Holidays and tourism in FrenchVocabulary - countries

Can you understand people talking about their holidays and tourism in French? Develop the listening, reading and writing skills to be able to understand others and write about your holidays.

Part ofFrenchHolidays, travel and tourism

Vocabulary - countries

Countries

Countries in French are either , or .

To say that you are going ‘to’ a country or that you live ‘in’ a country, use the following .

With feminine names of countries, use en. For example:

  • Nous allons en France. - We go to France.

With masculine names of countries, use au. For example:

  • Je vais au Canada. - I'm going to Canada.

With plural names of countries, use aux. For example:

  • On va aux États-Unis. - We go to the United States.

Most countries are feminine in French.

Have a look at the prepositions guide for more information about using prepositions when talking about countries.

au – masculineen – feminineaux – plural
Canada – CanadaFrance – FranceÉtats-Unis – United States
Portugal – PortugalGrande-Bretagne – Great BritainPays-Bas – Netherlands
pays de Galles – WalesAngleterre – EnglandAntilles – the Carribean
Maroc – MoroccoEspagne – Spain
Japon – JapanItalie – Italy
Royaume-Uni – UKÉcosse – Scotland
Algérie – Algeria
Belgique – Belgium
Grèce – Greece
Chine – China
Allemagne – Germany
Irlande – Ireland
au – masculineCanada – Canada
en – feminineFrance – France
aux – pluralÉtats-Unis – United States
au – masculinePortugal – Portugal
en – feminineGrande-Bretagne – Great Britain
aux – pluralPays-Bas – Netherlands
au – masculinepays de Galles – Wales
en – feminineAngleterre – England
aux – pluralAntilles – the Carribean
au – masculineMaroc – Morocco
en – feminineEspagne – Spain
aux – plural
au – masculineJapon – Japan
en – feminineItalie – Italy
aux – plural
au – masculineRoyaume-Uni – UK
en – feminineÉcosse – Scotland
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineAlgérie – Algeria
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineBelgique – Belgium
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineGrèce – Greece
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineChine – China
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineAllemagne – Germany
aux – plural
au – masculine
en – feminineIrlande – Ireland
aux – plural

Examples

Tu habites en Angleterre ? – Do you live in England?

Ma mère habitait au pays de Galles quand elle était petite. – My mother lived in Wales when she was little.

À l’avenir, je vais vivre aux États-Unis. – In the future, I am going to live in the United States.

Complete the following sentences with the correct prepositions. Use the gender of each country to decide which to use.

  • au
  • en
  • aux

Question

Moi, je vais __________ Grèce (f) avec ma famille.

Question

Nous restons __________ Canada (m) cette année.

Question

Je vais __________ Écosse (f) pour voir ma tante et mon oncle.

Question

Cet été, nous faisons un grand voyage __________ (mpl) États-Unis.

Question

Ma sœur et moi, nous allons __________ Chine (f) pour voir la Grande Muraille.

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