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大同小異

だいどうしょうい

much the same, minor differences

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. どの案も大同小異だ。

    どのあんもだいどうしょういだ。

    All the plans are much the same.

  2. 各社の製品は大同小異で、決め手に欠ける。

    かくしゃのせいひんはだいどうしょういで、きめてにかける。

    The products from each company differ only in details, so nothing stands out.

  3. 議論は重ねたが、結論は前回と大同小異だった。

    ぎろんはかさねたが、けつろんはぜんかいとだいどうしょういだった。

    We talked it over at length, but the conclusion was much the same as last time.

Common patterns

大同小異だ
they are much of a muchness
〜と大同小異
barely different from ~
どれも大同小異
all much the same

Memory tip

Largely (大) the same (同), slightly (小) different (異). It is mildly dismissive: the differences exist but are not worth arguing over. 五十歩百歩 is the same idea with a sharper sting.

Kanji in this word

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What does 大同小異 mean?