German word

gleich

Pronunciation

IPA/glaɪ̯ç/

Meaning

  • adjectivesame

Example

Ihre Meinung ist gleich meiner.

Her opinion is the same as mine.

Illustration for gleich (same)

More examples

Die beiden Vorschläge haben das gleiche Ziel.

The two proposals have the same goal.

Core concept

A shared measure or pattern makes two things line up without a meaningful difference between them.

Common phrases

  • das gleiche Problem

    the same problem

  • die gleiche Menge

    the same quantity

Similar words

identisch: Exactly the same in qualities or form, with no distinction possible.
ähnlich: Closely alike in qualities or appearance, but not necessarily identical.

Definition in German

So beschaffen, dass zwei Dinge in Inhalt, Aussehen oder Wirkung übereinstimmen und als gleich oder identisch gelten.

Word origin

The adjective gleich continues Old High German gilīh and Proto-Germanic *galīkaz, an inherited Germanic word for having the same form or character.

Usage tips

  • As an adverb, gleich can mean 'soon' or 'right away', so context distinguishes this time meaning from the adjective 'same'.

Other meanings

  • equaladjective
  • soonadverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word