{"id":7131,"date":"2018-07-22T06:39:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T06:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sprachschule-aktiv-wien.at\/?p=7131"},"modified":"2019-04-20T21:26:53","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T21:26:53","slug":"das-gleiche-is-not-always-dasselbe-what-do-the-germans-mean-by-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sprachschule-aktiv-wien.at\/en\/das-gleiche-is-not-always-dasselbe-what-do-the-germans-mean-by-that\/","title":{"rendered":"“Das Gleiche” Is Not Always “Dasselbe” – What Do the Germans Mean by That?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Das Gleiche” Is Not Always “Dasselbe” – What Do the Germans Mean by That?<\/h1>\n

There is such a nice saying in German: \u201cWenn zwei das Gleiche tun, ist es noch lange nicht dasselbe.\u201d Find out what it’s all about and how you can handle it with a very simple \u201cEselsbr\u00fccke\u00a0\u201c.<\/p>\n

What does \u201cgleich\u201d mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You go to the store and buy a T-shirt. The next day, you meet your best friend wearing a T-shirt that looks exactly like yours. After you have clarified that the brand is identical, you can say, \u201cWir haben das gleiche T-Shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two things that look the same or are identical are \u201cgleich\u201d.<\/p>\n

They can also be recurring situations that you want to describe as the same. Then you say, \u201cDas ist ja das Gleiche wie letztes Mal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remember the equation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

x = y when x = 1 and y = 1<\/p>\n

What does \u201cdasselbe\u201d mean?<\/h2>\n

Today you wear a blue T-shirt. Tomorrow you put on a blue T-shirt again. It could be that you have the same T-shirt twice or you are wearing the same T-shirt you wore the previous day.
\nIn case you wore the T-shirt twice, you can say: \u201cIch trage heute dasselbe T-Shirt wie gestern.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Dasselbe” always refers to one thing. There is no second of it.<\/p>\n

The nice bartender from last weekend welcomes you again. That is not \u201cder gleiche Barkeeper\u201d but derselbe. He\/she is only one person.<\/p>\n

Again, to use an illustrative example from mathematics, let’s think of a simple coordinate system with a quadrant:
\nThe point (x \/ y) and the point (a \/ b) are the same point when x = a and y = b.<\/p>\n

They are on top of each other. This point exists only once.<\/p>\n

The points would be equal in value, although two different points are described, if we imagine a quadrilateral coordinate-cross and the points are:
\n(x \/ y) and (-a \/ -b) where IxI = I-aI and IyI = I-bI<\/p>\n

The grammar behind \u201cselbe\u201d und \u201cgleiche\u201d:<\/h2>\n

Grammatically, “gleich” is an adjective. It describes how something is.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cselbe\/r\u201d is, strictly speaking, only one part of the word. Because it demands a demonstrative pronoun. \u201cSelbe\/r\u201d is then written together with the second demonstrative pronoun:<\/p>\n

“Derselbe” – \u201cEs bedient derselbe Barkeeper wie letzte Woche.\u201d
\n“Dieselbe” – \u201cEs ist dieselbe Krankenschwester wie bei meinem letzten Arztbesuch.\u201d
\n“Dasselbe” – \u201cHast Du das gleiche T-Shirt zweimal? Nein, ich habe nur eins. Das hier ist dasselbe wie gestern.\u201d<\/p>\n

If something is the same, use “derselbe\/dieselbe\/dasselbe”.
\nIf something exists in an identical shape\/way multiple times, use \u201cdas gleiche\u201d.<\/p>\n

An “Eselsbr\u00fccke” for you:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The saying from the beginning now makes sense: “Wenn zwei Individuen das Gleiche tun, beispielsweise di\u00e4ten, ist es noch lange nicht dasselbe.” They do not both do it the same way.<\/p>\n

Wenn ihr mit einem Kumpel Deutsch lernt, tut ihr zwar das Gleiche, aber es ist nicht dasselbe. Jeder von euch lernt anders.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, the phrase is actually used to indicate that consequences are not always measured by scale. If two siblings come home too late, they will both face different penalties.<\/p>\n

Check out our various different German language courses here:<\/h2>\n