Then and than differ by a single letter, and in fast speech they sound almost the same. In writing, though, they do completely different jobs.

The short answer #

Word Used for Example
than comparisons She is taller than me.
then time or order First eat, then study.

Than: comparing things #

Use than after comparative words like more, less, better, faster, or rather.

  • This phone is faster than my old one.
  • I'd rather walk than drive.

Then: time, sequence, or result #

Use then to mean next, at that time, or in that case.

  • Finish your draft, then check the grammar.
  • Back then, we didn't have smartphones.
  • If you're tired, then take a break.

A quick trick #

  • than goes with comparison.
  • then goes with time and next.

Common mistakes #

Wrong Right
Better late then never. Better late than never.
We ate, than went home. We ate, then went home.
More then 100 people came. More than 100 people came.

Let AI catch it #

A spell checker sees two correctly spelled words. AI Grammar Checker understands whether you're comparing or sequencing and fixes then and than in one tap.