One little word, než (literary variant nežli), does two jobs that English keeps strictly apart. It is the comparative "than" ("bigger than a house") and it is the temporal "before" ("before you leave, lock the door"). English speakers reliably nail the first sense and forget the second exists — and, as a bonus source of confusion, "than" and "then" look almost identical in English, so learners sometimes doubt which meaning než even carries. This page separates the two senses cleanly and shows the genitive shortcut Czech offers for "than."
Sense 1: než = "than" (comparison)
After a comparative adjective or adverb, než introduces the thing you are comparing against — exactly like English "than."
Je vyšší než já.
He's taller than me.
Tahle kniha je lepší než ta první.
This book is better than the first one.
Přišla dřív, než jsme čekali.
She arrived earlier than we expected.
Radši zůstanu doma, než abych šel na tu schůzi.
I'd rather stay home than go to that meeting.
A crucial grammatical point: with než, both sides of the comparison stand in the same case. In je vyšší než já, the já is nominative because the thing it compares to (the subject on, "he") is nominative — než does not govern a case of its own, it just links two equal-status elements. This is why než já ("than I/me") uses the subject pronoun já, not an object form. For how comparatives are formed in the first place (vysoký → vyšší, dobrý → lepší), see comparative formation.
Umí líp česky než anglicky.
He speaks Czech better than English.
The genitive shortcut for "than"
Czech offers a neat alternative to než: instead of než + same-case noun, you can drop než and put the compared noun in the genitive. Starší než bratr ("older than [my] brother") can become starší bratra — genitive, no než. This "genitive of comparison" is common, especially in tighter, more formal phrasing.
Je starší než bratr.
He's older than his brother. (with než — nominative bratr)
Je starší bratra.
He's older than his brother. (genitive of comparison — bratra, no než)
The two are equivalent in meaning; the genitive version is a touch more compact and formal. The catch is that it only works with a single noun object, not a whole clause — you cannot genitivize than we expected. For the full comparison of these two strategies, see comparison with než and the genitive.
Sense 2: než = "before" (time)
The second life of než is temporal: it introduces a "before" clause. The event in the než-clause happens after the main-clause event — you do the main thing before the než thing occurs. English keeps this completely separate from "than," which is exactly why learners overlook it.
Než odejdeš, zavři okno.
Before you leave, close the window.
Počkej, než to dočtu.
Wait until I finish reading it. / Wait till I've read it. (before I finish)
Než přišel, uklidil celý byt.
Before he arrived, he tidied the whole flat.
Sníh roztál dřív, než jsme čekali.
The snow melted sooner than we expected.
That last example is a nice hinge: dřív, než ("sooner than / before") sits right on the boundary between the comparative and temporal senses — "sooner than we expected" is a comparison of times, and it reads as both.
Temporal než vs až vs dokud
The temporal než lives in a small family of time conjunctions, and keeping them apart matters:
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| než | before | Než odejdeš, zavři okno. |
| až | when (future) | Až přijdeš, zavoláme. |
| dokud (+ ne-) | until | Počkej, dokud nepřijdu. |
Note the fine line between než ("before") and dokud … ne- ("until"): Počkej, než přijdu and Počkej, dokud nepřijdu both come out in English near "wait until/before I come," but dokud stresses the whole stretch of waiting up to the point, while než names the event you're waiting for in advance. For the full set of "when/before/until" conjunctions, see temporal conjunctions: když, až, jakmile.
A note on the mood after temporal než
In careful Czech, when the než-clause describes an event that has not yet happened (and may be being pre-empted), you'll sometimes see the conditional after než — "before he could say anything." This nuance is optional and belongs to more formal or literary style; the plain indicative is normal and always acceptable in speech.
Odešel dřív, než jsem stačil něco říct.
He left before I managed to say anything. (indicative — the everyday choice)
Zmizel dřív, než by ho někdo poznal.
He vanished before anyone could recognise him. (conditional after než — literary/careful)
nežli — the literary variant
nežli is simply a fuller, more literary (literary) form of než, used in both senses. It is interchangeable in meaning and mostly appears in elevated prose or where the rhythm of a sentence calls for a heavier word. In speech and ordinary writing, stick with než.
Lépe pozdě nežli nikdy.
Better late than never. (set phrase, literary nežli)
Common Mistakes
❌ Je vyšší jak já.
Incorrect in standard Czech — 'jak' for 'than' is colloquial/nonstandard; use než.
✅ Je vyšší než já.
He's taller than me.
❌ Je vyšší než mě.
Incorrect — než links equal cases, so it's the nominative já, not the accusative mě.
✅ Je vyšší než já.
He's taller than me.
❌ Zavři okno, až odejdeš.
Incorrect for 'before you leave' — až means 'when', not 'before'; use než.
✅ Než odejdeš, zavři okno.
Before you leave, close the window.
❌ Je starší než bratra.
Incorrect — pick one strategy: než + nominative (než bratr) OR bare genitive (bratra), not both.
✅ Je starší než bratr.
He's older than his brother.
❌ Radši půjdu pěšky, dokud bych čekal na autobus.
Incorrect — 'rather X than Y' uses než, not dokud.
✅ Radši půjdu pěšky, než abych čekal na autobus.
I'd rather walk than wait for the bus.
Key Takeaways
- než = "than" after a comparative: vyšší než já, lepší než ta první. Both sides take the same case (so než já, not než mě).
- Czech also allows the genitive of comparison as a shortcut: starší bratra = starší než bratr — tighter, formal, single noun only.
- než also = "before" (time): Než odejdeš, zavři okno. English keeps "than" and "before" apart, so consciously reach for než for "before."
- Distinguish temporal než ("before"), až ("when," future), and dokud … ne- ("until").
- nežli is the literary twin of než, same meanings; avoid colloquial jak for "than" in standard Czech.
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Comparison With než and With the GenitiveB1 — Two ways to mark 'than': než + same case, or the bare genitive of comparison.
- Forming the Comparative: -ější, -ší, -číA2 — Czech builds comparatives with one of three suffixes — productive -ější, common -ší, and a small -čí set — often triggering a consonant change, and the result declines as a soft adjective.
- Temporal Conjunctions: když, až, jakmileB1 — Choosing the right 'when' for past habit, future, and the moment something happens.
- Subordinating ConjunctionsA2 — The conjunctions that introduce dependent clauses — že, protože, když, aby, kdyby and the rest — always with a preceding comma.
- Reported Speech (No Tense Backshift)B1 — Why indirect speech keeps the original tense, unlike English.