と同じ・
と同じで is "like", と違って is "unlike", and と同じくらい is "about as … as". The と marks what you are comparing with.
like
Like my older sister, I'm a morning person too.
unlike
Unlike on weekdays, there are fewer buses on Sundays.
about as … as
The wind is about as strong today as it was yesterday.
Like, unlike
Noun + と同じで ／ Noun + と違って
The て-forms of と同じだ (is the same as) and と違う (is different from), so the sentence carries on.
About as … as
Noun + と同じくらい + what you are measuring
同じぐらい is the same. Before a noun, と同じくらいの.
と同じだ and と違う end a sentence. Politely they are と同じです and と違います.
The price is the same as last year.
The price is different from last year.
This isn't what I ordered.
Like: と同じで
What is true of one is true of the other. English is content with "like"; Japanese usually adds も, "too", to the second half.
Like our father, my younger brother likes cooking too.
Like Tokyo, Osaka also gets a lot of tourists from abroad.
Unlike: と違って
The second half says what is different. 以前と違って and 昔と違って, "unlike before", come up all the time.
Unlike before, I now live near the station.
Unlike printed books, e-books don't take up space.
About as … as: と同じくらい
Now you are measuring: height, weight, speed, how often. The two come out about equal, and neither wins.
Like me, my younger brother is tall.
Both are tall. How tall isn't said.
My younger brother is about as tall as I am.
Their heights are about equal.
I cook about as often as my older brother does.
This desk is about the same height as that one.
同じ before a noun
同じ goes straight onto a noun, with no な: 姉と同じ学校, the same school as my sister.
We leave home at the same time every day.
Not said: 私たちは
(We leave home at the same time every day.)
Close neighbours
ほど～ないN3
"Not as … as". This, and not と同じくらい with a negative, is how you say one falls short of the other.
Today is not as cold as yesterday.
に比べてN3
"Compared with". It sets the comparison up and leaves the result open: more, less, or not much different.
Compared with last year, there has been less rain this summer.
Check yourself
1What does this say?
弟は
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
友達と
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
とは違って, with は, leans on the difference: "not like him at all".
Unlike my older brother, I'm no good at sports.
Writing uses と違い and と同じく.
Unlike most years, there is little snow this year.
Like his older brother, the younger one became a doctor too.
と同じように is "in the same way as", for how something is done.
I made it the same way my mother does, but it tastes different.
More sentences
Like the place I stayed before, this hotel has free breakfast.
Unlike the old model, the new one lets you replace the battery.
Unlike ten years ago, this town has plenty of people out on the streets even at night.
The afternoon meeting was about as long as the morning one.
This dictionary is about as heavy as a small computer.