Le/la même and Les mêmes = The same (French Indefinite Pronouns)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2022-11-14

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Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. "Le/la même" and "les mêmes" are part of the indefinite pronouns.

How to use the indefinite pronouns le/la même, les mêmes in French

Look at these examples of similitude:

Tu as une belle voiture. J'ai la même. You've got a nice car. I've got the same [one].

Julie prend l'Eurostar de 15h30? Je prends le même. Is Julie taking the 3.30pm Eurostar? I'm taking the same [one].

J'aime beaucoup tes lunettes. Madonna porte les mêmes. I really like your glasses. Madonna wears the same [ones].

Partout la table est prête,
Et l'on entend la même chanson, oh !Everywhere the table is set,
And you hear the same song, oh!

To say the same in French, you use le/la même or les mêmes depending on the noun it refers to.

Note that it has to agree in gender (le/la) and number (les mêmes) with the object it refers to.

See other uses of même:
Using [French stress pronouns] + même(s) to express "myself/yourself/etc" in French and Même can mean "same", "itself", "very", "exact" and "precise" as an adjective, and "even" as an adverb in French

When le même is used in a comparison : the same as

Oh, tu as les mêmes chaussures que Noémie !Oh, you've got the same shoes as Noemie!

Ton écharpe ! C'est la même que la mienne !Your scarf! It's the same as mine!

Note that in French, you will use que to introduce the compared element.

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