How to Use Capital vs. Capitol (Explained, With Examples)

August 6, 2025

5 min read

By Yash, D

Capital is the correct word for capital city. Capitol refers to a building or buildings occupied by the state legislature; e.g., the Capitol building in Washington D.C.

Writing Tips

Are you visiting the capital or capitol? These words (and homophones) sound the same and are a single letter off. Still, they’re not the same, so make sure to use them correctly, (in writing).

Capital vs. capitol

Examples with “capital”	Examples with “capitol”
Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States.	The state’s capitol building has a rich history and is considered an historic landmark.

👍🏼Usage Note

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Tokyo is the bustling capital of Japan.

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Protesters gathered on the steps of the capitol building.

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The senator works in the nation’s capital building.

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She needed to raise more capitol for her new business.

Capital (with an “a”) is the much more common word between the two, and it’s probably the spelling you’re looking for.

As a noun, capital can mean financial assets; (e.g., wealth, property or money), the most important city or town in a country where the government is; (e.g., Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden), or uppercase letters; e.g., “A”, “B”.

As an adjective, capital describes an offence or crime as liable to the death penalty; i.e., “capital punishment“. It can also mean an exclamation similar to “splendid” or “wonderful!” (the latter use is somewhat dated).

Capitol is a noun that refers to the building (or buildings) where politicians meet to work on new laws and policies.

Note that when “capitol” is in capital letters, as in the Capitol building or Capitol Hill, it’s used as a proper noun to mention a specific building or place; i.e., the building where the US Congress meets in Washington DC to discuss new laws.

Sentences with “capital” as a noun

Examples with “capital” (noun) as in, the city or town of a country or region where the government is.
Cairo is the capital* city of Egypt.* Los Angeles is the movie capital* of the world.*
Examples with “capital” as in Uppercase letters (e.g., A, B, C).
Please write using capital* letters.*
Examples with “capital” meaning financial assets.
Proper allocation of capital* is crucial for financial stability.* The company decided to raise capital* by issuing new shares.*

Sentence examples with the word “capitol”

Examples with “capitol”/ “Capitol“
Protesters gathered outside the state capitol* to voice their concerns about government policies.* Security measures have been heightened around the capitol* in response to recent threats.*
[proper noun] The Capitol* Building in Washington, D.C., is an iconic symbol of American democracy.*

Phrases with “capital”

capital punishment
capital offence
capital gain
capital goods
social capital
venture capital

Similar words

Word	Similar words
capital	base, nucleus, locus, epicentre, axis, hub, focus, core, mecca, heart, seat, main, primary
capitol	statehouse, senate, chamber

💡Study Tip

“capital” vs. “Capitol,” associate “capital” (with an ‘a’) with the city, and “Capitol” (with an ‘o’) with the building.

Origin of the word “capitol”

We see the word capitol used with a capital letter in the term Capitol Hill, which is a famous building that houses the seat of the U.S. government in Washington D.C., (the one with the rounded dome on top). Interestingly, Capitol Hill gets its name from the Latin word, Capitolium, which was the name of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome.

Origin of “capital”

Early 13c., “of or pertaining to the head,” from Old French capital, from Latin capitalis “of the head,” hence “capital, chief, first,” from caput (genitive capitis) “head”.

More confusing words

Homonyms (or homophones)	Related topics
Commonly misused words	UK English vs. US English
former vs. latter	burned or burnt?
bear with vs. bare with	color or colour?
breathe or breath	favorite vs. favourite
compliment vs. complement	smelled or smelt?
effect vs. affect	spelled or spelt?
elude or allude	favor vs. favour
it’s or its	analyze or analyse?

Practice: Capital or Capitol?>

FAQs

What is the main difference?
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Capital (with ‘a’) refers to the main city (like Washington D.C.), financial assets, or uppercase letters. Capitol (with ‘o’) is the government building where politicians meet. Capital is the more.

When do I use capital?
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Use capital (with ‘a’) as a noun for the most important city (like Washington, D.C.), financial assets (money/wealth), or uppercase letters (A, B). It can also describe death penalty crimes.

When do I use capitol?
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Use capitol (with ‘o’) strictly as a noun to refer to the building where politicians meet to create laws and policies, like the state’s capitol building or the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Can “capital” refer to a building?
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No, according to the post, “capital” refers to the city, financial assets, or uppercase letters. Using “capital building” is noted as an incorrect use; the correct word for the building is “capitol.”

Can “capitol” refer to money?
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No, the post states that “capitol” refers to the government building. Using “capitol” when referring to financial assets needed for business is given as an incorrect example; the correct word for.

Yash, D. "How to Use Capital vs. Capitol (Explained, With Examples)." Grammarflex, Aug 28, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/capital-or-capitol/.

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