Prepositions with Countries & Cities
Prepositions with Countries & Cities
Saying 'in' or 'to' a country in French depends entirely on that country's grammatical gender — a classic tricky point with no English parallel, since English 'in France' / 'in Japan' / 'in the United States' uses the same word 'in' regardless of the country.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural
en France, au Japon, aux États-Unis
in/to France, in/to Japan, in/to the United States
Most countries ending in -e are feminine (la France, la Chine, l'Inde) and take en with no article: en France ('in/to France'). Masculine countries take au (le Japon → au Japon). Plural-named countries take aux (les États-Unis → aux États-Unis). A handful of masculine countries end in -e anyway and must be memorized as exceptions: le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Zimbabwe. English speakers have to build an entirely new habit here, since English 'in' never changes shape.
Masculine countries starting with a vowel still take en
en Iran, en Afghanistan (not au Iran)
in/to Iran, in/to Afghanistan
For euphony, masculine countries that begin with a vowel sound take en instead of au — the same liaison-driven logic that turns le/la into l' before a vowel. This is a small but genuine exception worth flagging.
Cities take à, with no article
à Paris, à Tokyo, à New York
in/to Paris, in/to Tokyo, in/to New York
Cities are simpler: à works for every city regardless of gender, and cities generally don't take an article at all (unlike countries) — closer to how English treats city names as bare nouns too. A few cities have a built-in article as part of their name (Le Caire, La Havane) and combine with à normally: au Caire, à La Havane.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| en France | ahn frahns | in/to France |
| en Inde | ahn ahnd | in/to India |
| au Japon | oh zhah-POHN | in/to Japan |
| au Canada | oh kah-nah-DAH | in/to Canada |
| aux États-Unis | oh zay-tah-zew-NEE | in/to the United States |
| aux Pays-Bas | oh pay-ee-BAH | in/to the Netherlands |
| en Iran | ahn ee-RAHN | in/to Iran |
| à Paris | ah pah-REE | in/to Paris |
| à Londres | ah LOHN-druh | in/to London |
| le Mexique | luh mek-SEEK | Mexico |