തലസ്ഥാനം
talasthānaṁ/t̪ɐlɐst̪ʰäːnɐm/
The English word "capital" (in the sense of a political seat of government) is തലസ്ഥാനം (talasthānaṁ) in Malayalam.
The word is used as an adjective to describe the chief seat of the general government of a state or nation.
Meaning: chief (in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation) (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced [talɐst̪ʰäːnɐm].
Did you know?
- While തലസ്ഥാനം refers to a political capital, Malayalam uses a completely different word for 'capital' when referring to financial wealth.
- The word തലസ്ഥാനം is a compound of തല meaning 'head' and സ്ഥാനം meaning 'place' or 'position'.
- The word സ്ഥാനം (sthānam), which means 'place', is also a common suffix used to denote a person's rank or social status in Malayalam.
Examples in context
- ഈ രാജ്യത്തിന്റെ തലസ്ഥാനം എവിടെയാണ്?ee rajyathinte thalasthanam evide-aanu?Where is the capital of this country?
Example conversation
Arjun and Lakshmi are discussing geography for a school project.
- ലക്ഷ്മി Lakshmiഅർജുൻ, ഫ്രാൻസിന്റെ തലസ്ഥാനം ഏതാണ്?Arjun, Francinte thalasthanam eathaanu?Arjun, what is the capital of France?
- അർജുൻ Arjunഫ്രാൻസിന്റെ തലസ്ഥാനം പാരീസ് ആണ്.Francinte thalasthanam Paris aanu.The capital of France is Paris.
- ലക്ഷ്മി Lakshmiശരിയാണ്, നന്ദി അർജുൻ.Sariyaanu, nandi Arjun.That is correct, thank you Arjun.
- അർജുൻ Arjunസാരമില്ല ലക്ഷ്മി.Saaramilla Lakshmi.You are welcome, Lakshmi.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry തലസ്ഥാനം, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries തലസ്ഥാനം, CC BY-SA 4.0.
