dh/ð/
Place your tongue tip between or behind your front teeth, turn your vocal cords on, and push air through the gap.
How to pronounce than in American English
dhuhn
Start here
Americans pronounce than as dhuhn (/ðən/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Water is better than soda" or "I'd rather stay home than go out" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "than".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
In real conversation
Hear "than" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Absolute beauty is better than basic belief."
AB·suh·loot BYOO·dee ihz BEH·der dhuhn BAY·suhk buh·LEEF
"Better never than late, said the waiter."
BEH·der NEH·ver dhuhn LAYT sehd dhuh WAY·der
"He always buys more than what is on the shopping list."
hee AHL·wayz BAHYZ MOR dhuhn WUHT ihz ahn dhuh SHAH·puhng LIHST
"I find live theater to be a more engaging experience than movies."
ahy FAHYND LAHYV THEE·uh·der tuh bee uh MOR uhn·GAY·juhng ihk·SPEER·yuhns dhuhn MOO·veez
"I need to adjust my alarm because my commute takes longer than expected."
ahy NEED tuh uh·JUHST mahy uh·LARM buh·KUHZ mahy kuh·MYOOT TAYKS LAHNG·ger dhuhn uhk·spehk·tuhd
"I'd rather stay home than go out."
AHYD RA·dher STAY HOHM dhuhn GOH OWT
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
DHUHN→dhuhn
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "than" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "dhuhn" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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