Capitals and Currencies: Memory Tips for the Tricky Ones
Most capitals are easy. These are the ones that trip candidates up: countries whose largest city is not the capital, recently changed capitals, and confusing currencies.
By the World MCQ Forum Editorial Team · 27 October 2026 · 2 min read
You probably already know that Tokyo is the capital of Japan and that the yen is its currency. Exams rarely bother with those. Instead they ask about the capitals and currencies that look obvious but aren’t. Here are the tricky ones, grouped by the kind of trap they set.
Trap 1: The largest city is not the capital
| Country | Capital | Not the capital |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Ankara | Istanbul |
| Australia | Canberra | Sydney, Melbourne |
| Canada | Ottawa | Toronto |
| Brazil | Brasília | Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo |
| Nigeria | Abuja | Lagos |
| Switzerland | Bern | Zurich, Geneva |
| New Zealand | Wellington | Auckland |
| Morocco | Rabat | Casablanca |
| UAE | Abu Dhabi | Dubai |
Memory tip: in each case the capital was chosen as a compromise or a planned seat of government, while trade grew elsewhere.
Trap 2: Capitals that moved
- Brazil: Rio de Janeiro → Brasília (1960)
- Nigeria: Lagos → Abuja (1991)
- Myanmar: Yangon → Naypyidaw (2005–2006)
- Kazakhstan: Almaty → Astana (1997); the city was called Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022
- Pakistan: Karachi → Islamabad
Trap 3: Special cases
- Netherlands: Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, but the government and parliament sit in The Hague.
- Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the official administrative capital, where Parliament sits; Colombo is the commercial capital.
Trap 4: Currencies with similar names
| Name | Countries |
|---|---|
| Riyal / Rial | Saudi Arabia (riyal), Iran (rial), Oman (rial), Qatar (riyal) |
| Dinar | Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain |
| Dirham | UAE, Morocco |
| Rupee | Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal |
| Rupiah | Indonesia, not to be confused with rupee |
Trap 5: Neighbours with different currencies
| Country | Currency |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Afghani |
| Bangladesh | Taka |
| China | Renminbi (unit: yuan) |
| Malaysia | Ringgit |
| Thailand | Baht |
| Myanmar | Kyat |
| Russia | Ruble |
Trap 6: In Europe but not using the euro
The United Kingdom uses the pound sterling. Within the EU, Denmark keeps the krone under an opt-out, and some other members also still use their own currencies. Questions often ask which country “does not use the euro”.
How to make these stick
Pick five rows a day from the tables above. Cover the right-hand column and try to recall each answer. Revisit them after three days and again after a week. Within a few weeks the tricky cases become automatic.
Then test yourself with our Countries, Capitals and Currencies MCQs.