Commonly Confused Words

Capital vs. Capitol

1 min read

Capital and capitol sound identical, but their meanings are very different. One is used in many contexts, while the other is used in only one very specific situation.

Capital

Capital has several common meanings:

The main city of a country or region: Paris is the capital of France.
Money or assets used for investment: The company raised more capital.
Uppercase letters: Please write your name in capital letters.
Excellent or important (older usage): That’s a capital idea!

Capitol

Capitol refers only to a specific type of building:

The building where lawmakers meet (for example, Congress or a state government).
Most famously, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Write Capitol with a capital C for the U.S. Capitol building, and capitol for a state building (the state capitol).

💡 Tip

Capitol → the building with a dome (think of the “o”).
Capital → everything else (city, money, letters).

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Washington, D.C., is the ___ of the United States.

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Commonly Confused Words

Capital vs. Capitol

1 min read

Capital and capitol sound identical, but their meanings are very different. One is used in many contexts, while the other is used in only one very specific situation.

Capital

Capital has several common meanings:

The main city of a country or region: Paris is the capital of France.
Money or assets used for investment: The company raised more capital.
Uppercase letters: Please write your name in capital letters.
Excellent or important (older usage): That’s a capital idea!

Capitol

Capitol refers only to a specific type of building:

The building where lawmakers meet (for example, Congress or a state government).
Most famously, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Write Capitol with a capital C for the U.S. Capitol building, and capitol for a state building (the state capitol).

💡 Tip

Capitol → the building with a dome (think of the “o”).
Capital → everything else (city, money, letters).

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Washington, D.C., is the ___ of the United States.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Illusion vs. Allusion

Common confusions

That vs. Which

Common confusions

More than vs. Over

Agreement rules

Tag Questions (You’re French, aren’t you?)

Agreement rules

Passive Voice

Common mistakes

Since vs. For

Common confusions

Each and Every

Common mistakes