German vs Polish: 200 Words That Are Nearly Identical

Some words just travel well. Shared Latin roots, French borrowings, and modern business and tech vocabulary have left German and Polish with a surprising number of words that look almost the same - think number: German nummer / Polish numer, or project: German projekt / Polish projekt. This page lines up such pairs side by side so you can see the patterns at a glance and put them to work.

On Vocab Voyage you see the English prompt and type the German word from memory - accents are forgiven, so you can focus on getting the word itself right. Spaced repetition brings back the ones you're shakiest on, which helps here: a few of these pairs look alike but drift apart in meaning. Sign up with just an email - no card, no password - and work through the list at your own pace.

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

#EnglishGermanPolish
1mom mama mama
2number nummer numer
3captain kapitän kapitan
4doctor Doktor doktor
5office büro biuro
6interest interesse interes
7buddy kumpel kumpel
8point punkt punkt
9idea idee idea
10club klub klub
11program programm program
12company firma firma
13free frei free
14contact kontakt kontakt
15style stil styl
16dad papa papa
17center zentrum centrum
18project projekt projekt
19line linie linia
20laboratory laboratorium laboratorium
21documents dokumente dokument
22pistol pistole pistolet
23energy energie energia
24murder mord mord
25director direktor dyrektor
26absolute absolut absolutny
27demon dämon demon
28account konto konto
29alcohol alkohol alkohol
30nature natur natura
31magazine magazin magazyn
32photography fotografie fotografia
33magic magie magia
34roof dach dach
35trade handel handel
36channel kanal kanał
37mask maske maska
38concert konzert koncert
39round runde runda
40inspector inspektor inspektor
41grave grab grób
42immunity immunität immunitet
43library bibliothek biblioteka
44cinema kino kino
45commander kommandant komendant
46character charakter charakter
47copy kopie kopię
48assistant assistent asystent
49costume kostüm kostium
50model modell model
51product produkt produkt
52culture kultur kultura
53secretary Sekretärin sekretarz
54pulse puls puls
55technology technologie technologia
56brand marke marka
57motel motel motel
58surgeon chirurg chirurg
59complete komplett kompletny
60protocol protokoll protokół
61metal metall metal
62throne thron tron
63percent prozent procent
64beast bestie bestia
65accent akzent akcent
66profile profil profil
67series serie seria
68academy akademie akademia
69fashion mode moda
70clinic klinik klinika
71steel stahl stal
72figure figur figura
73sector sektor sektor
74conflict konflikt konflikt
75instinct instinkt instynkt
76empire imperium imperium
77compliment kompliment komplement
78cable kabel kabel
79credit kredit kredyt
80vodka wodka wódka
81stadium stadion stadion
82priority priorität priorytet
83procedure prozedur procedura
84opera oper opera
85form formular formularz
86congress kongress kongres
87waiter kellner kelner
88hall halle hall
89chemistry chemie chemia
90record rekord rekord
91gallery galerie galeria
92scandal skandal skandal
93territory territorium terytorium
94banana banane banan
95balloon ballon balon
96march märz marsz
97popular populär popularny
98author autor autor
99scholarship stipendium stypendium
100committee komitee komitet
101structure struktur struktura
102tip tipp tip
103hard hart hard
104republic republik republika
105package paket pakiet
106choir chor chór
107female student studentin studentka
108colony kolonie kolonia
109autograph autogramm autograf
110microphone mikrofon mikrofon
111email E-Mail email
112caliber kaliber kaliber
113fan ventilator wentylator
114tournament turnier turniej
115psychologist psychologe psycholog
116institute institut instytut
117cocaine kokain kokaina
118photographer fotograf fotograf
119telegram telegramm telegram
120senate senat senat
121melody melodie melodia
122literature literatur literatura
123balcony balkon balkon
124probe sonde sonda
125portrait porträt portret
126nuclear nuklear nuklearny
127category kategorie kategoria
128supermarket supermarkt supermarket
129ruins ruine ruina
130tequila Tequila tequila
131holidays ferien ferie
132marijuana marihuana marihuana
133poster plakat plakat
134cartel kartell kartel
135climate klima klimat
136helmet helm hełm
137compromise kompromiss kompromis
138psychiatrist psychiater psychiatra
139banker bankier bankier
140dynamite Dynamit dynamit
141volcano vulkan wulkan
142apocalypse apokalypse apokalipsa
143irony ironie ironia
144therapist therapeut terapeuta
145epidemic epidemie epidemia
146courier kurier kurier
147column kolumne kolumna
148ruby rubin rubin
149architect architekt architekt
150artifact artefakt artefakt
151reactor reaktor reaktor
152plastic plastik plastik
153parliament parlament parlament
154poodle pudel pudel
155pact pakt pakt
156harmony harmonie harmonia
157creature kreatur kreatura
158millionaire millionär milioner
159continent kontinent kontynent
160crocodile krokodil krokodyl
161ranch Ranch rancho
162anomaly anomalie anomalia
163compass kompass kompas
164puppet marionette marionetka
165editor redakteur redaktor
166capital kapital kapitał
167yacht jacht jacht
168sympathy sympathie sympatia
169cardboard karton karton
170industry industrie industria
171olympiad olympiade olimpiada
172cocoa kakao kakao
173bandage pflaster plaster
174catholic katholik katolik
175consulate konsulat konsulat
176meteorite meteorit meteoryt
177catalog katalog katalog
178boarding school internat internat
179perfume parfum perfum
180scalpel skalpell skalpel
181cliff kliff klif
182comet komet kometa
183rank rang ranga
184telescope teleskop teleskop
185cobra kobra kobra
186fury furie furia
187billionaire milliardär miliarder
188legendary legendär legendarny
189paragraph paragraf paragraf
190taboo tabu tabu
191crater krater krater
192microscope mikroskop mikroskop
193scorpion skorpion skorpion
194spectacular spektakulär spektakularny
195ramp rampe rampa
196provisions proviant prowiant
197tractor traktor traktor
198ruble rubel rubel
199regular regulär regularny
200anatomy anatomie anatomia

Tips

Frequently asked questions

Why do German and Polish have so many similar-looking words?

Largely because both languages took in words from Latin, French, and international scientific and business vocabulary, and Polish also borrowed directly from German over the centuries. Pairs like laboratory: German laboratorium / Polish laboratorium come straight out of that shared borrowing.

Are these words spelled exactly the same in both languages?

Some are, like club: German klub / Polish klub, but most differ by a letter or two along small, learnable patterns - for example number: German nummer / Polish numer, or documents: German dokumente / Polish dokument. The list is built around these close-but-not-identical cases.

How should I study this list with Vocab Voyage?

You see the English prompt and type the matching German word from memory, with accents forgiven so you can concentrate on the spelling patterns. Spaced repetition brings the trickier pairs back more often - like interest: German interesse / Polish interes - until the difference sticks.

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