English builds "as tall as" out of three words and never changes the adjective — and neither does Chinese, but the frame it uses looks nothing like the English one. To say two things are equal in some quality, Mandarin wraps them in 跟 … 一样 (gēn … yíyàng): put the two items on either side of 跟, close with 一样, and add the quality last. The result — 我跟你一样高 (I'm as tall as you) — is the standard "as … as" of Chinese, and it sits right in the middle of the comparison scale: 比 is more, 跟…一样 is equal, and 没有 is less. This page drills the equality frame; its mirror image, "different," lives on the 跟…不一样 page.
The equality frame: A 跟 B 一样 (+ adjective)
The word 一样 (yíyàng) literally reads "one-kind" — of one sort, hence "the same." 跟 (gēn) here means "with / and," linking the two things being equated. Line them up and the whole frame reads, almost word for word, "A, together-with B, [of] one kind [in] height":
| A | 跟 | B | 一样 | (adjective) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 我 (I) | 跟 | 你 (you) | 一样 | 高 (tall) |
| 今天 (today) | 跟 | 昨天 (yesterday) | 一样 | 冷 (cold) |
| 这个 (this) | 跟 | 那个 (that) | 一样 | — (just 'the same') |
Notice the adjective sits after 一样, not before it, and stays in its plain dictionary form — no "-er," no 很. 一样 does the comparing.
我跟你一样高。
wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo
I'm as tall as you. (neutral)
今天跟昨天一样冷。
jīntiān gēn zuótiān yíyàng lěng
Today is as cold as yesterday. (informal)
他的手机跟我的一样贵。
tā de shǒujī gēn wǒ de yíyàng guì
His phone is as expensive as mine. (informal) — 我的 stands in for 'my phone'.
一样 alone, or 一样 + adjective
The frame has two settings. Stop at 一样 and you get a flat "A is the same as B" — no dimension named. Add an adjective and you name exactly which quality is equal.
这个跟那个一样，你随便挑。
zhège gēn nàge yíyàng, nǐ suíbiàn tiāo
This one and that one are the same — pick whichever. (informal)
你的想法跟我完全一样。
nǐ de xiǎngfǎ gēn wǒ wánquán yíyàng
Your idea is exactly the same as mine. (neutral) — 完全 'completely' strengthens 一样.
这两件衣服的颜色一样吗？
zhè liǎng jiàn yīfu de yánsè yíyàng ma
Are these two pieces of clothing the same color? (informal) — with a shared subject the 跟-phrase can drop away.
That last example shows a useful shortcut: when both items are already bundled into one subject (这两件衣服 — "these two garments"), you don't need 跟 at all — just 一样. 一样 can also lean toward a verb, meaning "equally / just as much":
我跟他一样喜欢吃辣。
wǒ gēn tā yíyàng xǐhuan chī là
I like spicy food just as much as he does. (informal) — 一样 modifies the degree of liking.
Which linker: 跟, 和, 与, 同
跟 is only the most colloquial of several words that can hinge the frame. They differ almost entirely by register, not meaning:
| Linker | Pinyin | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 跟 | gēn | (informal) — the default in everyday speech |
| 和 | hé | neutral — speech and writing alike |
| 与 | yǔ | (formal), (literary) — written prose, titles, essays |
| 同 | tóng | (formal), (regional: southern) — written or southern speech |
他的成绩和我的一样好。
tā de chéngjì hé wǒ de yíyàng hǎo
His grades are as good as mine. (neutral) — 和 is the safe, register-neutral choice.
这份合同与上一份完全一样。
zhè fèn hétong yǔ shàng yí fèn wánquán yíyàng
This contract is completely identical to the previous one. (formal) — 与 suits the legal register.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 比 for equality. 比 means "more than." Equality is 跟…一样 — the two frames don't mix.
❌ 我比你一样高。
Wrong — 比 is for 'more than'. For 'as tall as' use 跟…一样.
✅ 我跟你一样高。
wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo
I'm as tall as you. (neutral)
2. Dropping 一样. Without 一样 there is no equality — 跟 alone just means "with."
❌ 我跟你高。
Incomplete — this only says 'I, with you… tall'. You need 一样: 我跟你一样高.
✅ 我跟你一样高。
wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo
I'm as tall as you. (neutral)
3. Dropping 跟. The frame has two halves; you can't equate two things without linking them.
❌ 我你一样高。
Wrong — missing the linker. The frame is 跟 … 一样: 我跟你一样高.
✅ 我跟你一样高。
wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo
I'm as tall as you. (neutral)
4. Putting the adjective before 一样. The quality comes after 一样, never before it.
❌ 我跟你高一样。
Wrong order — the adjective follows 一样: 我跟你一样高.
✅ 我跟你一样高。
wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo
I'm as tall as you. (neutral)
Key Takeaways
- Equality is A 跟 B 一样 (+ adjective) — 一样 (yíyàng) "one-kind = the same" does the comparing; the adjective stays in plain form after it.
- Stop at 一样 for a bare "the same"; add an adjective to name the equal dimension (一样高 = equally tall).
- The linker is a register dial: 跟 (informal) → 和 (neutral) → 与 / 同 (formal, written). When unsure, use 和.
- The adjective goes after 一样 (一样高, not 高一样), and takes no 很 and no 比.
- Negate it with 不 to get "different" — see 跟…不一样.
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- Inequality of Kind: 跟…不一样HSK 2 — 不一样 (bù yíyàng) is 'different / not the same': A 跟 B 不一样 — 我跟你不一样 'I'm different from you'. The 不 attaches to 一样, not to 跟, and 不一样的 can modify a noun directly (不一样的味道 'a different taste').
- Similes with 像…一样HSK 3 — 一样 doesn't only equate two definite things — with 像 it builds vivid similes: 像雪一样白 'white as snow', 他像孩子一样天真 'as naive as a child', 像鸟一样飞 'fly like a bird'. The productive simile needs both 像 and 一样.
- How Chinese Compares ThingsHSK 1 — Mandarin compares by sentence structure, not word endings — no -er/-est. Four core frames: 比 for 'more than' (我比你高), 跟…一样 for 'as…as' (我跟你一样高), 没有 for 'not as…as' (我没有你高), and 最 for the superlative (最高).
- Joining Nouns: 和 / 跟 / 与 / 同HSK 2 — 和 (and its cousins 跟, 与, 同) joins NOUNS and noun phrases — 我和你, 咖啡和茶 — never clauses or sequential actions. English 'and' links anything; Chinese 和 links same-type items, so 'I got up and ate' is NOT 我起床和吃饭.