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I work in tech, and at the company I work for employs and does business with a lot of Indian businesses and individuals. When exchanging emails, I've been noticing the use of "the same" in a completely different context than I'm familiar with.

To note a few examples, here are some phrases I've received:

"Let's look at improving the same."

"Could you please check for the same?"

"He did tell me the results from yesterday but I need to check for the same"

The use seems a bit random, as sometimes there are no prior sentences to put "the same" in context, nor is there always a subject/issue/object in comparison when "the same" is used.

Can anyone clarify?

Community
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Hu Ti
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    It's not just Indian English - I think it's business English in general. – marcellothearcane Aug 23 '19 at 04:38
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    It’s also legalese, but in legal documents it’s usually precisely clear to what “the same” refers, In these documents it refers to something or someone or a group previously defined, which is inelegant but not open to argument. – Xanne Aug 23 '19 at 05:25
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    “Yes, this is an expression that is common in Indian business English. It used to be common in UK business-speak too, but has gone out of fashion there - but not so on the subcontinent, apparently” – Jun 16 '11 at 9:08* - https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/30000/using-the-expression-the-same-for-a-previously-mentioned-item – user 66974 Aug 23 '19 at 06:21

3 Answers3

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You can think of "for the same" as "it".

"Let's look at improving the same."

"Let's look at improving it."

"Could you please check for the same?"

"Could you please check it?"

"He did tell me the results from yesterday but I need to check for the same"

"He did tell me the results from yesterday but I need to check it"

Hengky Djapar
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The matter previously referred to.

I'm not aware of the history behind this phrase, and I don't use it in my own emails, but I encounter it frequently.

Let's look at improving the same.

What were they talking about before his sentence? Their ROI? If they were, they want to improve their ROI.

Could you please check for the same

What were they talking about before his sentence? Whether a colleague had recieved their salary? In that case, the matter is the salary, and the sender wants you to check if you recieved yours.

He did tell me the results from yesterday but I need to check for the same

The results. Either from yesterday, or today, I'm not sure, but "the same" is definitely referring to "the results" here.

Amin Shah Gilani
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That is a translation from Indian languages. It is used in place of "this/that/the said matter or thing.

user399988
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