À, En, Au & Aux: Cities and Countries in French

“I’m in Paris.” “I’m in France.” “I’m in Canada.”

In English, we can use in for all three. Easy enough.

French, naturally, has other ideas. Depending on the place, you’ll need à, en, au, or aux.

The good news is that the choice follows a fairly simple pattern. You just need to know whether you’re talking about a city or a country, and sometimes the country’s gender.

✦The Question✦

Are you talking about a city or a country?

Cities generally use à.
Feminine countries use en.
Masculine countries generally use au.
Plural countries use aux.

There’s one important exception: masculine countries beginning with a vowel sound also use en. Here’s the whole pattern:

place	preposition	example
city	à	à Paris
feminine country	en	en France
masculine country	au	au Canada
plural country	aux	aux États-Unis
masculine country beginning with a vowel sound	en	en Iran

1. Cities Use À

Let’s start with the easy one. When talking about being in or going to a city, French normally uses à.

J’habite à Paris. I live in Paris. à — city

Nous allons à Montréal demain. We’re going to Montreal tomorrow. à — city

Tu es déjà allé à Tokyo ? Have you ever been to Tokyo? à — city

Notice that English switches between “in” and “to,” but French uses à for both. The same is true for countries: whether you’re somewhere already or going there, the preposition follows the same rules.

Cities with an Article

A few city names contain an article, such as Le Havre or Le Caire. In those cases, normal contraction rules apply:

Je vais au Havre. I’m going to Le Havre. à + le → au

If you need a refresher on contractions, see the À + Definite Articles guide.

2. Countries Use EN, AU, or AUX

Countries are a little more complicated because French assigns them grammatical gender, just like other nouns. La France is feminine. Le Canada is masculine. Les États-Unis is plural. That determines which preposition you’ll usually use.

Feminine Countries: EN

Elle étudie en Italie. She studies in Italy. en — feminine

Nous partons en Espagne demain. We’re leaving for Spain tomorrow. en — feminine

Ils voyagent en Chine. They’re traveling in China. en — feminine

Here’s a useful shortcut: most country names ending in -e are feminine, so they take en. That includes la France, l’Italie, l’Espagne, and la Chine.

Masculine Countries: AU

Masculine countries beginning with a consonant generally use au.

Nous allons au Japon. We’re going to Japan. au — masculine

Elle habite au Maroc. She lives in Morocco. au — masculine

Ils voyagent au Brésil. They’re traveling in Brazil. au — masculine

If you remember the contractions guide, you’ve already seen where au comes from: à + le.

Plural Countries: AUX

When a country name is plural, use aux, regardless of gender.

J’habite aux États-Unis. I live in the United States. aux — plural

Nous allons aux Pays-Bas. We’re going to the Netherlands. aux — plural

Elle passe ses vacances aux Philippines. She’s spending her vacation in the Philippines. aux — plural

Again, you’ve already learned the contraction: à + les = aux.

3. The Exceptions Worth Knowing

We’ve got the basic system. Now let’s look at the two situations most likely to trip us up.

Masculine Countries Beginning with a Vowel

Even when a country is masculine, it normally takes en if its name begins with a vowel sound.

Mon ami habite en Iran. My friend lives in Iran. en — masculine, starts with a vowel

Nous allons en Équateur. We’re going to Ecuador. en — masculine, starts with a vowel

Elle voyage en Uruguay. She’s traveling in Uruguay. en — masculine, starts with a vowel

So don’t automatically use au just because a country is masculine. Check if it begins with a vowel first.

Not Every Country Ending in -E Is Feminine

The ending shortcut is handy, but it isn’t foolproof. A few masculine countries end in -e, including le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Mozambique, and le Zimbabwe.

Je vais au Mexique. I’m going to Mexico. au — masculine despite the -e

Elle travaille au Cambodge. She works in Cambodia. au — masculine despite the -e

The safest habit is to learn the gender along with the country name: la France, le Canada, le Mexique.

✦What About Islands?✦

Some islands have their own conventions. For example, French uses à Cuba and à Madagascar, but en Irlande and en Islande. There’s no single rule that perfectly predicts every island’s preposition, so it’s best to learn the common exceptions as you encounter them.

Now it’s time to put those rules to work in the À, En, Au & Aux deck.