sekken to senzai wa onaji you ni mieru keredo, onaji de wa nai.

topic particle

Breakdown of sekken to senzai wa onaji you ni mieru keredo, onaji de wa nai.

• と: noun-connector particle
• で は ない: to not be
• けれど: but

Questions & Answers about sekken to senzai wa onaji you ni mieru keredo, onaji de wa nai.

Why is there a と between 石けん and 洗剤?

と connects nouns and means and.

So:

• 石けん と 洗剤 = soap and detergent

In this sentence, it simply links the two things being talked about.

Why is there a は after 洗剤?

The は marks the topic of the sentence.

Here, the topic is the whole pair:

• 石けん と 洗剤 は = as for soap and detergent / soap and detergent

Japanese often puts は after the final item in a list like this, rather than after each noun.

So the structure is:

• A と B は ... = A and B ...

What does 同じように mean here?

同じ means same, and ように means something like in the manner of or as if.

Together, 同じように means:

• in the same way
• similarly
• in this sentence, more naturally: the same way or alike

So:

• 同じように見える = look the same / appear similar

Even though 同じ literally means same, here the phrase does not mean they truly are the same. It means they seem the same.