equality
Loading your saved state.
equality
The state in which all people have the same rights, opportunities, and status. A central legal and ethical principle.
Das Grundgesetz garantiert die Gleichheit aller Menschen vor dem Gesetz.
The Basic Law guarantees the equality of all people before the law.
'Gleichheit' (equality) is an abstract noun derived from the adjective 'gleich' (same/equal). The ending '-heit' is often used to turn a quality (being equal) into a state or concept ('die Gleichheit' — equality).
Alle Teammitglieder haben die gleichen Aufgaben.
All team members have the same tasks.
A very important fixed expression is 'die Gleichheit vor dem Gesetz' (equality before the law). It is a basic principle in many legal systems and means that the law applies to all people in the same way.
Die Verfassung fordert die Gleichheit aller Bürger vor dem Gesetz.
The constitution demands the equality of all citizens before the law.
In social and political contexts, 'Gleichheit' is often used with the preposition 'zwischen' (between) or with a genitive. Typical examples are 'die Gleichheit zwischen Mann und Frau' (equality between men and women) or 'die Gleichheit der Chancen' (equality of opportunity).
Sie kämpft für die Gleichheit der Geschlechter am Arbeitsplatz.
She fights for gender equality in the workplace.
When 'Gleichheit' is used in a mathematical, logical, or scientific context, it refers to the exact correspondence of values, quantities, or properties.
Der Lehrer erklärte die Gleichheit der beiden Dreiecke.
The teacher explained the equality of the two triangles.
difference
'Unterschied' and 'Gleichheit' are opposites. An 'Unterschied' means that two or more things are not the same. 'Gleichheit' here means that things correspond in quantity, size, value, or nature. So both words fit when comparing, but they say the opposite: 'Unterschied' emphasizes what is different, while 'Gleichheit' emphasizes what is the same.
Vor dem Termin prüften wir zur Sicherheit die Gleichheit der beiden Beträge.
Before the appointment, we checked the equality of the two amounts to be safe.
Vor dem Wochenende ist der Unterschied zwischen den zwei Materialien im Gespräch klar geworden.
Before the weekend, the difference between the two materials became clear in the conversation.