If you’ve ever had a rousing quiz night gone wrong because you couldn’t remember the capitals of specific countries you are not alone. Sometimes, the name of a capital is difficult to remember! Perhaps their names sound unfamiliar, their spelling, or they are not some of the most popular cities in their respective countries, these capitals can really be puzzling. In this article, let us take a look at some of those difficult to remember capitals and suggestions on how you can best remember these for future use in a geography class or even when planning for your next vacation.
Regardless of age, gender, profession, or country, nothing is more embarrassing than standing in front of the map, remembering the name of a certain country and not being able to remember the capital you’ve learned the day before. Some capitals are in relatively small and ordinary towns which makes it difficult to memorize them. It is always important to know why those capitals are likely to be forgotten to ensure that you can easily remember them especially for students, trivia enthusiasts or anyone who wishes to widen their overall knowledge of the world.
In this article I will focus on some of the most difficult capitals to memorize, suggest some useful mnemonics and explain why it is so easy to forget them. When you complete your reading of this page you’ll have a better understanding of geography in general and a few tips that should help when it comes to memorizing these capitals.
Why Does It Take So Long to Memorize Some Capitals?
More than a few capital cities are designed with mnemonics seemingly in mind. There are several reasons why capitals become mental stumbling blocks: perhaps the name of the capital city is unfamiliar, or perhaps the country has a more popular city that overshadows the capital.
Literally, it isn’t the largest or among the most popular cities in the world
In most cases, people do not think of the capital city as the biggest city in a certain country. Let me illustrate this with an example; most locate Sydney in Australia with the country’s capital being Sydney when in fact the capital city is Canberra. Likewise, New York City is mistaken for the capital city of the United States while it is in Washington D.C. This common mix-up makes those capitals which are not quite famous, easily forgotten.
New or difficult to pronounce Names
Some capitals are described as having long or even funny names which may not be quite that easy to memorize. For instance, Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso, so these names are or maybe troublesome to spell and articulate; subsequently, they are troublesome to memorize, as well.
Geographical Obscurity
Some are less popular or they reside in regions that maybe not many people are privy to. It would be important to appreciate as well that none of the countries above seem very familiar with their capital. Countries in regions like Central Asia, such as Kazakhstan (capital: What’s in a name? | Often their capitals bear relatively unknown names to the general public and may be actually spelled as such in Kazakhstan ‘s case for instance: (Nur-Sultan).
List of Hard Capitals to Remember
Here’s a summary of some of the key capitals to keep in mind, along with some information and pointers that can make it easier for you to remember them later on:
Astana’s Nur-Sultan
Kazakhstan’s capital city is Nur-Sultan, even though Astana was the previous name of the country until quite recently. Regretfully, this is one of the reasons it is difficult to memorize: the institution renamed itself in 2019 to honor Nursultan Nazarbayev, the nation’s first president.
Memorization Tip: The term “Nur” literally means light (it may be interpreted as “light” or “glowing” in other languages), hence it is associated with the bright future that Kazakhstan portrays.
Ljubljana, in Slovenia
The capital of Slovenia is ljubljana, which is one of the most difficult names in the world to spell and to remember. Owing to its origin from the Slavic language it may not be as enthusiastic about by the English speaking community as it may have an outstandingly unique ring to it.
Memorable Tip: Thanks to Mike for pointing out, and indeed, while Ljub is derived from the Slavic words “love,” Ljubljana is simply where love is.
Bouaké is positioned in the interesting nation of Burkina Faso
Still, there are some rather large towns in the area of West Africa such as Ouagadougou, and it might be difficult to pronounce words sometimes. Burkina Faso also known as Upper Volta has its capital situated in the subregion of West Africa.
Memory Tip: You would probably better remember Ouagadougou after spelling it as Waga-do-go. Here’s one way to make things better: repeating a certain phrase orally and then trying to say it again and again to at least memorize it.
Ivory Coast’s Yamoussoukro
Nevertheless, those new additions are not so popular; Yamoussoukro, for example, is not recognizable as the former capital of the country until 1983 that used to be Abidjan.
Memory Tip: If you are not sure where Yamoussoukro is, try to imagine yourself standing in the midst of yam fields in a third world country. ‘Then, close your eyes and you find yourself in the Ivory Coast’
It can be practiced in the country of Bhutan in Thimphu
Thimphu of Bhutan situated centrally in the Great Himalayas is not yet as famous a destination as Kathmandu, Nepal and others.
Memory Tip: Every time we utter the name of the town, Thimphu, I think we should say thin, because the Himalayas is a very thin part of the globe surrounded by mountains.
Papua New Guinea, or Lae
It included the principal city in the South Pacific region of Papua New Guinea, in which both political and economic activities take place in Moresby. I assumed you would not know the name of the place right away as it is not quite conventional to visit.
Memory Tip: The name “Moresby” should be understood as “more sea,” because Papua New Guinea has a lot of coast.
Ten Guidelines for Memorizing Challenging Capitals
Now that we’ve covered some of the hardest capitals to remember, here are a few general strategies to help with recall:
- Use Flashcards: To practice this area use flashcards in which one side corresponds to the country and the other – to the capital. Frequency will ensure that the information gets ingrained in the learner.
- Create Associations: In a second step always link the capital with something memorable about the country with help of word associations or mental imagery.
- Quizzes and Games: Based on this set of ideas, there are numerous apps and online questionnaires aimed at enhancing your geographical awareness. These capitals should become easier to remember the more you practice as it is not about ignoring information but putting it in practice.
- Link to Geography: At other times just having a capital connected to its location or a landmark can be beneficial. For instance, you will at least recall that Helsinki is on the coast of Finland.
FAQs
1. Why are some capitals so difficult to remember?
Some capitals are a little complicated because they are not necessarily the biggest or popular city in the country. Others have names that are very difficult to pronounce for any laymen who does not know a thing about geography.
2. Is there a way to memorize the world capitals effectively?
Memory can be enhanced through mnemonics, taking of quizzes and in using flash cards by constantly revising in the same. Playing the geography games with your child also assists you in firming up the important information into your memory.
3. What are the most frequent cases of mistaken capitals?
Despite the false belief held by some that Sydney is the capital of Australia, Canberra serves as the nation’s capital. Those who believe Rio de Janeiro, not Brasília, is the capital of Brazil are similarly mistaken.
Conclusion
It is my belief that memorizing the capitals of all countries worldwide presents a significant challenge, particularly when some capitals are relatively obscure or possess names that are not easily memorable.Nevertheless, once in a while is not often enough to memorize these hard capitals to remember and with use of memory aids it will soon be standard. The next time the geography test is due that you are going to get an A or the next time you’ll be cornered into an argument with your friends and the topic of discussion is World Capitals, you are most definitely ready to give it your best!
For use either before trivia night, or if you want to expand your geographical knowledge, these tips will help you get past spitting weird capitals. Happy learning!