I could really use help with the difference between mismo and igual. I don't know when I should use which one.
Hello Rachael!
This is a very good question!! I never actually thought of the difference between both concepts haha, it always came natural to me. But this is how differentiate them:
{Artículo}Mismo
As you see, this concept needs the use of a definite article, considering on the gender of the subject/noun because Spanish always gives gender to things so you gotta look for the noun first.
P1: Me gusta tu camisa. Yo tengo la misma (I like your shirt. I have the same one)
P2: ¿En serio? Veo que nos gustan las mismas cosas (Really? I see that we like the same things)
You see it all depends on the noun (female or male) for the article to use. In this case, “camisa” is female so the article is “la”; that is the same case with “cosas” since is female and plural it comes with “las”. But remember that there are a lot of articles and el, la, los, las aren’t the only articles.
Now, the article that I think troubles the majority of Spanish learners. Neuter definite article: “lo”. Not to confuse with the personal pronoun, lo. But how to differentiate them? Lo + verb: personal pronoun, while Lo + not-a-verb: neuter definite article.
To make things clear, we use {Lo} mismo to talk about abstract matters, as well as ello, esto, eso and aquello meaning that when you talk about vague or general things you use those terms.
P1: Ayer fui al cine con mi familia (Yesterday, I went to the movie theater with my family)
P2: Yo tambiénhice lo mismo, ¿cuál viste? (I did the same (thing), which one did you watch?)
Don’t use “lo mismo” with living things!! People, animal, any living thing is not abstract so the rule wouldn’t apply, and you would kinda denigrate/invalidate them if you think about it.
Igual
If we use igual to modify a noun, the meaning is the same one as {artículo} mismo.
+ Mimamá compró un vestido que es igual que el mío. (My mom bought a dress that is the same as mine)
+ Mi mamá compró un vestido que es el mismo que el mío. (My mom bought a dress that is the same as mine)
But the difference lies in that igual, besides meaning “the same thing”, it can also mean “in the same way”, which means that it modify adjectives, verbs, and other things besides nouns since it becomes an adverb.
+ Luisa se vistió igual que yo, así que vamos las dos igual de guapas.(Luisa dressed herself just like me (in the same way), so we both look just as pretty (in the same beautiful way).
So basically, igual indicates that two things are similar to one another but not literally the same while {artículo} mismo is used to talk about literal sameness, exactness.
+ Tu carro es igual al mío. (Your car is the same as mine): indicates that the car looks the same, has the same color and size but it is a different style/brand.
+ Mis amigos y yo estudiamos en el mismo colegio. (My friends and I study in the same school): indicates that they go to the same, specific school.
Most of the time, lo mismo e igual can be interchangeable, so don’t stress over it. Remember that this is a language and not a science/math formula and I’m giving you a guideline to help you with your intuition so it’s okay to make mistakes.
I hope this helps you with your question! Have a wonderful day! :)
