Capital cities quiz: from Kabul to Wellington
Name the capital of any country in this free capitals quiz — a country and four cities, choose the real capital before time runs out. City names show in your own language. Try three below.
How the capital cities quiz works
Ten questions a round, 15 seconds each. Miss one and you'll see the correct capital immediately. Pro unlocks capital-only rounds.
The capitals that trip people up
Capitals tie a country to its history, politics and location. Short timed bursts with instant feedback stick far better than a list.
The easy trap is assuming the capital is the biggest city. It often isn't: Australia is governed from Canberra, not Sydney; Turkey from Ankara, not Istanbul; Brazil from the purpose-built Brasília, not Rio or São Paulo. MapRivals mixes these in deliberately, so you learn the seats of government rather than just the famous skylines.
Country–capital pairs and how memory forms
Linking a country to its capital is a paired association — the very kind of learning used in the classic vocabulary experiments that proved self-testing beats re-reading. Each timed prompt makes you retrieve the pair rather than merely recognise it, which is why it sticks. See the research behind the method.
Tips to improve fast
- Learn capitals continent by continent.
- Watch for capitals that aren't the biggest city (Australia, Turkey, Brazil).
- Play capital-only Pro rounds.
FAQ
Are city names translated?
Yes — capitals are localized into all 25 supported languages.
How do I practise only capitals?
MapRivals Pro adds a capitals-only mode.
Ready to test yourself?
Start the capital cities quiz