Flags that look alike, and how to tell them apart
Short answer: most look-alike flags differ in one detail: a shade, a proportion, an emblem or the order of the stripes. Learn the pairs side by side and name the one detail that separates them.
Common look-alike pairs
- Chad vs Romania: blue, yellow, red vertical stripes. Chad's blue is darker.
- Indonesia vs Monaco (vs Poland): red over white for the first two; Indonesia is longer. Poland is white over red.
- Netherlands vs Luxembourg: red, white, blue horizontal stripes. Luxembourg uses a lighter sky blue and a longer flag.
- Australia vs New Zealand: New Zealand has four red stars; Australia has white stars and a large star under the Union Jack.
- Ireland vs Côte d'Ivoire vs Italy: Ireland is green, white, orange; Côte d'Ivoire is orange, white, green; Italy has red instead of orange.
- Senegal vs Mali vs Guinea: Senegal has a green star in the middle, Mali is plain green-yellow-red, Guinea is red-yellow-green.
- Venezuela vs Ecuador vs Colombia: Colombia's yellow band takes half the flag; Ecuador has the same bands plus a coat of arms; Venezuela has an arc of white stars.
- Slovenia vs Slovakia vs Russia: white, blue, red. Slovenia's shield sits top-left, Slovakia's is larger and centred-left, Russia has no shield.
- Qatar vs Bahrain: both have a serrated white band. Qatar is maroon with nine points; Bahrain is red with five.
How to practise them
- Put the two flags side by side and say the one difference out loud.
- Quiz yourself on only the look-alike pairs until you get them right twice in a row.
- Come back to them a few days later; similar flags are the first to blur.
Practise it in Flagloop
Flagloop has a look-alike flags mode that asks only these tricky pairs, with the similar flags as answer options. Every flag page in the atlas also shows the flags it is easy to mix up with, so you can compare them side by side.
FAQ
Are the flags of Chad and Romania really the same?
Almost. Both are blue, yellow and red vertical stripes; Chad's blue is a darker indigo. In practice you tell them apart by context, which is why quizzes love this pair.
What is the difference between the flags of Indonesia and Monaco?
Both are red over white. Indonesia's flag is longer (2:3), Monaco's is squarer (4:5). Poland is the reverse: white over red.
How do I tell Australia and New Zealand apart?
New Zealand has four red stars with white borders; Australia has five white stars plus a large seven-pointed star under the Union Jack.