What is the correct spelling for the government's city?

The correct spelling of the word for the city where government meets is Capital: c-a-p-i-t-a-l, ending in -tal (not -tol). The word comes from the Latin capitalis (chief or principal), from caput meaning head, and reached English through Old French.

The most common error is confusing capital with capitol; the two words sound identical (homophones) but mean different things. Capital with an a at the end refers to the city that serves as the seat of government, as in "Washington is the capital of the United States," and also has unrelated meanings such as wealth ("financial capital") and an uppercase letter ("a capital A"). Capitol with an o at the end refers specifically to the building in which a legislature meets, as in "Congress meets at the Capitol." One memory aid: a capital is a place (think Albany, Sacramento), and the Capitol is a building (think dome).

On the USCIS writing test sentences containing the word capital are common, including "Washington, D.C., is the capital," "What is the capital of the United States?" and "Each state has a capital." The civics test asks the capital of the United States and may ask the capital of the applicant's state.

Each of the 50 states has its own capital where the state legislature, governor, and supreme court conduct business; capitals are not always the largest city in the state (Albany rather than New York City; Sacramento rather than Los Angeles). State capitals also feature in the broader civics curriculum: Tallahassee, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Denver are among the state capitals an applicant might encounter, although the writing test itself focuses on the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.