For centuries, the roof has been a reminiscence, the symbol of basic human shelter and territory. Using the example of several ethnic groups living in Southeast Asia, Bhutan and Poland, the basic determinants of roof shape creation in vernacular architecture are discussed and similarities highlighted. In wooden architecture in different regions of the world, the form and construction of the roof are determined primarily by local conditions: climatic conditions, available materials, local tradition, culture, customs. Often it is the shape of the roof that determines the visual identity of a given ethnic group, with its traditions and way of life. The author points out that societies from different regions of the world with no cultural ties created wooden architecture based on the same factors and that the similarities are already present at the level of thinking patterns resulting, for example, from the need to emphasize the importance of religious buildings by means of the stacked, pent hip form of the basic roof.