"MISMO", that strange man...

¿Qué crees que significa"mismo"? (What do you think 'mismo' means?)

"Mismo" is an adjective that means "the same thing" or "exactly like something, identical".
As you will see, "mismo" can be accompanied by the pronoun "LO" and the articles "EL", "LA", "LOS" or "LAS".









EXAMPLES: 

The same kind of women 
El mismo tipo de mujeres         

The same tastes              
Los mismos gustos  

The same people                 
La misma gente          
                                                                                                            
The same options
Las mismas opciones

We can remove the noun we are talking about so we don't have to repeat it the following times: 
A: -¿Estás en el mismo piso? (Are you in the same flat?)
B: - Sí, en el mismo. (Yes, in the same one)               
We just need to remove the noun and you'll have it!

But what about "LO MISMO"?
When we are not talking about a concrete thing, like above, but about situations, problems, meanings, abstract things, generic things, a group of varied things, etc. we use: 
LO MISMO (Lo = pronoun that replaces a "thing" --> la misma COSA)

- Quiero una hamburguesa con patatas fritas 
- Yo quiero lo mismo, por favor.                        

- No me gusta Juan, es demasiado arrogante.

- Sí, yo pienso exactamente lo mismo.

- Inma, ¿qué significan "empezar" y "comenzar"?
- Los dos significan lo mismo: to start.

SO...

The same one = EL/LA/LOS/LAS  MISMO/A/OS/AS

 vs.

The same thing/ the same = LO MISMO

P.S. "Mismo" can be used next to a personal pronoun and some adverbs to make its meaning stronger, to emphasize: Ej/ I will do it myself = Lo haré yo MISMA. 
                                         Ej/ In that very moment = En ese MISMO momento.
P.S.2 Remind me of talking about "IGUAL" at some point. This adverb can have some common uses with "mismo".


I hope I made that clear! if any doubts appear... 
contact me and I'll do my best!
¡Un beso y feliz día!


Inma.