Amazing Coincidences
| Arabic akh 'brother' | Mongolian akh 'brother' |
| Bikol aki 'child' | Korean aki 'child' |
| Blackfoot aki 'woman' | Even akhi 'woman' |
| Arabic ana 'I' | Gondi ana 'I' |
| Arabic anta 'thou' | Japanese anta 'thou' |
| Arabic ard 'earth' | Dutch aard 'earth' |
| Hebrew ari 'lion' | Tamil ari 'lion' |
| Hebrew awir 'air' | Welsh awyr 'air' |
| Kyrgyz ayal 'woman' | Parji ayal 'woman' |
| Ga ba 'come' | Hebrew ba 'come' |
| English bad | Persian bad 'bad' |
| Kazakh bala 'child' | Sanskrit bala 'child' |
| Arabic bay‘ 'sale' | Japanese bai 'sale' |
| Hungarian béka 'frog' | Sanskrit bheka 'frog' |
| Guro buri 'vulva' | Sanskrit buri 'vulva' |
| English chop | Uzbek chop- 'chop' |
| Etruscan clan 'son' | Gaelic clann 'sons' |
| Irish daoine 'people' | Navajo dine 'people' |
| English dog | Mbabaram dog 'dog' |
| Lau dori 'to wish for, desire' | Romanian dori 'to wish for, desire' |
| Japanese haha 'my mother' | Onondaga haha 'my mother' |
| Egyptian hati 'heart' | Malay hati 'heart' |
| Elamite hih 'fire' | Japanese hi 'fire' |
| English hole | Yucatecan Maya hol 'hole' |
| English I | Brahui i 'I', Onondaga i 'I' |
| Japanese i- 'go' | Latin i- 'go' |
| Japanese ii 'good' | Turkish iyi 'good' |
| Arabic kana 'to be' | Santal kana 'to be' |
| Hindustani kutya 'dog' | Hungarian kutya 'dog' |
| French lai 'song' | Urdu lai 'song' |
| French le 'the' | Samoan le 'the' |
| Burmese lu 'human person' | Sumerian lu 'human person' |
| Arabic ma 'what' | Chinese ma 'what' |
| Hawaiian mahina 'month' | Urdu mahina 'month' |
| English many | Korean mani 'many' |
| Chinese mei 'beauty' | Tamil mey 'truth' (Cf. Keats, "Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty") |
| Hungarian mell 'breast' | Kota mel 'breast' |
| Estonian mina 'I' | Zulu mina 'I' |
| Arabic muna 'wish' | Quechua muna 'wish' |
| Khmer ñam 'eat' | Wolof ñam 'eat' |
| German nass 'wet' | Zuñi nas 'wet' |
| German nehme- 'take' | Manchu neme- 'take' |
| Chinese ni 'thou' | Tamil ni 'thou' |
| Basque ni-k 'I' | Berber nik 'I' |
| Cantonese nöi 'female' | Hungarian nöi 'female' |
| Urdu nosh 'eating' | Yiddish nosh 'eating' |
| Greek paid- 'child' | Telugu paida 'child' |
| Greek palai- 'old' | Tamil palai- 'old' |
| English pay | Chinese pei 'pay' |
| Mordvin pey 'head' | Nahali pey 'head' |
| English post | Turkish post 'post' |
| Georgian puri 'bread' | Hindustani puri a type of bread |
| Egyptian ra 'sun' | Maori ra 'sun' |
| Italian sala 'hall' | Sanskrit Sala 'hall' |
| Malay se- 'one' | Nahuatl se 'one' |
| Korean se- 'three' | Persian seh 'three' |
| Italian sette 'seven' | Sakha (Yakut) sette 'seven' |
| English show | Pashto Show- 'to show' |
| English sign | Hindi sain 'sign' |
| English slick | Uyghur s'liq 'slick' |
| English so | Japanese sô 'so' |
| English soup | Hindi sûp 'soup' |
| Finnish tippa 'drop' | Hebrew tippa 'drop' |
| Toda tal 'head' | Welsh tal 'forehead' |
| English two | Ainu tu 'two' — Korean tu- 'two' |
| Hebrew ur 'town, village' | Tamil ur 'village' |
| Sumerian uru 'town, village' | Telugu uru 'village' |
| English well | Nahuatl huel 'well' |
| Czech já 'I' | Old Tamil yâ 'I' |
| Hebrew yam 'sea' | Samoyed yam 'sea' |
Near Misses
| Hebrew avir 'air' | Tamil avi 'breath' |
| English better | Persian behtar 'better' |
| Turkish bir 'one' | Tarahumara biré 'one' |
| French ça y est 'that's right!' | Urdu sahih hai 'that's right!' |
| English curl | Tamil kuruL 'curl' |
| Greek, Latin duo 'two', Pushto dwa 'two' | Malay dua 'two' |
| Amharic gara 'mountain' | Georgian gora 'hill' |
| Konda goro 'hill, mountain' | Russian gora 'mountain, hill' |
| English haunt | Malay hantu 'ghost' |
| Arabic kalafa 'to be reddish-brown' | Sanskrit kapila 'reddish-brown' |
| Tamil karu 'black' | Turkish kara 'black' | Finnish maa 'earth' | Tamil maN 'earth' |
| Arabic malad 'youth' | Czech mlada 'young' |
| Arabic mata 'to die' | Malay mati 'to die' |
| Scottish mickle 'much' | Tamil mika 'much' |
| Cree mot(w) 'moose' | Evenki (Tungus) moti 'moose' |
| English occur | Japanese okoru 'occur' |
| Finnish pää 'head' — Lakota pa 'head' | Hawaiian po‘o 'head' |
| Tamil pillai, Kannada pille 'child' | Nahuatl pilli 'child' |
| Greek pneu- 'to breathe, blow' | Klamath pniw- 'to blow' |
| Hawaiian pua 'flower' | Tamil pu 'flower' |
| Eskimo qayaq 'small boat' | Turkish qayiq 'small boat' |
| English receipt | Persian resid 'receipt' |
| Lithuanian rumai 'house' | Malay rumah 'house' |
| Etruscan sek 'daughter' | Tlingit sik 'daughter' |
| Arabic shakala 'to shackle' | English shackle |
| Urdu shadi 'wedding' | Zulu -shado 'wedding' |
| English sun | Manchu shun 'sun' |
| Arabic suwar 'walls' | Tamil cuvar 'wall' |
| Nahuatl tepec 'hill' | Turkish tepe 'hill' |
| Greek theos 'god' | Nahuatl teo 'god' |
| Irish tine 'fire' | Lenape (Delaware) tindey 'fire' |
| English tone | Tamil toni 'tone' |
| English whole | Greek holos 'whole' |
| Old English ure 'our' | Korean uri 'our' |
| English woman | Old Japanese womina 'woman' |
| Japanese yabanjin 'person from the wilderness' | Turkish yabanci 'person from the wilderness' |
Yin/Yang reversals
| Catalan alt 'high' | Turkish alt 'low' |
| Dutch beter 'better' | Turkish beter 'worse' |
| English black | Old Chinese bhlak 'white' |
| Mongolian bog 'demon' | Russian bog 'god' |
| Kashmiri ded 'grandmother' | Russian ded 'grandfather' |
| English he | Hebrew hi 'she' |
| Coptic i 'come' | Japanese i-, Latin i- 'go' |
| Mongolian ir- 'come' | Spanish ir 'go' |
| Hebrew ish 'man' | Jacaltec Mayan ish 'woman' |
| English lumbar (back) | Pashto lumbaR 'front' |
| English mama 'mother' | Georgian mama 'father' |
| English nay 'no' | Greek nai 'yes', Korean ne 'yes' |
| Basque ni 'I' | Chinese ni, Tamil ni 'thou' |
| English no | Hawaiian no affirmative |
| English papa 'father' | Old Japanese papa 'mother' |
| Arabic dialect rah 'go' | Hindustani rah 'stay' |
| Hindustani rog 'disease' | Pashto rogh 'healthy' |
| English sad | Turkish sad 'happy' |
| English server 'one who serves' | Ottoman Turkish server 'one who rules' |
| Italian si 'yes' | Swahili si negative |
| Arabic su’ 'evil' | Sanskrit su- 'good' |
| Basque su 'fire' | Turkish su 'water' |
| Malay tak 'no' | Polish tak 'yes' |
| French toi 'thee' | Vietnamese tôi 'me' |
| Mordvin tol 'fire' | Nivkh tol 'water' |
| Mayan yum 'father' | Tibetan yum 'mother' |
| Italian va 'go!' | Tamil va 'come!' |
A discussion on the Linguist List, prompted by this page