Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell capital

hear itcap·i·tal/'kæpɪtəl/nounRules and real life

What it means: The main city of a country.

In a sentence: The capital of France is Paris.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as capitol or captial.

Sounds like, but is not: capitol. Same sound, different spelling and meaning.

Same family: capitol, capitalism, capitalize, cap, decapitate. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Capital” comes from the Latin word “caput,” meaning “head.” The capital is literally the “head” of the column, which is also why related words like “decapitate” (to remove the head) share the same ancient root.

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

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