German · A2 · Everyday language
Different but Together in German
Practise comparing familiar things in German. Use so ... wie and genauso ... wie for similarities, and nicht so ... wie for differences—without suggesting that different means worse.
What you'll learn
- Compare everyday objects using so ... wie.
- Emphasize equality using genauso ... wie.
- Describe differences using nicht so ... wie.
- Avoid repeating nouns by using words such as meiner and die.
German phrases for different but together
Dein Schulranzen ist so schwer wie meiner.
Your school bag is as heavy as mine.
So schwer wie means 'as heavy as'. Meiner replaces mein Schulranzen.
Deine Brotdose ist genauso groß wie die von deinem Bruder.
Your lunchbox is just as big as your brother's.
Genauso emphasizes that the sizes are equal. Die von deinem Bruder is a natural everyday way to say 'your brother's one'.
Dieses Buch ist nicht so lang wie das da.
This book is not as long as that one.
Nicht so lang wie means 'not as long as'. Das da means 'that one' when pointing to another book.
Du läufst genauso schnell wie dein Freund.
You run just as fast as your friend.
Schnell describes how you run. For a female friend, use deine Freundin.
Dein neuer Bleistift ist so lang wie meiner.
Your new pencil is as long as mine.
Neuer has an ending because it comes before Bleistift. Lang stays unchanged after ist.
Die Hausaufgaben heute sind nicht so schwer wie die von gestern.
Today's homework is not as hard as yesterday's.
Hausaufgaben is plural, so use sind. Schwer means 'difficult' here, rather than 'heavy'.
Dein Apfel ist genauso süß wie meiner.
Your apple is just as sweet as mine.
Genauso süß wie means 'just as sweet as'. Meiner replaces mein Apfel.
Der Spielplatz ist nicht so ruhig wie die Bibliothek.
The playground is not as quiet as the library.
Nicht so ruhig wie compares how quiet the places are; it does not say that one is better.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Schulranzen
school bag; school satchel
Commonly used for the sturdy school bag carried by primary-school children.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
A box for sandwiches or other food taken to school.
schwer
heavy; difficult
Use it for a bag's weight or the difficulty of homework.
die Hausaufgaben
homework
Normally plural in German, unlike English 'homework'.
genauso
just as; equally
Written as one word in these comparisons.
ruhig
quiet; calm
Useful for describing places or people.
Comparing equal qualities
Put so or genauso before the describing word and wie before the person or thing you compare with. Genauso makes the equality more explicit.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| As ... as | so + adjective/adverb + wie | Dein Schulranzen ist so schwer wie meiner. |
| Just as ... as | genauso + adjective/adverb + wie | Du läufst genauso schnell wie dein Freund. |
Comparing unequal qualities
Put nicht before so to say 'not as ... as'. Keep the describing word in its basic form: nicht so lang wie, not nicht so länger wie. Use wie, not als, in these patterns.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Not as ... as | nicht so + adjective/adverb + wie | Der Spielplatz ist nicht so ruhig wie die Bibliothek. |
Avoiding repeated nouns
German can replace a noun with a pronoun. Its form depends on the noun's gender, number and grammatical role. In these sentences, meiner means 'mine' for masculine nouns such as Schulranzen, Bleistift and Apfel.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mine: masculine | mein Apfel → meiner | Dein Apfel ist genauso süß wie meiner. |
| Your brother's one: feminine | die Brotdose von deinem Bruder → die von deinem Bruder | Deine Brotdose ist genauso groß wie die von deinem Bruder. |
| Yesterday's: plural | die Hausaufgaben von gestern → die von gestern | Die Hausaufgaben heute sind nicht so schwer wie die von gestern. |
More examples
Dein Ball ist so groß wie meiner.
Your ball is as big as mine.
Ball is masculine, so 'mine' is meiner in this sentence.
Du malst genauso gern wie deine Schwester.
You enjoy painting just as much as your sister.
Genauso gern wie compares enjoyment, not skill.
Dieser Stift ist nicht so lang wie der da.
This pen is not as long as that one.
Der da refers to another pen. Use der because Stift is masculine.