Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Cuál es la capital de México?

In Spanish, using qué with the verb es asks for a definition. If you asked ¿Qué es la capital?, it would mean "What does the word 'capital' mean?" When asking for a specific answer from a group of possibilities (like picking one city out of many to be the capital), you must use cuál.

Why is it la capital instead of el capital?

The word capital changes meaning based on its gender. La capital refers to a capital city, which is what we need here. If you said el capital, it would refer to money, funds, or financial investments!

Why is there an accent mark on cuál?

All Spanish question words, such as cuál, dónde, and qué, require an accent mark when used in a question. This helps distinguish them from the exact same words when they are used to connect ideas in normal statements.

Can I skip the upside-down question mark at the beginning?

No, standard written Spanish always requires the inverted question mark (¿) at the start of a question. It is very helpful because it tells you immediately that you should read the sentence with a questioning tone of voice!