一样 (yíyàng) means "the same". With 跟 (gēn) or 和 (hé) in front of the second thing, A 跟 B 一样 says that A and B are the same. Add an adjective after it to say "as tall as", "as hot as" and so on.
A + 跟 + B + 一样.
跟 and 和 both work here and mean the same. To ask if two things are the same, add 吗 at the end. Before a noun, use 一样的: 一样的书包 is "the same school bag". With a verb, 跟……一样 means "like": 我跟你一样，也喜欢喝茶 is "Like you, I like tea too".
A + 跟 + B + 一样 + adjective.
The adjective goes after 一样, never before it. The most common mistake is to follow English word order and say 他跟我高一样; the right order is 他跟我一样高. To talk about how well someone does something, use a verb with 得 first.
To say two things are different, put 不 directly before 一样: A 跟 B 不一样. A common mistake is to put 不 before 跟 instead. Note the pinyin: 不一样 is bù yíyàng.
To say "not as tall as" or "not as expensive as", Chinese usually uses 没有 instead: A + 没有 + B + adjective.
Practise this grammar point on paper: 18 exercises using only HSK 3 words, with an answer key on a separate page. Free to print and copy for your class.
Every example on this page uses only words up to HSK 3. Paste your own sentences into the level checker to see which words, if any, are above your level.