What are the definite articles in French?

Le for masculine singular nouns, la for feminine singular nouns, l' before a vowel or mute h, and les for all plurals. They combine with à and de into au, aux, du, and des, and those combinations are compulsory.

Why does French use le for general statements?

Because French marks a whole category with the definite article, where English marks it with nothing. Le chien est un animal fidèle means dogs are loyal animals, not the dog is. This is why j'aime le chocolat and les Français aiment le pain both need an article.

When do I use l' instead of le or la?

Whenever the noun starts with a vowel sound, including a mute h: l'arbre, l'idée, l'hôtel, l'heure. A small set of words with an aspirate h refuses the elision: le héros, le hasard, la haine, les haricots.

Why is it au cinéma and du pain rather than à le and de le?

French avoids the vowel clash by fusing the preposition and the article. À plus le gives au, à plus les gives aux, de plus le gives du, de plus les gives des. La and l' don't clash, so they stay separate: à la gare, de l'école.

Why does French say j'ai mal à la tête instead of my head?

Because the owner is already obvious from the subject of the sentence, so French uses the plain definite article for body parts. The possessive comes back only when ownership is genuinely in question or when the part is being described in isolation.

French grammar · Beginner

Le, La, Les: The French Definite Article and Everything It Covers

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The French definite articles are le, la, l', and les. They point at something both speakers can identify, exactly like English the, but they also do a job English gives to no article at all: naming a whole category. J'aime le café means I like coffee, not I like the coffee.

Les enfants adorent la plage, mais moi je préfère la montagne.

The children love the beach, but I prefer the mountains.

What it is

A definite article tells your listener they already know which one you mean. French does that with le, la, l', and les, and then goes further: it also uses them to talk about things in general, about abstractions, and about parts of the body, where English uses no article or a possessive instead.

le pain, la farine, l'eau, les œufs — the bread, the flour, the water, the eggs, and equally bread, flour, water and eggs as substances in general.

How to spot it

Ask whether the noun refers to something identifiable or to a whole class of thing. Either answer points to le, la, or les. Only genuinely new, uncounted, unidentified things take a different article.

Ferme la porte. — Close the door. (we both know which)
Le sport est bon pour la santé. — Sport is good for your health. (categories)
Elle a les yeux verts. — She has green eyes. (body)
Le musée ouvre le lundi. — The museum opens on Mondays. (habit)

Le and la become l' before a vowel or a mute h: l'arbre, l'histoire. An aspirate h blocks it: le héros, la haine.

Definite Article Quick Reference

The four forms and the two obligatory contractions

Context	Form	Example
Masculine singular	le	le livre — the book
Feminine singular	la	la table — the table
Before a vowel or mute h	l'	l'école, l'hôtel
Plural, either gender	les	les enfants — the children
à plus the masculine	au	au cinéma — to the cinema
à plus the plural	aux	aux États-Unis — to the USA
de plus the masculine	du	la clé du garage — the garage key
de plus the plural	des	la voix des enfants — the children's voices

Common Definite Article Examples in French

The four jobs of le, la, and les:

Something Already Identified

Passe-moi le sel, s'il te plaît.: Pass me the salt, please.
Le train de Lyon est annoncé.: The Lyon train has been announced.
J'ai perdu les clés de la voiture.: I've lost the car keys.
L'homme que tu as vu est mon voisin.: The man you saw is my neighbour.

This is the use that matches English the exactly, and it's the smaller half of the article's work.

Whole Categories and Abstractions

Le fromage français est célèbre.: French cheese is famous.
Je n'aime pas les araignées.: I don't like spiders.
La patience est une vertu.: Patience is a virtue.
Les voitures polluent.: Cars pollute.

This is where English uses no article at all. It's the single most common source of missing articles in learner French.

Days, Dates, and Habits

Je travaille le samedi.: I work on Saturdays.
Le 14 juillet, tout est fermé.: On 14 July, everything is closed.
Il court le matin.: He runs in the mornings.
L'hiver, on ferme les volets.: In winter, we close the shutters.

Le samedi means every Saturday. To mean one particular Saturday, drop the article: samedi, je travaille.

Bodies and Prices

Il a les cheveux courts.: He has short hair.
J'ai mal à la gorge.: I have a sore throat.
Les tomates sont à 3 € le kilo.: Tomatoes are €3 a kilo.
Ces cahiers coûtent 2 € la pièce.: These notebooks cost €2 each.

For a rate, French uses the definite article where English uses a or each: 3 € le kilo, 20 € la personne.

How the Definite Article Works

Agreement, elision, two contractions, and one habit that has no English counterpart.

It Agrees, and It Elides Before a Vowel

Le and la both shorten to l' in front of a vowel or a mute h, which erases the gender in speech. Les never changes, though it triggers a liaison: les amis is pronounced with a z.

l'ami, l'amie, l'hôpital, les hôpitaux

the friend (m), the friend (f), the hospital, the hospitals

l' before a vowel sound.

An Aspirate H Blocks the Elision

A handful of words keep a historically pronounced h that still prevents elision and liaison, even though the sound itself is gone. There's no rule; the words are learned individually.

le héros, la hauteur, le hasard, les haricots

the hero, the height, chance, the beans

le héros, but l'homme.

It Marks Whole Categories

To talk about something in general, French puts the definite article in front of it. This is why the article appears with likes and dislikes, with abstract nouns, and with sweeping statements, in every case where English has nothing.

Les chiens sont plus fidèles que les chats.

Dogs are more loyal than cats.

General statement → le, la, les.

It Replaces the Possessive on Body Parts

When it's obvious whose body is involved, French uses the definite article rather than a possessive. Ownership is carried by the verb, often with a reflexive pronoun.

Il s'est cassé la jambe et je me suis coupé le doigt.

He broke his leg and I cut my finger.

la jambe, le doigt, les mains.

À and De Contract With It

À plus le gives au and à plus les gives aux; de plus le gives du and de plus les gives des. The feminine la never contracts, and neither does l'. These contractions are compulsory, not optional.

Je vais au marché, puis à la boulangerie, puis à l'école.

I'm going to the market, then to the bakery, then to the school.

au, aux, du, des.

Common Mistakes with Definite Article

Incorrect: Je vais à le marché. — I'm going to the market.

Correct: Je vais au marché. — I'm going to the market.

À and le have to contract into au. This isn't a preference: the uncontracted form doesn't exist in French, and the same goes for de plus le becoming du.

Incorrect: J'ai mal à ma tête. — I have a headache.

Correct: J'ai mal à la tête. — I have a headache.

With body parts, French uses the definite article and leaves ownership to the context. Using a possessive here sounds as though the head might be someone else's.

Incorrect: Le histoire de ce village est longue. — The history of this village is long.

Correct: L'histoire de ce village est longue. — The history of this village is long.

The h of histoire is mute, so the word begins with a vowel sound and the article elides. Le is only possible before a consonant.

Incorrect: L'héros du film est un enfant. — The hero of the film is a child.

Correct: Le héros du film est un enfant. — The hero of the film is a child.

Héros has an aspirate h, which blocks elision even though nothing is pronounced. Curiously, the feminine héroïne takes l', because its h is mute.

Languages, Countries, Titles, and Rates

Four areas where French insists on an article that English doesn't have, plus the places where it drops back out again.

Languages and subjects

A language is a category, so it takes the definite article. The article disappears after the verb parler and after the preposition en.

J'apprends le japonais.: I'm learning Japanese.
Le portugais ressemble à l'espagnol.: Portuguese resembles Spanish.
Elle parle couramment allemand.: She speaks German fluently.
Écrivez la réponse en anglais.: Write the answer in English.

Both je parle français and je parle le français are heard, but the bare form is the more usual one.

Countries, regions, and continents

Country names carry an article when they behave as ordinary nouns, and lose it after the prepositions en and de.

La France est plus grande que la Belgique.: France is bigger than Belgium.
Je connais bien l'Italie.: I know Italy well.
Le Japon m'intéresse beaucoup.: Japan interests me a lot.
Nous partons en Grèce et nous rentrons du Portugal.: We're leaving for Greece and coming back from Portugal.

Cities are the exception: they take no article at all, so it's Paris est belle, not la Paris.

Titles, prices, and rates

A title in front of a name takes the article, and so does a unit in a price, where English would use a or each.

Le docteur Blanc arrive.: Doctor Blanc is here.
le président de la République: the President of the Republic
Ces pommes sont à 2 € le kilo.: These apples are €2 a kilo.
L'entrée coûte 8 € la personne.: Entry costs €8 per person.

Monsieur and Madame are the exception: bonjour, monsieur Blanc takes no article, because monsieur already contains one historically.

Definite Article FAQs

What are the definite articles in French?: Le for masculine singular nouns, la for feminine singular nouns, l' before a vowel or mute h, and les for all plurals. They combine with à and de into au, aux, du, and des, and those combinations are compulsory.
Why does French use le for general statements?: Because French marks a whole category with the definite article, where English marks it with nothing. Le chien est un animal fidèle means dogs are loyal animals, not the dog is. This is why j'aime le chocolat and les Français aiment le pain both need an article.
When do I use l' instead of le or la?: Whenever the noun starts with a vowel sound, including a mute h: l'arbre, l'idée, l'hôtel, l'heure. A small set of words with an aspirate h refuses the elision: le héros, le hasard, la haine, les haricots.
Why is it au cinéma and du pain rather than à le and de le?: French avoids the vowel clash by fusing the preposition and the article. À plus le gives au, à plus les gives aux, de plus le gives du, de plus les gives des. La and l' don't clash, so they stay separate: à la gare, de l'école.
Why does French say j'ai mal à la tête instead of my head?: Because the owner is already obvious from the subject of the sentence, so French uses the plain definite article for body parts. The possessive comes back only when ownership is genuinely in question or when the part is being described in isolation.