Finnish vs Polish: 200 Words That Are Nearly Identical

Finnish and Polish come from completely different language families — Finnish is Uralic, Polish is Slavic — so you would expect their vocabularies to look nothing alike. Yet because both languages borrowed from the same international pool of Latin, Greek, French, and English roots, you end up with pairs like Finnish historia and Polish historia for history, or Finnish energia and Polish energia for energy, spelled the same or nearly so. This list sets such pairs side by side so you can see the pattern for yourself.

If you already know some Polish and are picking up Finnish (or the reverse), this shared layer of loanwords is a shortcut: you are not memorising a brand-new word so much as learning a small spelling adjustment. Vocab Voyage turns each pair into a flashcard — you see the English prompt and type the Finnish word, with accents forgiven — and spaced repetition brings back the ones that trip you up until they stick.

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Finnish vs Polish: 200 Words That Are Nearly Identical: the list

#EnglishFinnishPolish
1mom mamma mama
2car auto auto
3number numero numer
4pair pari para
5film filmi film
6sex seksi seks
7history historia historia
8company firma firma
9club klubi klub
10test testi test
11planet planeetta planeta
12fact fakta fakt
13idea idea idea
14contact kontakti kontakt
15professor professori profesor
16line linja linia
17partner partneri partner
18kilometer kilometri kilometr
19project projekti projekt
20radio radio radio
21business bisnes biznes
22sum summa suma
23energy energia energia
24demon demoni demon
25hall sali sala
26material materia materiał
27fan fani fan
28virus virus wirus
29alcohol alkoholi alkohol
30commissioner komisario komisarz
31video video wideo
32internet internet internet
33text teksti tekst
34show show show
35theory teoria teoria
36form forma forma
37kilo kilo kilo
38rock rock rock
39copy kopio kopię
40magic magi magia
41media media media
42helicopter helikopteri helikopter
43symbol symboli symbol
44minister ministeri minister
45mask maski maska
46alibi alibi alibi
47technology teknologia technologia
48farm farmi farma
49expert ekspertti ekspert
50term termi termin
51band bändi band
52pizza pizza pizza
53zombie zombi zombie
54mass massa masa
55clinic klinikka klinika
56casino kasino kasyno
57therapy terapia terapia
58empire imperiumi imperium
59penis penis penis
60ambulance ambulanssi ambulans
61golf golf golf
62guitar kitara gitara
63campaign kampanja kampania
64will testamentti testament
65studio studio studio
66penny penny penny
67album albumi album
68conflict konflikti konflikt
69sector sektori sektor
70gangster gangsteri gangster
71academy akatemia akademia
72rhythm rytmi rytm
73organism organismi organizm
74congress kongressi kongres
75vodka vodka wódka
76committee komitea komitet
77poker pokeri poker
78record record rekord
79tragedy tragedia tragedia
80euro euro euro
81mafia mafia mafia
82fort fort fort
83gallery galleria galeria
84junior juniori junior
85scandal skandaali skandal
86metro metro metro
87stadium stadion stadion
88microphone mikrofoni mikrofon
89happy happy happy
90porter porter porter
91democracy demokratia demokracja
92cool cool cool
93therapist terapeutti terapeuta
94minus miinus minus
95grill grilli grill
96dvd dvd dvd
97status status status
98strategy strategia strategia
99marijuana marihuana marihuana
100dozen tusina tuzina
101campus kampus kampus
102pub pubi pub
103philosophy filosofia filozofia
104tare tara tara
105mentor mentori mentor
106tequila tequila tequila
107jazz jazz jazz
108farmer farmer farmer
109psychology psykologia psychologia
110manager manageri manager
111tennis tennis tenis
112adrenaline adrenaliini adrenalina
113drama drama dramat
114brandy brandy brandy
115compromise kompromissi kompromis
116martini martini martini
117burger burger burger
118popcorn popcorn popcorn
119elegant elegantti elegancki
120epidemic epidemia epidemia
121sushi sushi sushi
122laser laser laser
123ufo ufo ufo
124reactor reaktori reaktor
125comedy komedia komedia
126spaghetti spagetti spaghetti
127baseball baseball baseball
128samurai samurai samuraj
129chili chili chili
130biology biologia biologia
131karate karate karate
132protest protesti protest
133pop pop pop
134alpha alfa alfa
135irony ironia ironia
136hook haka hak
137tornado tornado tornado
138sympathy sympatia sympatia
139harmony harmonia harmonia
140cocoa kaakao kakao
141blog blogi blog
142trauma trauma trauma
143blues blues blues
144arena areena arena
145bonus bonus bonus
146bikini bikini bikini
147storm storm sztorm
148tango tango tango
149concrete betoni beton
150syndrome syndrooma syndrom
151motto motto motto
152cheerleader cheerleader cheerleaderka
153metaphor metafora metafora
154formula formula formuła
155tick tik tik
156marathon maraton maraton
157logo logo logo
158fez fez fez
159aria aria aria
160karaoke karaoke karaoke
161racist rasisti rasista
162scorpion skorpioni skorpion
163bass bass bass
164panda panda panda
165curry curry curry
166scalpel skalpel skalpel
167drug addict narkomaani narkoman
168guru guru guru
169asthma astma astma
170calories kalori kaloria
171luxury luksus luksus
172grail graali graal
173rodeo rodeo rodeo
174amulet amulet amulet
175rabbi rabbi rabbi
176cappuccino cappuccino cappuccino
177algorithm algoritmi algorytm
178turbo turbo turbo
179pedophile pedofiili pedofil
180sauna sauna sauna
181bowl bowl bowl
182tonic tonic tonik
183asteroid asteroidi asteroid
184android androidi android
185pathologist patologi patolog
186propaganda propaganda propaganda
187psychiatry psykiatria psychiatria
188espresso espresso espresso
189flora flora flora
190gala gaala gala
191cobra kobra kobra
192insulin insuliini insulina
193punk punk punk
194trance trance trance
195fax faksi faks
196hologram hologrammi hologram
197diesel diesel diesel
198domino domino domino
199tofu tofu tofu
200pillar pilar pilar

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Why do Finnish and Polish have so many similar words if the languages are not related?

The similarity is not inherited — it comes from both languages borrowing the same international vocabulary, largely from Latin, Greek, French and English. Words like firma (company) or planeetta/planeta (planet) reached both languages through that shared borrowing rather than through any direct link between Finnish and Polish.

Do these near-identical words always mean exactly the same thing?

For the pairs on this list, the English meaning given is the shared one. But the resemblance is only in the loanword root: it says nothing about how each word inflects, so treat every entry as a word to learn properly rather than a free pass.

What is the best way to practise this list on Vocab Voyage?

Sign up with your email — no card and no password — and work through the pairs as flashcards, typing the Finnish word for each English prompt. Spaced repetition resurfaces the pairs you get wrong more often, so you spend more time on the ones that are not sticking.

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