Dutch vs Indonesian: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical

If you already know one of these languages, you have a bigger head start on the other than you might expect. Centuries of contact left Indonesian with a large layer of Dutch-derived vocabulary, and both languages have also taken in international words for modern things. The result is pairs like naam and nama, or kantoor and kantor, where the meaning holds steady and the spelling shifts by only a letter or two — so you can learn the patterns instead of memorising each word cold.

Vocab Voyage turns the list into flashcards you actually use: you see an English prompt and type the Dutch word, spaced repetition brings back the ones you keep missing, and accents are forgiven so you can concentrate on the word itself. It is free, you sign up with an email address, and there is no card and no password to deal with. The material suits A2 to C1 learners who already have some grammar in place and want to move faster between the two languages.

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Dutch vs Indonesian: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical: the list

#EnglishDutchIndonesian
1name naam nama
2hand hand hand
3idea idee ide
4problem probleem problem
5pair paar pair
6best beste best
7agent agent agen
8moment moment momen
9room kamer kamar
10doctor dokter dokter
11order orde order
12bell bel bel
13photo foto foto
14word woord word
15water water water
16dollar dollar dolar
17baby baby baby
18dad papa papa
19heart hart heart
20mom mama mama
21blood bloed blood
22bed bed bed
23office kantoor kantor
24telephone telefoon telefon
25serious serieus serius
26hard hard hard
27information informatie informasi
28normal normaal normal
29rest rest rest
30perfect perfect perfect
31president president presiden
32light licht light
33person persoon person
34sex seks seks
35pistol pistool pistol
36special speciaal special
37bank bank bank
38camera camera kamera
39ground grond ground
40hotel hotel hotel
41fantastic fantastisch fantastis
42band band band
43ball bal ball
44planet planeet planet
45deep diep deep
46partner partner partner
47monster monster monster
48bomb bom bom
49meter meter meter
50computer computer komputer
51club club klub
52class klas kelas
53bag tas tas
54table tafel tabel
55bar bar bar
56deal deal deal
57test test tes
58glass glas gelas
59cool cool cool
60risk risico risiko
61code code kode
62apartment appartement apartemen
63extra extra extra
64favorite favoriet favorit
65system systeem system
66bus bus bus
67professor professor profesor
68cat kat kat
69energy energie energi
70ring ring ring
71inspector inspecteur inspektur
72simple simpel simpel
73motor motor motor
74cell cel cell
75video video video
76beer bier bir
77aunt tante tante
78radio radio radio
79program programma program
80director directeur direktur
81kilometer kilometer kilometer
82elevator lift lift
83process proces proses
84politics politiek politik
85truck truck truk
86green groen green
87task taak task
88belt belt belt
89wonder wonder wonder
90basis basis basis
91lab lab lab
92super super super
93restaurant restaurant restaurant
94toilet toilet toilet
95jacket jas jas
96vampire vampier vampir
97dna dna DNA
98detective detective detective
99top top top
100national nationaal nasional
101signal signaal signal
102camp kamp kamp
103virus virus virus
104pilot piloot pilot
105wind wind wind
106sexy sexy sexy
107jury jury juri
108senator senator senator
109mile mijl mil
110internet internet internet
111lamp lamp lampu
112fan fan fan
113manager manager manajer
114press pers pers
115local lokaal lokal
116gas gas gas
117romantic romantisch romantis
118alarm alarm alarm
119model model model
120data data data
121angel engel angel
122pizza pizza pizza
123article artikel artikel
124assistant assistent asisten
125ambulance ambulance ambulans
126dance dans dansa
127positive positief positif
128coach coach coach
129rat rat rat
130ticket ticket tiket
131robot robot robot
132kilo kilo kilo
133motive motief motif
134talent talent talenta
135tank tank tank
136helicopter helikopter helikopter
137dinner diner dinner
138email e-mail email
139pot pot pot
140winter winter winter
141reputation reputatie reputasi
142block blok blok
143online online online
144alcohol alcohol alkohol
145route route rute
146material materiaal material
147rocket raket roket
148international internationaal internasional
149market markt market
150media media media
151legend legende legenda
152chip chip chip
153negative negatief negatif
154brilliant briljant brilliant
155generation generatie generasi
156organization organisatie organisasi
157tip tip tip
158wild wild wild
159unique uniek unik
160text tekst teks
161alibi alibi alibi
162original origineel original
163champagne champagne champagne
164version versie versi
165race race race
166whisky whisky whisky
167oil olie oli
168focus focus fokus
169candidate kandidaat kandidat
170modern modern modern
171mask masker masker
172federal federale federal
173study studie studi
174museum museum museum
175character karakter karakter
176fantasy fantasie fantasi
177stable stabiel stabil
178interview interview interview
179zombie zombie zombie
180journalist journalist jurnalis
181plate plaat plat
182zone zone zona
183training training training
184deck dek dek
185studio studio studio
186series serie seri
187procedure procedure prosedur
188clinic kliniek klinik
189metal metaal metal
190pen pen pen
191satellite satelliet satelit
192apple appel apel
193stress stress stres
194sand zand sand
195brand merk merek
196specific specifiek spesifik
197division divisie divisi
198central centrale central
199status status status
200cable kabel kabel
201passport paspoort pasport
202ideal ideaal ideal
203drama drama drama
204liver lever liver
205penis penis penis
206television televisie televisi
207novel roman roman
208ton ton ton
209theater theater teater
210tape tape tape
211method methode metode
212casino casino kasino
213admiral admiraals admiral
214crisis crisis krisis
215humor humor humor
216period periode periode
217anonymous anoniem anonim
218phase fase fase
219plastic plastic plastik
220informant informant informan
221mass massa massa
222laptop laptop laptop
223motel motel motel
224standard standaard standar
225protocol protocol protokol
226canal kanaal kanal
227temperature temperatuur temperatur
228temple tempel temple
229soup soep sop
230affair affaire affair
231strategy strategie strategi
232profile profiel profil
233biological biologisch biologis
234chaos chaos chaos
235piano piano piano
236revolution revolutie revolusi
237euro euro euro
238campus campus kampus
239stick stok stik
240helmet helm helm
241staff staf staf
242website website website
243cowboy cowboy cowboy
244agenda agenda agenda
245laboratory laboratorium laboratorium
246tie das dasi
247pastor pastoor pastor
248mafia maffia mafia
249dealer dealer dealer
250congress congres kongres
251aggressive agressief agresif
252practical praktisch praktis
253figure figuur figur
254criticism kritiek kritik
255legal legaal legal
256trauma trauma trauma
257timing timing timing
258heroin heroïne heroin
259crystal kristal kristal
260credit krediet kredit
261grand grand grand
262centimeter centimeter sentimeter
263mental mentaal mental
264receipt bon bon
265flash flash flash
266practice praktijk praktik
267catholic katholiek katholik
268radar radar radar
269tragedy tragedie tragedi
270sector sector sektor
271genetic genetisch genetis
272guitar gitaar gitar
273hammer hamer hammer
274tumor tumor tumor
275makeup make-up make-up
276gangster gangster gangster
277menu menu menu
278inspiration inspiratie inspirasi
279package pakket paket
280grenade granaat granat
281hamburger hamburger hamburger
282sauce saus saus
283department department departemen
284buddy buddy buddy
285paranoid paranoïde paranoid
286episode episode episode
287form formulier formulir
288puppy puppy puppy
289dock dok dok
290colony kolonie koloni
291amber amber amber
292balloon ballon balon
293vodka wodka vodka
294permanent permanent permanen
295jungle jungle jungle
296vision visie visi
297freak freak freak
298tempo tempo tempo
299achievement prestatie prestasi
300secretary secretaris sekretaris

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Are these words really spelled the same in Dutch and Indonesian?

Some are: foto, bel and dokter are written the same way in both languages. Many others differ by just a letter or two, such as naam and nama or moment and momen, which is why the list calls them nearly identical rather than identical.

Why do Dutch and Indonesian share so much vocabulary?

The two languages were in close contact over a long historical period, which left Indonesian with many words of Dutch origin. On top of that, both languages have borrowed international terms for modern concepts, which produces further look-alikes.

How should I study this list on Vocab Voyage?

You are shown an English word and type the Dutch equivalent, and spaced repetition schedules reviews so the words you find hardest come back most often. Accents are forgiven, so a missed diacritic will not count against you.

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