These two European nations have been plagued by confusion about their identities ever since their creation in the 1990s.

Numerous tweets about Former US First Lady Melania Trump’s fictitious Slovakian ancestry may be found with a basic Google search. She was born in the Slovenian town of Sevnica (Ivana, the president’s ex-wife, instead was born in Czechoslovakia).

However, it is a curse on both countries as at numerous events, the incorrect flag or anthem has been played. The Ice Hockey World Championships held in Germany, irate Slovaks were compelled to muffle the Slovenian national song with jeers and whistles. Later on, they were informed that “technical problems” would prevent their anthem from being performed.

Such confusing situations about these two countries have been going on for years. So you are not alone in this dilemma. Let’s clear some uncertainties here.

The names, flags, and histories of the two nations are similar.

Slovakia’s flag

First of all, the flags are almost exactly the same, consisting of red, blue, and white horizontal stripes. The crest, which is fortunately located on the left in both cases, is the primary distinction.

Slovenia Flag

Both Slovakia and Slovenia have names that are similar: Slovenská republika in Slovakia and Republika Slovenija in Slovenia.

In their original tongues, the two languages—one is called Slovenčina and the other Slovenščina—are even more difficult to discern.

However, the two nations aren’t even neighbours.

They have different characteristics and are divided from one other by Austria and Hungary.

Slovenia is a coastal nation in southern Europe that shares borders with Croatia and Italy. However, Slovakia features mountains and castles as tourist attractions, and it borders both Poland and the Czech Republic. Both nations were formerly socialist republics that came into being in the early 1990s.

In 1991, Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in a largely peaceful process that was facilitated by the European Union.

5.5 million people live in Slovakia, twice as many as in Slovenia, making Slovakia the larger nation.

It was formerly a part of Czechoslovakia. The so-called Velvet Divorce divided the nation into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1992.

Due to their shared past, both countries’ flags bear similarities to those of Russia and many other Slavic countries. This helps to explain why the flags are similar. Slovenians and Slovaks are members of the same ethnic group, the Slavic people. Additionally, “Slovo” was the traditional Slavic name for language. Because they could communicate with one another, Slavic peoples referred to themselves as “Slovani.” That is the name’s common ancestor for both nations.

To be clear, even if Slovaks and Slovenians spoke the same language, they could not comprehend one another. Although some word roots may be similar, they most likely speak English or German to one another. Czech is a closely related language to Slovak. Furthermore, Slovenians might find it simpler to comprehend Croatian, a bordering language.