Introduction to Country Names in French
When it comes to the names of other countries, French has a lot of similarities with English so most country names are not that different. But about a dozen countries have names that are truly different from their English counterpart, originating from a time in which French and not English was the most spoken language in Europe. Take for example Germany, which is called Allemagne, a name that dates back to Roman Times.
So in general, French country names are not that difficult, save for one thing…. their gender! As with everything in French, country names also can be masculine or feminine. This also has consequences for how you refer to them. For example, France and Chine (China) is feminine) so you would say ‘la France’ and ‘la Chine’. Canada and Japon, however, are masculine, so you would refer to those countries as le Canada and le Japon.
As a rule of thumb, country names that end with an ‘e’ are generally feminine, while the rest is masculine. Some country names are plural in French, for example les États-Unis for the United States and les Pays-Bas for the Netherlands. Smaller island states or small regions sometimes do not take an article (le or la). For example, Malte and Chypre.
Saying you are from a country
So, how to say you are from a country changes depending on the gender of a country.
- Feminine countries and masculine countries starting with a vowel: de. For example, de France or d’Albanie
- Masculine countries: du. For example, du Canada
- Plural countries: des. For example, des États-Unis
In a sentence this would look something like
- Je viens des États-Unis. D’où venez-vous?
- I am from the United States. Where are you from?
Saying you are going to a country
When trying to tell someone you are traveling to a country a similar thing happens. Depending on the gender of the country the preposition changes.
- Feminine countries and masculine countries starting with a vowel: en. For example en France and en Albanie
- Masculine countries: au. For example au Canada
- Plural countries: aux. For example, aux États-Unis
And in a sentence this would look like this
- Je vais en Italie l’été prochain pour des vacances
- I am going to Italy next summer for a vacation
European country names in French
| English | French | English | French | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | l’Albanie | Latvia | la Lettonie | |
| Andorra | l’Andorre | Liechtenstein | le Liechtenstein | |
| Armenia | l’Arménie | Lithuania | la Lituanie | |
| Austria | l’Autriche | Luxembourg | le Luxembourg | |
| Azerbaijan | l’Azerbaïdjan | Malta | Malte | |
| Belarus | la Biélorussie | Moldova | la Moldavie | |
| Belgium | la Belgique | Monaco | Monaco | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | la Bosnie-Herzégovine | Montenegro | le Monténégro | |
| Bulgaria | la Bulgarie | Netherlands | les Pays-Bas | |
| Croatia | la Croatie | North Macedonia | la Macédoine du Nord | |
| Cyprus | Chypre | Norway | la Norvège | |
| Czech Republic | la République tchèque | Poland | la Pologne | |
| Denmark | le Danemark | Portugal | le Portugal | |
| Estonia | l’Estonie | Romania | la Roumanie | |
| Finland | la Finlande | Russia | la Russie | |
| France | la France | San Marino | Saint-Marin | |
| Georgia | la Géorgie | Serbia | la Serbie | |
| Germany | l’Allemagne | Slovakia | la Slovaquie | |
| Greece | la Grèce | Slovenia | la Slovénie | |
| Hungary | la Hongrie | Spain | l’Espagne | |
| Iceland | l’Islande | Sweden | la Suède | |
| Ireland | l’Irlande | Switzerland | la Suisse | |
| Italy | l’Italie | Turkey | la Turquie | |
| Kazakhstan | le Kazakhstan | Ukraine | l’Ukraine | |
| Kosovo | le Kosovo | United Kingdom | le Royaume-Uni |
Asian and Oceanic Country Names in French
| English | French | English | French | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | l’Afghanistan | Malaysia | la Malaisie | |
| Armenia | l’Arménie | Maldives | les Maldives | |
| Azerbaijan | l’Azerbaïdjan | Mongolia | la Mongolie | |
| Bahrain | le Bahreïn | Myanmar | le Myanmar | |
| Bangladesh | le Bangladesh | Nepal | le Népal | |
| Bhutan | le Bhoutan | North Korea | la Corée du Nord | |
| Brunei | le Brunéi | Oman | l’Oman | |
| Cambodia | le Cambodge | Pakistan | le Pakistan | |
| China | la Chine | Philippines | les Philippines | |
| Cyprus | Chypre | Qatar | le Qatar | |
| Georgia | la Géorgie | Russia | la Russie | |
| India | l’Inde | Saudi Arabia | l’Arabie Saoudite | |
| Indonesia | l’Indonésie | Singapore | Singapour | |
| Iran | l’Iran | South Korea | la Corée du Sud | |
| Iraq | l’Irak | Sri Lanka | le Sri Lanka | |
| Israel | Israël | Syria | la Syrie | |
| Japan | le Japon | Taiwan | Taiwan | |
| Jordan | la Jordanie | Tajikistan | le Tadjikistan | |
| Kazakhstan | le Kazakhstan | Thailand | la Thaïlande | |
| Kuwait | le Koweït | Timor-Leste | le Timor oriental | |
| Kyrgyzstan | le Kirghizistan | Turkmenistan | le Turkménistan | |
| Laos | le Laos | United Arab Emirates | les Émirats Arabes Unis | |
| Lebanon | le Liban | Uzbekistan | l’Ouzbékistan | |
| Malaysia | la Malaisie | Vietnam | le Vietnam | |
| Maldives | les Maldives | Yemen | le Yémen | |
| Australia | l’Australie | Papua New Guinea | la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée | |
| Fiji | les Fidji | Samoa | les Samoa | |
| Kiribati | le Kiribati | Solomon Islands | les Îles Salomon | |
| Marshall Islands | les Îles Marshall | Tonga | les Tonga | |
| Micronesia | les États fédérés de Micronésie | Tuvalu | les Tuvalu | |
| Nauru | le Nauru | Vanuatu | le Vanuatu | |
| New Zealand | la Nouvelle-Zélande | Palau | le Palaos |
American Country Names in French
| English | French | English | French | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua-et-Barbuda | Mexico | le Mexique | |
| Argentina | l’Argentine | Nicaragua | le Nicaragua | |
| Bahamas | les Bahamas | Panama | le Panama | |
| Barbados | la Barbade | Paraguay | le Paraguay | |
| Belize | le Belize | Peru | le Pérou | |
| Bolivia | la Bolivie | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint-Christophe-et-Niévès | |
| Brazil | le Brésil | Saint Lucia | Sainte-Lucie | |
| Canada | le Canada | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Saint-Vincent-et-les-Grenadines | |
| Chile | le Chili | Suriname | le Suriname | |
| Colombia | la Colombie | Trinidad and Tobago | Trinité-et-Tobago | |
| Costa Rica | le Costa Rica | United States | les États-Unis | |
| Cuba | le Cuba | Uruguay | l’Uruguay | |
| Dominica | la Dominique | Venezuela | le Venezuela | |
| Dominican Republic | la République dominicaine | El Salvador | le Salvador | |
| Ecuador | l’Équateur | Grenada | la Grenade | |
| Guatemala | le Guatemala | Guyana | le Guyana | |
| Haiti | Haïti | Honduras | le Honduras | |
| Jamaica | la Jamaïque | Trinidad and Tobago | Trinité-et-Tobago |
African Country Names in French
| English | French | English | French | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | l’Algérie | Malawi | le Malawi | |
| Angola | l’Angola | Mali | le Mali | |
| Benin | le Bénin | Mauritania | la Mauritanie | |
| Botswana | le Botswana | Mauritius | l’Île Maurice | |
| Burkina Faso | le Burkina Faso | Morocco | le Maroc | |
| Burundi | le Burundi | Mozambique | le Mozambique | |
| Cape Verde | le Cap-Vert | Namibia | la Namibie | |
| Central African Republic | la République centrafricaine | Niger | le Niger | |
| Chad | le Tchad | Nigeria | le Nigéria | |
| Comoros | les Comores | Rwanda | le Rwanda | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | la République démocratique du Congo | Sao Tome and Principe | São Tomé-et-Principe | |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | Senegal | le Sénégal | |
| Egypt | l’Égypte | Seychelles | les Seychelles | |
| Equatorial Guinea | la Guinée équatoriale | Sierra Leone | la Sierra Leone | |
| Eritrea | l’Érythrée | Somalia | la Somalie | |
| Eswatini | l’Eswatini | South Africa | l’Afrique du Sud | |
| Ethiopia | l’Éthiopie | South Sudan | le Soudan du Sud | |
| Gabon | le Gabon | Sudan | le Soudan | |
| Gambia | la Gambie | Tanzania | la Tanzanie | |
| Ghana | le Ghana | Togo | le Togo | |
| Guinea | la Guinée | Tunisia | la Tunisie | |
| Guinea-Bissau | la Guinée-Bissau | Uganda | l’Ouganda | |
| Ivory Coast | la Côte d’Ivoire | Zambia | la Zambie | |
| Kenya | le Kenya | Zimbabwe | le Zimbabwe | |
| Lesotho | le Lesotho | Libya | la Libye | |
| Liberia | le Liberia | Madagascar | le Madagascar |