Title Capitalization › Chicago title case
Chicago Style Title Case Converter
Type or paste a title: it is capitalized in the headline style of The Chicago Manual of Style as you type — the style of books, publishing and history papers. Press Enter to copy it.
Chicago headline-style rules
The Chicago Manual of Style calls title case headline style:
- Capitalize the first and last words of the title and of any subtitle.
- Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions such as If, Because, That, When and Although.
- Lowercase the articles a, an and the.
- Lowercase prepositions whatever their length: of, in, on, with, about, among, between, through.
- Lowercase the conjunctions and, but, for, or and nor.
- Lowercase to, as a preposition and in an infinitive (How to Win), and as in any use.
So: What We Talk about When We Talk about Love. about is a preposition, so it stays lowercase; When is a subordinating conjunction, so it is capitalized.
Chicago vs. APA and AP style
The styles part ways on the longer prepositions. APA and AP capitalize every word of four letters or more; Chicago keeps every preposition lowercase:
| You type | Chicago | APA and AP |
|---|---|---|
| one flew over the cuckoo's nest | One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| a walk among the tombstones | A Walk among the Tombstones | A Walk Among the Tombstones |
| notes from underground | Notes from Underground | Notes From Underground |
| writing about women from the renaissance to the present | Writing about Women from the Renaissance to the Present | Writing About Women From the Renaissance to the Present |
Hyphenated words
Capitalize the first part of a hyphenated compound, and the later parts too unless they are articles, prepositions or coordinating conjunctions: Self-Sustaining Reactions, Twenty-First-Century Literature, An Up-to-Date Guide. After a prefix that cannot stand alone as a word — anti-, pre-, non-, post- — Chicago lowercases the second part, unless it is a name: Anti-inflammatory Drugs, The Post-war Economy, but Pre-Columbian Art. Type a name after a prefix with its capital and the converter keeps it.
What the converter handles, and what to check
- A preposition that belongs to a verb is an adverb, so it is capitalized, while a real preposition stays lowercase: Look Up to the Sky, Turn Down the Music — but Walk up the Stairs.
- yet used as an adverb is capitalized: The Best Is Yet to Come.
- After a dash, as after a colon, the subtitle starts with a capital: Grief — A Guide for Families.
Check by hand: yet and so joining two words or clauses. Chicago lowercases only and, but, for, or, nor, so it writes Small Yet Mighty; the converter writes Small yet Mighty, as MLA does, because Chicago and MLA share one setting. Also names typed in lowercase, and a rare phrasal verb it does not know.
Chicago title case FAQ
Does Chicago style capitalize prepositions?
No. Chicago lowercases prepositions whatever their length — with, about, between, through — unless one is the first or last word of the title or is used as an adverb or adjective (Look Up).
Is “is” capitalized in Chicago style?
Yes. Is is a verb, and verbs are always capitalized in headline style, however short.
What is the difference between Chicago and APA title case?
The longer prepositions. APA capitalizes every word of four letters or more (Over, About, Among); Chicago keeps prepositions lowercase: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest in Chicago, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in APA.
Does Chicago capitalize “if” and “because”?
Yes. They are subordinating conjunctions, which Chicago capitalizes. Only the conjunctions and, but, for, or and nor are lowercased.
Is Chicago title case the same as MLA?
Nearly. Both lowercase prepositions whatever their length, which is why the converter uses one setting for both. MLA also lowercases the conjunctions so and yet, which Chicago capitalizes.
What is sentence style in Chicago?
Chicago’s other capitalization style: only the first word, the first word of a subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized. Some publishers and reference lists use it for article titles. Use the sentence case converter for it.