Saying 'in' or 'to' a country with 'en', 'au' and 'aux'
In English, we simply use the word "in" to describe being inside a country and "to" to describe traveling there. French, however, is a bit more demanding. It uses different prepositions based on the country's grammatical gender and whether its name is singular or plural.
Depending on the country, you will need to choose between en, au, and aux. This trips up many English speakers, but there is a clear pattern to follow once you know a few basic rules.
Word list
AllemagnefA1Germanyen AllemagneAngleterrefA1Englanden AngleterreChinefA1Chinaen ChineEspagnefA1Spainen EspagneFrancefA1Franceen FranceItaliefA1Italyen ItalieArgentinefA2Argentinaen ArgentineAustraliefA2Australiaen AustralieBrésilmA2Brazilau BrésilCanadamA2Canadaau CanadaÉtats-UnismA2United States of Americaaux États-UnisGrande-BretagnefA2Great Britainen Grande-BretagneIndefA2Indiaen IndeJaponmA2Japanau JaponMexiquemA2Mexicoau MexiquePays-BasmA2Netherlandsaux Pays-BasPortugalmA2Portugalau PortugalRoyaume-UnimA2United Kingdomau Royaume-UniRussiefA2Russiaen RussieBelgiquefB1Belgiumen BelgiqueChilimB1Chileau ChiliCorée du SudfB1South Koreaen Corée du SudÉgyptefB1Egypten ÉgypteGrècefB1Greeceen GrèceIrlandefB1Irelanden IrlandeSuissefB1Switzerlanden SuisseTurquiefB1Turkeyen TurquieAutrichefB2Austriaen AutricheColombiefB2Colombiaen ColombieCorée du NordfB2North Koreaen Corée du NordDanemarkmB2Denmarkau DanemarkFinlandefB2Finlanden FinlandeGroenlandmB2Greenlandau GroenlandHongriefB2Hungaryen HongrieIndonésiefB2Indonesiaen IndonésieIsraëlmB2Israelen IsraëlNorvègefB2Norwayen NorvègePakistanmB2Pakistanau PakistanPolognefB2Polanden PologneRépublique tchèquefB2Czech Republicen République tchèqueSuèdefB2Swedenen SuèdeThaïlandefB2Thailanden ThaïlandeAfrique du SudfC1South Africaen Afrique du SudArabie saouditefC1Saudi Arabiaen Arabie saouditeArméniefC1Armeniaen ArménieBélarusmC1Belarusau BélarusBiélorussiefC1Belarusen BiélorussieBulgariefC1Bulgariaen BulgarieCambodgemC1Cambodiaau CambodgeCroatiefC1Croatiaen CroatieEstoniefC1Estoniaen EstonieIranmC1Iranen IranIslandefC1Icelanden IslandeLettoniefC1Latviaen LettonieLituaniefC1Lithuaniaen LituanieLuxembourgmC1Luxembourgau LuxembourgMalaisiefC1Malaysiaen MalaisieMarocmC1Moroccoau MarocMongoliefC1Mongoliaen MongolieNouvelle-ZélandefC1New Zealanden Nouvelle-Zélandepays de GallesmC1Walesau pays de GallesPéroumC1Peruau PérouPhilippinesfC1Philippinesaux PhilippinesRoumaniefC1Romaniaen RoumanieSerbiefC1Serbiaen SerbieSlovaquiefC1Slovakiaen SlovaquieSlovéniefC1Sloveniaen SlovénieTchéquiefC1Czech Republicen TchéquieTunisiefC1Tunisiaen TunisieUkrainefC1Ukraineen UkraineAlbaniefC2Albaniaen AlbanieAlgériefC2Algeriaen AlgérieBoliviefC2Boliviaen BolivieIrakC2Iraqen IrakKazakhstanmC2Kazakhstanau Kazakhstan
Feminine countries and vowel sounds
Most country names that end in the letter "e" are feminine, such as France and Allemagne. For these countries, use en to mean both "in" and "to".
You also use en for any country that begins with a vowel, regardless of its gender. This includes feminine countries like Espagne and Italie.
Je vais en France.
(I am going to France.)
Ils travaillent en Allemagne.
(They work in Germany.)
Elle habite en Espagne.
(She lives in Spain.)
Nous voyageons en Italie.
(We are traveling to Italy.)
Masculine countries
Countries that do not end in the letter "e" are usually masculine. For these places, use au. Remember that au is a mandatory contraction of the preposition à and the masculine article le.
This rule applies to countries like Canada, Japon, Portugal, and Brésil.
Il étudie au Canada.
(He studies in Canada.)
Tu vas au Japon cet été.
(You are going to Japan this summer.)
Nous vivons au Portugal.
(We live in Portugal.)
Plural countries
Some country names are plural. For these, you must use aux, which is a contraction of à and the plural article les.
The most common examples you will see are États-Unis and Pays-Bas.
J'habite aux États-Unis.
(I live in the United States.)
Elle voyage aux Pays-Bas.
(She is traveling to the Netherlands.)
Watch out for exceptions
The trick of looking for an "e" at the end of the word is just a helpful guideline, not a strict rule. A few countries end in an "e" but are actually masculine. The most common exception you will encounter is Mexique. Because it is masculine, it takes au instead of en.
Additionally, some island nations do not use articles at all and just take à, such as à Cuba or à Chypre. Another notable exception is en Israël, which uses en despite having no article.
Nous allons au Mexique pour les vacances.
(We are going to Mexico for vacation.)
Summary
To say "in" or "to" a country, use en for feminine countries (which usually end in "e") and countries starting with a vowel. Use au for masculine countries, and aux for plural countries.
Saying 'in' or 'to' a country with 'en', 'au' and 'aux'