than

than ,

❢ When than is used as a preposition in expressions of comparison, it is translated by que (or qu' before a vowel or mute ‘h’) : he's taller than me = il est plus grand que moi ; London is bigger than Oxford = Londres est plus grand qu'Oxford.

For expressions with numbers, temperatures etc see the entry below. See also the entries more, less, hardly, soon, rather, other. When than is used as a conjunction, it is translated by que and the verb following it is preceded by ne : it was farther than I thought = c'était plus loin que je ne pensais. However, French speakers often try to phrase the comparison differently : it was more difficult than we expected = c'était plus difficile que prévu. For other uses see the entry below. See also the entries hardly, rather, soon.

A prep

1 (in comparisons) que ; thinner than him plus mince que lui ; he has more than me il a plus que moi ; faster by plane than by boat plus rapide en avion qu'en bateau ; I was more surprised than annoyed j'étais plus étonné qu'ennuyé ; it's more difficult for us than for them c'est plus difficile pour nous que pour eux ;

2 (expressing quantity, degree, value) de ; more/less than 100 plus/moins de 100 ; more than half plus de la moitié ; temperatures lower than 30 degrees des températures de moins de 30 degrés.

B conj

1 (in comparisons) que ; he's older than I am il est plus âgé que moi ; it took us longer than we thought it would ça nous a pris plus de temps que prévu ; it was further away than I remembered c'était plus loin que dans mon souvenir ; there's nothing better/worse than doing il n'y a rien de mieux/de pire que de faire ;

2 (expressing preferences) I'd sooner ou rather do X than do Y je préférerais faire X que (de) faire Y ;

3 (when) hardly ou no sooner had he left than the phone rang à peine était-il parti que le téléphone a sonné ;

4 US (from) to be different than sth être différent de qch.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.