A friend of mine asked what "same same but different" meant. The context was in an essay called Same-same, but different on the Japan Times website:
One Indochinese term we all learned was the saying "Same-same, but
different." It might just look like four words that contradict each
other, but this one phrase perfectly described our experiences. Each
of the countries we visited would use the same herbs in different
ways, or have ways of bargaining that were similar, yet different.
Even among our group, we all spoke English, but in many different
ways.After my tour, I carried on to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan on my own.
The idea of "same-same, but different" continued. Each of these Asian
countries had similar foods, languages and writing, but all had put
their own unique twist on it.
Is it derived from Tinglish, a broken form of English from Thailand?
same same but different (seems similar but different in some ways)
Best Answer
The "native" form doesn't repeat the word same, and we often use only rather than but...
...normally means something is functionally or substantially the same as something else, but differs in method of implementation, or in minor details.
Thus, for example The Irish say that everyone is the same, only different. This difference is due mainly to the fact that every individual has a different temperament. The meaning there is that all people are basically the same (we all need food, shelter, companionship, etc.), but we're all unique individuals too.
There's no particular implication that anything thus described is "fake", or otherwise of lesser value (but of course, that implication may be present in the context where it's used).