Capital vs Capitol
Published January 18, 2023. Updated January 18, 2023.
Capitol and Capital are two words that are often confused due to being homophones (words that sound similar). However, capitol only refers to a building where a legislative body like a congress or a parliament meet, while capital has numerous definitions. They are also both nouns (person, place, thing, or idea words), but capital can also be used as an adjective (describing words).
Here are some definitions and examples to help make the use of these words clearer.
Capitol (noun)
A building or multiple buildings where a legislative body meets.
Examples:
I visited the capitol when I was in elementary school.
There were many disagreements today at the capitol between congress members.
Keep in mind that capitol has only one use, whereas capital has several.
Capital (noun)
1) A city where the seat of the government is located.
Examples:
Paris is the capital of France.
Do you know all the state capitals?
2) A city that is especially famous for something.
Examples:
Kansas City has been dubbed the barbeque capital of the world.
Some say Singapore is the tech capital of Asia.
3) In economics, it can mean a person’s wealth, the main part of a loan not including interest, or the goods a person owns to help produce other goods.
Examples:
It’s hard to be a successful entrepreneur without capital.
This interest rate is so high I’ll never be able to pay off the capital on this loan.
Capital (adjective)
4) A letter of the size and form used to begin sentences and names.
Examples:
Capital I and lowercase l look the same in most fonts.
Many students struggle with knowing when to use capital letters in their writing.
5) Something punishable by execution.
Examples:
Do you believe in capital punishment?
In some places, murder is a capital offense.
6) Relating to the city where the seat of government is located.
Examples:
Kyoto used to be the capital city of Japan.
Which capital city do you like most?
There are more definitions for capital, but some are dated or more technical versions of the definitions above.
Main Points
- Capitol means “a building or set of buildings where a legislative body meets.” It’s only a noun.
- Capital has several meanings. As a noun, it can mean “a city where the seat of government is located,” “a city that is especially famous for something,” “a person’s wealth, the main part of a loan not including interest, or the goods a person owns that are used to produce other goods.” As an adjective, it means “uppercase,” “something punishable by execution,” or “relating to the city where the seat of government is located.”
- The two main differences between these words are that capitol has one definition and functions only as a noun, while capital has several definitions and can be either a noun or an adjective.