Click on the French expressions to hear pronunciations.
| FRENCH | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| articles définis | definite articles |
| When referring to countries, the definite article is often used, but the rules depend on the gender and number of the country name. | |
| Countries that use "le" (masculine singular) | |
| Le Canada /kanada/ | Canada |
| Le Japon /ʒapɔ̃/ | Japan |
| Le Brésil /bʀezil/ | Brazil |
| Countries that use "la" (feminine singular) | |
| La France /fʀɑ̃s/ | France |
| La Chine /ʃin/ | China |
| La Russie /ʀysi/ | Russia |
| l’Angleterre /ɑ̃ɡlətɛʀ/ | England |
| l’Allemagne /almaɲ/ | Germany |
| Countries that use "les" (plural) | |
| Les États-Unis /etazyni/ | the United States |
| Les Pays-Bas /peiba/ | the Netherlands |
| Les Philippines /filipin/ | the Philippines |
| Countries that don't require an article | |
| Cuba /kyba/ | Cuba |
| Malte /malt/ | Malta |
| Monaco /mɔnako/ | Monaco |
| Examples of usage | |
| Je vis en France. | I live in France. |
| Je vis au Japon. | I live in Japan. |
| Je vis aux États-Unis. | I live in the United States. |
| Ils voyagent aux États-Unis. | They are traveling to the United States. |
| Je viens de Birmanie. /biʀmani/ | I come from Myanmar. |
| General rules for prepositions with countries | |
| En is used with feminine countries and masculine countries starting with a vowel: | |
| en France | in France |
| en Iran /iʀɑ̃/ | in Iran |
| en Italie /itali/ | in Italy |
| Au is used with masculine countries starting with a consonant: | |
| au Japon | in Japan |
| au Mexique /mɛksik/ | in Mexico |
| Aux is used with plural country names: | |
| aux États-Unis | in the United States |
| aux Philippines | in the Philippines |
| venir de + feminine countries venir du + masculine countries venir des + plural name countries |
|
| Je viens de Birmanie. /biʀmani/ | I come from Burma. |
| Je viens du Japon. /ʒapɔ̃/ | in the Philippines |
| Je viens des Pays-Bas. | I come from the Netherlands. |