Q. What is the difference between then and than? A. These two words are quite different! Their only similarity is in the way they sound. Than is used to compare or contrast things, as in "He is a lot smaller than his older brother." Then refers to time or consequence: "And the Canaanite was then in the land" (Gen. xii. 6.); "If all this be so, then man has a natural freedom" (Locke). So if one thing follows or results from another, use then. Than is also used before a pronoun, as in "Paul loves pizza more than me."