Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| à | /a/ | |
| au | /o/ | masculine |
| en | /ɑ̃/ /ɑ̃.n‿/ (before vowel) |
feminine |
This preposition is used to indicate direction toward or arrival at a destination. It is commonly used when referring to specific places like a shop, a restaurant or an event. For movement toward someone's home or place of work, French speakers use the preposition chez instead of à.
Which one should you use?
The base form à is used for general direction or when not followed by a definite article. However, when followed by definite articles, the preposition must contract. Use au for masculine singular nouns and aux for plural nouns. For feminine singular nouns, the form remains à la and does not contract.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form au is a contraction of à and the masculine singular definite article le. The form aux is a contraction of à and the plural definite article les. While masculine and plural forms require these contractions, à does not contract with the feminine definite article la, so 'to the' remains à la.
How do you pronounce it?
/a/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid the common error of using à le to mean 'to the (masculine)'. You must use the contracted form au instead.
Did you know?
- The preposition à is used to describe the flavor of food, such as glace à la vanille for 'vanilla ice cream', meaning 'ice cream to the vanilla'.
- The French preposition à is actually a hybrid of two different Latin roots, 'ad' meaning 'towards' and 'ab' meaning 'from'.
- French uses à to express possession in questions, such as À qui est ce livre ? which literally translates to 'To whom is this book?'
Examples in context
- À plus tard !Talk to you later.This is useful for showing how à is used in common parting phrases.Tatoeba #12709 by sacredceltic, translation #139279 by wonkk
- Va en enfer !Go to hell!This illustrates the use of en to indicate movement toward a destination.Tatoeba #1082174 by sacredceltic, translation #607840 by Eldad
- À qui est-ce ?Who does this belong to?This shows how à can indicate possession or relationship in a question.Tatoeba #4151 by TRANG, translation #662600 by bluepie88
- Je vais à Paris.I am going to Paris.
- J'écris une lettre à mon ami.I am writing a letter to my friend.
- J'ai préparé un cadeau pour toi.I prepared a gift for you.
- Je pars pour le travail.I am leaving for work.
- On va à la plage.We are going to the beach.
- Je parle à ma sœur.I am talking to my sister.
- Je vais chez Marie ce soir.I am going to Marie's place tonight.
- Je veux voyager à l'étranger.I want to travel abroad.
- Je vais à la boulangerie.I am going to the bakery.
- 9928 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are planning their day.
- LucasJe vais à la banque.I am going to the bank.
- ChloéJe t'accompagne à la banque.I'll accompany you to the bank.
- LucasOn va aussi à la poste ?Are we also going to the post office?
- ChloéOui, on ira à la poste après.Yes, we will go to the post office after.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “to” translations and entries à, au, en, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
