Basic Details
Word: Islamabad
Part of Speech: Proper noun
Meaning: The capital city of Pakistan, in the north of the country.
Word origin: Formed from Islam and the Persian ending abad, a settled place or town.
How to Spell Islamabad
Syllables: is - la - ma - bad
Tricky part: All three vowels after the s are a: Is-la-ma-bad. The ending is abad with one a before the d, not abaad.
Watch out for: islamabaad, islambad, islamabed
Memory tip: Split it into Islam + abad. Abad means a settled place and ends many South Asian city names, such as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our atlas shows Islamabad to the north-west of Lahore.
Example 2: Islamabad is divided into sectors with names made of a letter and a number, such as F-7 and G-6.
Example 3: We marked Islamabad, Kathmandu and Dhaka on the map of South Asia.
Fun Fact
Islamabad was planned and built in the 1960s to replace Karachi as the capital of Pakistan. It lies at the foot of the Margalla Hills.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. islamabad 2. kathmando 3. colambo 4. dhakka
a) the capital of Bangladesh
b) the capital of Nepal
c) the largest city of Sri Lanka
d) the capital of Pakistan
Show answer
d) the capital of Pakistan. Kathmandu ends in u, Colombo has o as its second vowel and Dhaka has a single k, so Islamabad is the correct word.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
isl_m_b_d
a) a,a,a
b) a,e,a
c) e,a,a
d) a,a,e
Show answer
a) a,a,a. Say it slowly, Is-la-ma-bad: every missing vowel is an a.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The cricket team flew from Lahore to smablaida for the next match.
a) Hyderabad
b) Allahabad
c) Ahmedabad
d) Islamabad
Show answer
d) Islamabad. The jumble has an s and no h, and every other city here needs an h.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Islamabad is the capital city of which country?
a) Afghanistan
b) Nepal
c) Pakistan
d) Bangladesh
Show answer
c) Pakistan
2. Which city lies right next to Islamabad and is often called its twin city?
a) Quetta
b) Rawalpindi
c) Karachi
d) Peshawar
Show answer
b) Rawalpindi
