Derselbe

Derselbe is a German demonstrative determiner and pronoun used to indicate identity with a person or thing that has already been mentioned or is known from context. It corresponds roughly to the English phrase “the same [one].” In standard usage, derselbe is part of a set with dieselbe (feminine) and dasselbe (neuter); the forms are inflected to agree with the gender and case of the noun they modify or replace.

The base forms are derselbe (masculine), dieselbe (feminine), and dasselbe (neuter). In sentences, they take the appropriate endings for the case and number. Common examples include: Ich habe denselben Zug genommen. (masculine, accusative) Sie trägt dieselbe Jacke. (feminine, accusative) Wir gingen in dasselbe Haus. (neuter, accusative after movement). More contextually, derselbe can also function as a pronoun: Der Mann, der mir geholfen hat, ist derselbe, der heute hier vorbeikam.

Derselbe is distinguished from der gleiche, which denotes sameness in kind or type rather than identity with a specific previously mentioned entity. While der gleiche emphasizes similarity, derselbe emphasizes the exact same person or object.

Etymologically, derselbe derives from der + selbe (the same), with the initial d serving to form the definite demonstrative compound. In modern writing, the standard forms derselbe, dieselbe, and dasselbe are used with appropriate inflection; capitalization follows general German rules, with all forms lowercase except at sentence beginnings.