" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | भन्दा | ||
| The word "भन्दा" can also mean "instead of" or "rather than" in Nepali. | |||
| Punjabi | ਵੱਧ | ||
| The Sanskrit origin of the word "ਵੱਧ" suggests additional meanings such as "exceeding" and "beyond." | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වඩා | ||
| The word "වඩා" ('보다' in Korean) derives from "වඩ" (meaning 'big' or 'large') and originally meant 'in excess'. It can also be used as a verb meaning 'to exceed' or 'to surpass'. | |||
| Tamil | விட | ||
| "விட" may also mean "leave" or "to leave" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | కంటే | ||
| కంటే is also used to form conditional statements as in "if you come before 10:00 am, you will get a discount." | |||
| Urdu | مقابلے | ||
| The word "مقابلے" can also mean "in comparison to" or "in front of". | |||
Than in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 比 | ||
| The word "比" also means "to compare" and "to compete". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 比 | ||
| 比 (bǐ) also means 'comparison' and is used in the phrase 'comparative advantage' (比較優勢). | |||
| Japanese | より | ||
| In addition to "than," より can also mean "more," "rather," or "better". | |||
| Korean | 보다 | ||
| "보다" is also a shortened form of "보이다 (to look like, to seem like)" | |||
| Mongolian | илүү | ||
| Mongolian "илүү" is derived from the verb "ил" meaning "to exceed". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ထက် | ||
| In addition to its primary meaning as "than," "ထက်" can also mean "the upper part" or "the top of something." | |||
Than in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | dari | ||
| In Indonesian, 'dari' can also mean 'from' or 'of' | |||
| Javanese | saka | ||
| The archaic Javanese word "saka" also means "from afar," as in "saking," which shares the same root. | |||
| Khmer | ជាង | ||
| In ancient Khmer, “ជាង” also meant “because” and “better than”. | |||
| Lao | ກ່ວາ | ||
| In Lao, ກ່ວາ "gwah" can also mean "more than" or "exceed". | |||
| Malay | daripada | ||
| The word "daripada" is also used as a conjunction denoting "from among" or "out of." | |||
| Thai | กว่า | ||
| "กว่า" has cognates in many Austroasiatic languages, with roots in Mon-Khmer and Vietnamese that ultimately derive from Proto-Austroasiatic *ʔawaŋ | |||
| Vietnamese | hơn | ||
| Hơn is also used in Vietnamese to express superiority or inferiority, as in "This is better than that." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kaysa sa | ||
Than in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | daha | ||
| The word "daha" also means "more" or "in addition". | |||
| Kazakh | қарағанда | ||
| The word "қарағанда" can also mean "compared to" or "in comparison with" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | караганда | ||
| The word "караганда" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a type of tree or a place in Kazakhstan. | |||
| Tajik | аз | ||
| The Tajik word "аз" ("than") is also used to express the concepts of "except" and "besides". | |||
| Turkmen | garanyňda | ||
| Uzbek | dan | ||
| The word "dan" in Uzbek can also mean "moreover" or "in addition to". | |||
| Uyghur | than | ||
Than in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ma mua o | ||
| The word "ma mua o" comes from the Proto-Austronesian roots "ma" (direction) and "mua" (forward). | |||
| Maori | tuhinga o mua | ||
| The term 'Tuhinga o mua' is also used in Maori to refer to 'the time before', which may refer to the past, or to the beginning of time. | |||
| Samoan | nai lo | ||
| The word "nai lo" in Samoan literally translates to "before that," emphasizing the previous state or event in a comparison. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kaysa sa | ||
| Kaysa sa is also used in Tagalog to describe something or someone that is superior to or more preferable than another. | |||
Than in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | kuna | ||
| Guarani | que | ||
Than in International Languages
| Esperanto | ol | ||
| "Ol" is the Esperanto transliteration of the English contraction "of the" and as such has been used with that meaning in a few Esperanto texts. | |||
| Latin | quam | ||
| In classical Latin, 'quam' could also mean 'how' or 'as much as'. | |||
Than in Others Languages
| Greek | από | ||
| Από ('than') comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂epo- 'away from', also found in Latin ab 'from', away from,' Albanian hap 'to remove, take', and Tocharian B āpe 'away' | |||
| Hmong | dua | ||
| "Dua" also means "more" or "instead" as in "Kuv nyiam dua koj" (I like him/her more than you). | |||
| Kurdish | dema ko | ||
| The word 'dema ko' in Kurdish comes from the Old Iranian word 'dām' meaning 'place'. | |||
| Turkish | -den | ||
| The word "-den" can also mean "from" or "of", and is often used to indicate possession or origin. | |||
| Xhosa | kunokuba | ||
| The word "kunokuba" can also mean "aside" or "except" in certain contexts. | |||
| Yiddish | ווי | ||
| The word ווי also means "away from" or "in opposition to". | |||
| Zulu | kune | ||
| The Zulu word 'kune' also means 'to be located' or 'to exist in a particular place'. | |||
| Assamese | than | ||
| Aymara | kuna | ||
| Bhojpuri | के तुलना में | ||
| Dhivehi | ވުރެ | ||
| Dogri | थमां | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kaysa sa | ||
| Guarani | que | ||
| Ilocano | ngem | ||
| Krio | pas | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لە | ||
| Maithili | से | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯗꯒꯤ ꯍꯦꯟꯅꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | aiin | ||
| Oromo | irra | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅପେକ୍ଷା | ||
| Quechua | than | ||
| Sanskrit | अपेक्षया | ||
| Tatar | караганда | ||
| Tigrinya | ካብ | ||
| Tsonga | ku tlula | ||