Learn the flags by pattern

Many flags follow a handful of patterns. Learn the pattern first, then the one detail that sets each flag apart. The flags are the ones drawn across this site,¹ grouped by what you can see.

Updated October 29, 2026 · 0 sources

Three vertical stripes

Read the colours from the pole outwards. Watch the pairs: Ireland is green, white, orange and Côte d'Ivoire the other way round. Mali is green, yellow, red and Guinea the reverse. Romania and Chad differ only in the shade of blue.

Three horizontal stripes

Read from top to bottom. Russia is white, blue, red, the Netherlands red, white, blue, and Luxembourg is like the Netherlands with a lighter blue. Austria and Latvia are both red, white, red: Latvia's red is darker and its white stripe is narrower.

Two stripes

Indonesia and Monaco are red over white, Poland is white over red, and Ukraine is blue over yellow. Haiti, Liechtenstein and San Marino add an emblem.

Nordic crosses

The cross sits closer to the pole than to the far edge. Iceland and Norway both have a cross inside a cross: Iceland's background is blue, Norway's red.

The Union Jack in the corner

Look at the stars. Australia has six white stars, New Zealand four red ones. Tuvalu has yellow stars on light blue, and Fiji a shield.

Crescents

Türkiye and Tunisia are both red with a white crescent and star: in Tunisia's flag they sit inside a white disc. Pakistan has a white stripe by the pole, Algeria a red crescent on green and white.

Circles and suns

A red disc on white is Japan, on green it is Bangladesh, and a yellow disc on blue is Palau. Argentina and Uruguay both have a sun with a face: Argentina's sits between light blue stripes, Uruguay's in the corner of nine stripes.

Test yourself

Each question offers four flags from the same family, so the details above are all you have to go on.