thumbnail

Capital City Rhymes

Each word below rhymes with the name of a country's capital city. Can you name the capital city?
Some rhymes may vary in exactness, depending on slight pronunciation differences.
For a similar quiz, try Country Rhymes
Quiz by kiwirage
Rate:
Last updated: June 5, 2017
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedNovember 10, 2014
Times taken58,232
Average score57.1%
Rating3.70
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 21 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Rhyme
Capital City
Harris
Paris
Foam
Rome
Vanilla
Manila
Bowl
Seoul
Earn
Bern
Sienna
Vienna
Pyro
Cairo
Rhyme
Capital City
Chili
Dili
Pinocchio
Tokyo
Saag
Prague
Brisbane
Lisbon
Aloha
Doha
Tuba
Juba
Annoy
Hanoi
Rhyme
Capital City
Christina
Pristina
Muscles
Brussels
Veto
Quito
Careers
Algiers
Prima
Lima
Maracas
Caracas
Chakra
Accra
106 Comments
+28
Level 78
Nov 10, 2014
Not sure they all work well (English isn't my first language though so feel free to correct me!). Pinocchio-Tokyo and Brisbane-Lisbon don't sound right to me.
+15
Level 66
Nov 11, 2014
Pinocchio-Tokyo works just fine. Brisbane-Lisbon also works except for those of us who mispronounce Brisbane to rhyme with "rain" rather than with "sun." Learn something every day.
+10
Level 78
Nov 14, 2014
Yep...that's how I pronounced Brisbane...and now I know better.
+4
Level 85
Aug 10, 2017
Works if you pronounce them Bris-bin and Lis-bin too.
+2
Level 76
Aug 10, 2017
Hahaha one of my friends and I were having an argument about this just the other day. I was wrong.
+14
Level 82
Aug 10, 2017
I wouldn't say Pinocchio and Tokyo rhyme, exactly. Brisbane and Lisbon I have no problem with. Bowl and Seoul? I think Hole and Seoul would be more apt.
+3
Level 67
May 13, 2024
Is this a matter of slightly different pronounciations in different countries/accents?

In the US, "bowl", "hole", and "Seoul" all rhyme. ("Bowl" is pronounced like "bole", not "bowel".)

Similarly, "Pinocchio" and "Tokyo" also rhyme.

+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
By correct pronunciations, they technically don't rhyme, but who cares if the o is slightly opened and there's an unreleased velar plosive and the voiced palatal approximant follows the k instead of simply palatalizing it, it's close enough for this English quiz (English doesn't really differentiate those)
+6
Level 94
Jul 25, 2018
tokyo works if you pronounce bothwords with the sound o-ki-o which I think is correct for pinocchio but an americanism for tokyo, which should more correctly be a two syllable word to-kyo. It was however obvious which answer was intended.
+1
Level 40
Mar 23, 2016
remember that, in Italian, pinocchio is pronounced "pinokio" so it works fine with tokyo
+3
Level 74
Oct 9, 2016
Yeah, but with a short o like in rock. Still works, but not as well.
+3
Level 68
Aug 30, 2018
It's pronounced that way in English, too
+3
Level 73
Nov 28, 2019
So in english Tokyo is pronounced tokkio? Not tow-kio ? Short o versus long o
+1
Level 72
Aug 2, 2024
Tokyo and Pinocchio are both pronounced with long Os in English.
+1
Level 71
Feb 18, 2021
I agree that this one's a little shaky.
+3
Level 65
Apr 8, 2017
English is my first language and I agree with you on the Brisbane and Lisbon one.
+1
Level 68
Aug 1, 2024
English is my first language too, so I feel qualified to confirm that Illinois, Des Moines, and Boise all rhyme.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
Des Moines has an "n" and Boise has a "see"
+14
Level 70
Aug 10, 2017
As an Aussie, myself, it's definitely pronounced BRIZ-buhn - just like Lisbon. Not briz-BAYN.
+3
Level 44
May 4, 2018
Yeah, quite a few don't rhyme very well
+2
Level 52
Nov 1, 2018
the tokyo one makes sense but brisbane does not
+7
Level 69
Jun 9, 2021
Brisbane definitely rhymes with Lisbon. As someone who lives not far from Brisbane, I can assure you that if the way you say it doesn't rhyme with Lisbon, you're saying it wrong.

It's a source of amusement to Australians how much trouble non-Australians have with pronouncing Brisbane and Melbourne (and Woolloomooloo, and Wollongong, and Wagga Wagga, and pretty much every indigenous place name).

Then again, with places like Goonoo Goonoo (pronounced "gunna g'noo"),, you lot don't really stand a chance ;-)

+10
Level ∞
Nov 12, 2014
Another brilliant quiz @kiwirage! And yes, I am one of the unfortunate souls who doesn't know how to pronounce Brisbane.
+5
Level 63
Nov 12, 2014
Thanks! And no matter how you pronounce it, it's a beautiful city if you ever visit :)
+2
Level 74
Jun 7, 2016
I live in Hawaii, and I have not traveled anywhere but Hawaii and California, but I was going to go to Detroit, Michigan, but it costed to much money but I always wanted to go to Australia, I wanted to Go to Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, and Brisbane :)
+2
Level 70
Aug 3, 2017
Don't miss Adelaide the friendliest, most picturesque of them all (and the centre of Australia's Wine Area)
+5
Level 95
Nov 13, 2014
Was on a roll until I got to Saag. Kept trying The Hague, until I realized that 1) it's not the capital of the Netherlands, and 2, English butchers the pronunciation, so it doesn't rhyme anyway...
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
Which makes even less sense because the actual answer has that part spelled the same
+2
Level 67
Nov 14, 2014
Nice quiz! By the way is Pri'stina (the accent at the first "i") and Christina has it on the second one...
+2
Level 85
Aug 11, 2017
In English I usually hear it stressed on the second syllable, it's the same in Albanian.
+1
Level 56
Feb 7, 2015
Until I took this quiz, I had always pronounced the E in "veto" the same way as in "men". Bah, I'm too lazy to change that detail in my accent.
+1
Level 46
Feb 7, 2015
Where's hanoi and doha?
+8
Level 62
Aug 27, 2019
Hanoi is in Vietnam, Doha is in Qatar
+2
Level 68
Feb 7, 2015
How do you pronounce Lome, the capital of Togo?
+6
Level 87
Feb 8, 2015
Loam-eh
+7
Level 68
Jan 23, 2016
Lomé
+5
Level 35
Jun 24, 2019
lome - ay
+1
Level 54
Jul 30, 2024
low-MAY
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
loʊmeɪ
+1
Level 57
Feb 7, 2015
Damn sight harder than it sounded on reading the headline!
+1
Level 72
Feb 8, 2015
What about Suva for Cuba?
+4
Level 45
Feb 8, 2015
Cuba isn't cuva, and mainly Spanish-speakers pronounce cooba rather that q-ba
+3
Level 84
May 27, 2015
Cuba is not a capital.
+1
Level 72
Sep 7, 2015
Sorry, I meant for "tuba", Cuba doesn't even appear on the quiz. And who differntiates V and B in his pronunciation, honestly?
+16
Level 58
Dec 18, 2016
The whole English speaking world.
+11
Level 56
Aug 10, 2017
Everyone capable of pronouncing V and B except for Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
English, ik Spanish-speakers like you (i assume) don't. Fijians themselves don't either though so you might have a point, it could be added as a type-in but Juba's probably better because English-speakers actually pronounce it as b.
+3
Level 34
Feb 12, 2015
Suva(Fiji) should also be accepted in Tuba
+11
Level 58
Aug 10, 2017
They don't rhyme.
+1
Level 66
Mar 10, 2021
They would rhyme if you accept slant rhyme but this quiz does not.
+2
Level 54
Jul 30, 2024
agree. half of the words in this quiz dont even rhyme so it would be fair to accept suva
+5
Level 77
Aug 30, 2016
Good quiz! Accra in Ghana has the accent on the second syllable, unlike Chakra.
+4
Level 70
Aug 10, 2017
Thank you - yes! It's definitely acc-RAH, not ACC-ra, so it's not a perfect rhyme. Same with Pristina, where the s is pronounced as an 'sh'. Priština
+1
Level 70
Jul 31, 2024
Chakra has the stress on the second syllable as well
+1
Level 71
Jun 14, 2017
You make good quizzes kiwirage.
+1
Level 70
Aug 3, 2017
Good quiz, different and demanding.
+1
Level 57
Aug 10, 2017
Saag -Haag
+4
Level 58
Aug 10, 2017
Not in English (the Dutch city is the Hague in English) Anyway, the Hague isn't the capital of the Netherlands.
+1
Level 85
Aug 11, 2017
Amsterdam is the only city officially named the capital of Netherlands, despite government and parliament being in The Hague. The royal family has 2 palaces in The Hague, but also one in Amsterdam.
+6
Level 87
Aug 10, 2017
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?" He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.
+3
Level 91
Sep 30, 2018
That 6'-4 man full of muscles in Brussels?
+2
Level 62
Aug 27, 2019
And he said, I come from a land down under?

Where beer does flow and men chunder?

+1
Level 36
Aug 10, 2017
Got Juba
+1
Level 76
Aug 10, 2017
I was surprised by Brisbane/Lisbon too. I know how to say Brisbane but have always said "Lis-Bon" rather than "Lis-bən".
+1
Level 73
May 23, 2019
yea I knew brisbane wasnt pronounced as it is written, and a lot of people ( rather agressively) are talking about how it is brisbun and doesnt rhyme with rain. (and conclude therefore the clue is correct) But noone says a word about lisbon. It only works if lisbon is pronounced as lisbun, is it?
+3
Level 80
Sep 14, 2021
Lisbon and Brisbane have an identical phonetic spelling for their last syllable. "bən". The upside down e is the schwa vowel sound.
+1
Level 59
Aug 10, 2017
Dang, got all of them the first try! Nice quiz, only one I don't think is perfect in my head is Ack-ruh and Shah-cruh, but I'm probably pronouncing something wrong.
+2
Level 68
Aug 12, 2017
I guess Wellington is not going to feature on this quiz :-(
+1
Level 60
Aug 22, 2017
What's it rhyme with?
+10
Level 91
Sep 30, 2018
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
+2
Level 73
May 23, 2019
what is it rhyme with? I think you mean what does it rhyme with. You can't make "does" into 's
+3
Level 69
Jun 9, 2021
Yes, you can shorten does to 's, usually after "what", such as "What's that symbol mean?". It's pretty informal, but definitely exists as a usage.
+4
Level 26
May 7, 2018
careers-algiers doesn't rhyme and also for foam you should also accept lome seeing as thats the capital of togo
+5
Level 68
Aug 30, 2018
If you'll read the comments, you'll see that Lome is not pronounced the way you think it is.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
Lom***É***
+1
Level 26
May 7, 2018
and saag you should accept the hague
+3
Level 68
Aug 30, 2018
If you'll read the comments, you'll see that The Hague is not pronounced the way you think it is. It's also not even the capital of the Netherlands.
+3
Level 61
Sep 28, 2018
Many of these rhymes are really, really bad:(
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
if you have complaints then say the complaints, don't just hide your criticism and expect them to telepathically know what you mean and change those ones specifically
+2
Level 74
Dec 8, 2018
I don't think "brisbane" makes for a good prompt. After some investigation, it does in fact rhyme with Lisbon when said by an Aussie, but I've heard it pronounced to rhyme with "pain", which would mean it rhymes with "Port of Spain".
+4
Level 63
Aug 27, 2019
Brisbane, Australia (pop. 2.5 million), rhymes with Lisbon. Brisbane, California (pop. 5000), rhymes with Spain.
+3
Level 80
Sep 14, 2021
kiwirage is definitely right. Brisbane's last syllable is pronounced "bən", which is the schwa sound. Same as Lisbon.
+1
Level 54
Jul 30, 2024
it is never specified which brisbane the quiz is referring to
+1
Level 68
Jul 31, 2024
No it isn't, so it's obvious that the one in the US is the one being used on this quiz. What other Brisbane could it be?
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
Yeah, it's obviously the one 500 times smaller. Seriously, where else could it possibly be referring to? Somewhere outside of America?! Pshaw!
+1
Level 39
Mar 29, 2019
The annoying thing about the pronunciation confusion of Brisbane is that if you pronounce it as briz bayn is rather rhymes with Mbabane the capital of eSwatini.
+8
Level 63
Aug 27, 2019
I suggest you look up how Mbabane is pronounced.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
I really hope that's part of the joke
+2
Level 73
May 23, 2019
Ok, do you guys say pinoooooocchio (which is so odd with the double c), or tokkio? cause for me they dont rhyme.

personally the seoul and bowl looks weird too, but that is only cause in my language it is pronounced say-ool. I knew it is seoul in english ( it stuck because it feels so odd to me. though in this quiz the answer didnt drift into my mind, perhaps otherway around it would)

+1
Level 59
Aug 19, 2020
Pinocchio is pronounced /pɪˈnəʊkiəʊ/, so yes, it does rhyme with Tokyo, which is pronounced /ˈtəʊkiəʊ/.
+1
Level 84
Sep 11, 2020
Many of these are half rhymes, or rhymes that only work in certain accents. Still, it's a bit of fun, cheers kiwi :)
+1
Level 53
Apr 28, 2022
Lome also fits with Fome so you shouldnt do that one if Lome and Rome both work.
+1
Level 63
Apr 28, 2022
There is no capital city called Lome. You're thinking of Lomé, which does not rhyme with Foam.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
There is no Fome on this quiz. You're thinking of Foam, which does not rhyme with Lomé.
+2
Level 82
Jul 3, 2022
The Accra one really doesn't work--it's pronounced ah-KRAH.
+1
Level 74
Oct 10, 2023
Brisbane was an interesting one, of course being a city itself, but also cuz I didn't know it was pronounced like that
+1
Level 93
Mar 14, 2024
Loving the Van Damme clue
+2
Level 79
Jul 30, 2024
"Hanoi" rhymes with "Tannoy", not "annoy". Nice quiz otherwise.
+2
Level 69
Jul 30, 2024
My brain is cooked by the heat, my mother language is french and I worked in German the whole day, that was a struggle XD

I messed up pronunciations so much. Between the capitals I pronounce French like (Like Algiers, I basically always thought it was Alger but with an i inside XD) and a few English words I never heard pronouced before, that was hard.

+2
Level 48
Jul 31, 2024
If Careers rhymes with Algiers, then you should also accept Santiago de Chile for Chili.
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
It's just known as Santiago on this site, and Chile doesn't even rhyme with Chili
+1
Level 69
Apr 11, 2025
It can.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chile#Pronunciation

+1
Level 65
Jul 31, 2024
Shouldn’t Kigali work for Chili?

And maybe Brasilia/vanilla? (But I admit it’s not exactly the same).

+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2024
Those are awful rhymes
+1
Level 72
Aug 1, 2024
lol! Living in Japan, my pronunciation of Tokyo is enough the Japanese way of pronouncing it that I would never have guessed it rhymes with Pinocchio. In my mind, I'm still thinking "Tohk Yo, Pi-noh-KI-yo, No they don't!" But, I still say Ivory Coast, so who am I to judge.
+2
Level 78
Aug 6, 2024
Yeah, I don't think this works very well. Even if you consider only english speakers, you'll have variation of pronunciations (even within one country). So one has to first guess which pronunciation is required before guessing the country it rhymes with.