à
/a/
The French word for "to" is à. Wiktionary also lists au and en.
Meaning: in the direction of, and arriving at (prep)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| à | /a/ | |
| au | /o/ | masculine |
| en | /ɑ̃/ /ɑ̃.n‿/ (before vowel) |
feminine |
The preposition à is used to indicate being in the direction of, and arriving at (prep).
Which one should you use?
The form au is a contraction of à and le, used specifically before masculine singular nouns. In contrast, when used with a feminine singular noun, the preposition is written as à la and does not contract. The form en is used for feminine nouns.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When à is used with the plural definite article les, it combines to form aux to mean "to the (plural)".
How do you pronounce it?
/a/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often incorrectly write à le instead of the required contraction au.
Did you know?
- The Latin ancestor of à actually comes from two different words, 'ad' meaning 'towards' and 'ab' meaning 'from', which merged over centuries.
- While à usually means 'to' or 'at', it is also used to describe a 'price per unit', such as saying something is sold à la pièce or 'by the piece'.
- The word à is used to describe the flavor of food or drink, such as glace à la vanille for 'vanilla ice cream', where it functions as 'with the flavor of'.
Examples in context
- À plus tard !Talk to you later.This example shows the use of à in a common parting phrase.Tatoeba #12709 by sacredceltic, translation #139279 by wonkk
- Va en enfer !Go to hell!This example shows the use of en to indicate direction.Tatoeba #1082174 by sacredceltic, translation #607840 by Eldad
- À qui est-ce ?Who does this belong to?This example shows the use of à in a question of possession.Tatoeba #4151 by TRANG, translation #662600 by bluepie88
- Je vais à Paris.I'm going to Paris.
- Je vais chez Marie.I'm going to Marie's place.
- Je parle à Pierre.I'm speaking to Pierre.
- Je parle au professeur.I'm speaking to the male teacher.
- Je parle à la professeure.I'm speaking to the female teacher.
- Je vais aux magasins.I'm going to the stores.
- Je vais à la plage.I'm going to the beach.
- 9928 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are discussing their plans for the evening.
- LucasJe vais à la bibliothèque maintenant.I am going to the library now.
- ChloéEst-ce que tu vas à pied ?Are you going on foot?
- LucasOui, c'est plus rapide comme ça.Yes, it is faster that way.
- ChloéD'accord, on se voit plus tard.Okay, I will see you later.
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.
