Indonesian vs Italian: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical

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

Tips

• Watch the final vowel: many Italian words ending in -o, -a or -e appear in Indonesian without it, as in telefono / telefon, parte / part, mandato / mandat and normale / normal. Once you notice this, you can often predict one form from the other.
• A second group differs in a consonant rather than a vowel, such as fantastico / fantastis and festa / pesta. Treat these as their own small subgroup instead of forcing them into the vowel-drop pattern.
• If Italian is your stronger language, use problema / problem, persona / person and sistema / sistem as templates: trim the final vowel and you often land on the Indonesian word. Coming from Indonesian, do the reverse and try adding -o, -a or -e.
• Some pairs are spelled identically, like foto / foto, so check each entry rather than trimming a vowel out of habit.
• Close spelling does not guarantee identical use, so confirm a new word in a full sentence before assuming it behaves exactly like its counterpart.
• Practise by typing the Indonesian word for the English prompt instead of just reading the list; spaced repetition on Vocab Voyage brings back the harder items, such as amar / amare or pair / paio, just as you are about to forget them, and missing accents are forgiven.

Frequently asked questions

Are Indonesian and Italian actually related languages?

No. Indonesian is an Austronesian language and Italian is a Romance language descended from Latin, so they are not closely related. Overlaps such as state / stato come from shared international vocabulary that entered Indonesian through borrowing, while Italian preserved the older Latin or Greek form.

Do these words match exactly, or are most of them slightly different?

Most pairs differ by a letter or two, often because the Indonesian form lacks a final vowel that Italian keeps, as in presidente / presiden and parte / part. A few, such as foto, are spelled the same in both languages.

How do I practise these words on Vocab Voyage?

Sign up with an email address, with no card and no password needed, then work through the words as flashcards: you see an English prompt and type the Indonesian answer. Spaced repetition brings back the items you are shakiest on, and missing accents are forgiven so you can focus on the word itself.

More Indonesian

Learn Indonesian · Words · Nouns · Verbs · Adjectives · Adverbs · Catalan vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · Czech vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · Danish vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · Dutch vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · Finnish vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · French vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · German vs Indonesian: nearly identical words · How many Indonesian words do you need? · Indonesian words you already know · Indonesian City & Places vocabulary · Indonesian Talking & Communication vocabulary · Indonesian Art & Culture vocabulary · Indonesian Describing Things vocabulary · Indonesian Emotions & Personality vocabulary · Indonesian Family & People vocabulary · Indonesian Food & Drink vocabulary · Indonesian Health & the Body vocabulary · Indonesian Home & Daily Life vocabulary · Indonesian Money & Finance vocabulary · Indonesian Nature & Animals vocabulary · Indonesian Numbers & Quantities vocabulary · Indonesian School & Learning vocabulary · Indonesian Shopping & Clothes vocabulary · Indonesian Politics, Law & Society vocabulary · Indonesian Sport & Leisure vocabulary · Indonesian Technology & Media vocabulary · Indonesian Time, Weather & Seasons vocabulary · Indonesian Travel & Transport vocabulary · Indonesian Work & Business vocabulary · Indonesian vs Spanish: nearly identical words