Learn Romanian › decât
decât
than /deˈkat/
adverb#137 most common
Also: only (in nu...decât constructions), but, except
Example sentences
Ana este mai înaltă decât Maria.
Ana is taller than Maria.
Am mai mulți bani decât tine.
I have more money than you.
Nu am decât doi lei în buzunar.
I only have two lei in my pocket.
El aleargă mai repede decât credeam.
He runs faster than I thought.
Nu poți face altceva decât să aștepți răbdător.
You can't do anything other than wait patiently.
Oricât de greu ar părea, nu ai altă soluție decât să accepți realitatea așa cum este.
However hard it may seem, you have no solution other than to accept reality as it is.
Word family
câthow much, how manyatâtso much, so manyoricâthowever much, no matter how muchcâtvasome, a certain amount
Etymology
Decât formed inside Romanian from the preposition de ("of, from") plus cât ("how much, how many"), which goes back to Latin quantus. The combination first meant something like "than how much," and settled into its modern role marking comparison. In negative sentences, the same word narrowed to a restrictive sense, "only," through phrases like nu am decât ("I have nothing more than").
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