Most flags are easy once you have seen them twice. A few are built to trip you up: the same colours in the same order, a star that is barely there, a shade of blue that only differs when the two flags hang side by side. On Hard difficulty, GlobeQuizz puts exactly these pairs next to each other. This guide gives you one reliable clue for each, so you stop guessing and start knowing.
Chad and Romania: the hardest pair in the world
Blue, yellow and red in three vertical bands, in the same order. The flags of Chad and Romania are so close that Chad once asked whether the United Nations could do something about it. The only difference is the blue: Romania's is a brighter cobalt, Chad's a darker indigo. In a quiz you will usually see one flag alone, so use the options instead. If both countries are listed, think about the region filter: on an Africa quiz it is Chad, on a Europe quiz it is Romania. On a world quiz with both offered, a deeper, almost navy blue points to Chad.
Indonesia, Monaco and Poland: red and white
Indonesia and Monaco both fly red over white. Here the clue is shape, not colour: Monaco's flag is almost square, at 4:5, while Indonesia's is a longer 2:3. In GlobeQuizz every flag is drawn in the same frame, so you cannot rely on that. Remember instead that Monaco is a city-state on the French Riviera, so it appears in Europe quizzes, and Indonesia in Asia quizzes. Poland completes the trio by turning the same two colours upside down: white on top, red below. A simple way to remember it is that Poland "starts with snow".
Australia and New Zealand: count the stars
Both have a dark blue field, the Union Jack in the corner and the Southern Cross. Look at the stars. Australia has white stars, six of them: a large seven-pointed star under the Union Jack and five stars of the Southern Cross, one of them small. New Zealand has only four stars, and they are red with a white border. White and many means Australia; red and few means New Zealand.
Ireland and Côte d'Ivoire: which side is green?
Green, white and orange, vertical. The flag of Ireland starts with green at the pole, while Côte d'Ivoire starts with orange: one is the mirror of the other. A handy trick is that Ireland is famous for green fields, so green comes first. Italy adds a third trap, with green, white and red, but its last band is clearly red, not orange.
Jordan and Palestine: one white star
Black, white and green stripes with a red triangle at the pole. These are the colours of the Arab Revolt of 1916, which is why several Arab flags share them. Jordan adds a small white seven-pointed star inside the red triangle; Palestine has no star. Sudan uses the same colours too, but its triangle is green and the red is at the top.
Senegal, Mali and Guinea: green, yellow, red
Three West African neighbours share the pan-African colours in vertical bands. Senegal adds a green star in the middle of the yellow band; Mali has no star; Guinea reverses the order, with red at the pole, then yellow and green. So: a star means Senegal, red first means Guinea, and plain green-yellow-red is Mali.
Qatar and Bahrain: count the points
Both have a white band with a serrated edge. Qatar uses a deep maroon and nine white points; Bahrain uses a brighter red and only five points, which stand for the five pillars of Islam. If the colour looks like dark wine, answer Qatar. Our Gulf flags guide tells the story of all six Gulf flags.
The white, blue and red family
Russia
Slovakia
SloveniaRussia, Slovakia and Slovenia all have horizontal white, blue and red bands. Russia's flag is plain. Slovakia adds a coat of arms with a white double cross standing on three blue hills, placed towards the pole and reaching into the red band. Slovenia's smaller shield sits in the upper corner and shows the three peaks of Mount Triglav under three gold stars. Plain means Russia, a cross means Slovakia, mountains mean Slovenia.
Three habits that help on every flag
- Look for the odd detail first. Stars, emblems, text and triangles separate more pairs than colours do.
- Use the region. If you are playing a Europe quiz, the African twin is not an option, and the other way round.
- Read the fact card. After each answer, GlobeQuizz shows the country's name in Arabic and English with its flag. Those few seconds are where the difference sticks.
Ready to test yourself? Play the Flags quiz on Hard, where these pairs appear together on purpose, and see how many you now get right.