Is it j'habite à Paris or j'habite en Paris?

À Paris. Cities and towns always take à, whatever their gender or country: à Lyon, à Berlin, à Dakar. En is reserved for feminine countries and regions, as in j'habite en Belgique. The only city-level exception is a name containing an article, such as au Havre.

Which preposition do I use with countries?

En for feminine countries and for any country beginning with a vowel (en France, en Italie, en Iran), au for masculine ones (au Japon, au Brésil), and aux for plurals (aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas). Countries ending in -e are almost all feminine, with le Mexique as the notable exception.

What's the difference between habiter and vivre?

Habiter is about where your home is and always needs a place: j'habite à Nantes. Vivre is about existence and can stand alone or take other complements: il vit seul, elle vit de sa musique. In front of a city name they're close enough to swap, with habiter sounding more everyday.

Why is it j'habite and not je habite?

Because the h in habiter is mute, so the word effectively starts with a vowel sound and je elides to j'. The same applies right through the negative and to liaison: je n'habite pas ici, nous habitons, pronounced with the s carrying over.

How do I ask someone where they live in French?

Tu habites où ? is what people say in conversation; où est-ce que tu habites ? and où habitez-vous ? are more neutral and more formal in turn. To narrow it down, ask dans quel quartier ? or dans quelle ville ?

French grammar · Beginner

J'habite à + City: How to Say Where You Live in French

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

To say where you live, French uses habiter plus a preposition chosen by the kind of place: à for a town or city, en or au for a country, chez for someone's home. J'habite à Lyon covers everything English packs into I live in Lyon, and the same present tense with depuis covers I have lived there for years.

J'habite à Marseille depuis cinq ans.

I've been living in Marseille for five years.

What it is

Habiter is an ordinary -er verb meaning to live somewhere in the sense of having your home there. What makes the phrase feel unfamiliar is that French chooses the preposition according to the type of place rather than using one word for all of them, so a city takes à while a country takes en, au, or aux.

J'habite à Nantes, en France. — I live in Nantes, in France. One sentence, two different prepositions for in.

How to spot it

Identify the place before you pick the preposition. Town or city, à. Country, look at its gender. Someone's house, chez. Street or floor, no preposition at all.

J'habite à Bordeaux. — I live in Bordeaux.
Nous habitons en Espagne. — We live in Spain.
Il habite au Sénégal. — He lives in Senegal.
Elle habite chez sa grand-mère. — She lives at her grandmother's.

Habiter begins with a mute h, so je becomes j': j'habite, and the h is silent in every form.

J'habite à + City Quick Reference

Which preposition goes with which place

Kind of place	Preposition	Example
Town or city	à	J'habite à Nice.
Feminine country	en	J'habite en Italie.
Masculine country	au	J'habite au Maroc.
Plural country	aux	J'habite aux Pays-Bas.
Country beginning with a vowel	en	J'habite en Iran.
Region	en or dans le	en Bretagne, dans le Var
Street	none	J'habite rue Mouffetard.
Someone's home	chez	J'habite chez ma tante.

Common J'habite à + City Examples in French

The same verb across the places people actually name:

Cities and Towns

J'habite à Strasbourg.: I live in Strasbourg.
Tu habites à Genève, non ?: You live in Geneva, don't you?
Ils habitent à New York depuis un an.: They've been living in New York for a year.
On habite à côté de Rennes.: We live near Rennes.

À works for every city regardless of gender or nationality, which makes this the easiest half of the system.

Countries and Regions

Elle habite en Allemagne.: She lives in Germany.
Mon frère habite au Canada.: My brother lives in Canada.
Nous habitons aux États-Unis.: We live in the United States.
Ma cousine habite en Normandie.: My cousin lives in Normandy.

Countries ending in -e are feminine and take en; the main exception is le Mexique, which takes au.

The Kind of Home

J'habite dans un petit appartement.: I live in a small flat.
Nous habitons au troisième étage.: We live on the third floor.
Elle habite dans une maison avec un jardin.: She lives in a house with a garden.
Je vais habiter en colocation.: I'm going to live in a shared flat.

For a building or a room, the preposition is dans. For a floor, it's au, because étage is masculine.

Asking Where Someone Lives

Tu habites où ?: Where do you live? (spoken)
Où est-ce que vous habitez ?: Where do you live? (neutral)
Vous habitez dans quel quartier ?: Which neighbourhood do you live in?
Tu es d'où ?: Where are you from?

Tu es d'où asks about origin, not address. Someone can answer je suis de Lille mais j'habite à Paris.

How J'habite à Works

The verb is completely regular; almost all the difficulty is in the preposition and in one tense choice.

Habiter Conjugates Like Parler

It's a first-group verb with no irregularities at all: j'habite, tu habites, il habite, nous habitons, vous habitez, ils habitent. The only thing to watch is the mute h, which forces elision and liaison.

Nous habitons ici, mais ils habitent à Lille.

We live here, but they live in Lille.

j'habite, nous habitons.

A City Always Takes À

Cities have no gender to worry about for this purpose, so à covers all of them: à Paris, à Tokyo, à Casablanca. The rare exceptions are place names that contain an article, such as le Havre, giving j'habite au Havre.

Mes parents habitent au Havre.

My parents live in Le Havre.

à + city, au if the name has le.

A Country Takes En, Au, or Aux by Gender

Feminine countries and any country beginning with a vowel take en. Masculine countries take au, and plural ones take aux. This is the same system as any other verb of place, so learning it here pays off everywhere.

Elle habite en Chine, lui au Japon, et leurs cousins aux Philippines.

She lives in China, he lives in Japan, and their cousins live in the Philippines.

en France, au Portugal, aux Antilles.

Depuis Keeps the Verb in the Present

English switches to a perfect tense to say how long something has been true. French leaves the verb in the present, because you still live there: j'habite ici depuis 2019.

J'habite à Lyon depuis trois ans.

I've been living in Lyon for three years.

depuis + present, not the past.

Habiter Can Drop the Preposition Altogether

Unusually for a verb of place, habiter can take a direct object: j'habite Paris, nous habitons un vieil immeuble. It's correct and slightly more formal, and it's obligatory when the object is a building rather than a place name.

Ils habitent une ferme isolée.

They live in an isolated farmhouse.

j'habite Paris = j'habite à Paris.

Common Mistakes with J'habite à + City

Incorrect: J'habite en Paris. — I live in Paris.

Correct: J'habite à Paris. — I live in Paris.

En is for countries and regions; cities take à. English uses in for both, which is why this one persists long after the rule is known.

Incorrect: Ma sœur habite dans France. — My sister lives in France.

Correct: Ma sœur habite en France. — My sister lives in France.

Dans is for enclosed spaces you can be inside, such as a flat or a room. Countries take en, au, or aux depending on gender and number.

Incorrect: J'ai habité ici depuis dix ans. — I've lived here for ten years.

Correct: J'habite ici depuis dix ans. — I've lived here for ten years.

The situation is still true, so French keeps the present tense. Using a past tense with depuis suggests you've stopped, which contradicts the sentence.

Incorrect: Je habite à Lille avec mon frère. — I live in Lille with my brother.

Correct: J'habite à Lille avec mon frère. — I live in Lille with my brother.

The h of habiter is silent, so je elides to j' exactly as it would before a vowel. The same happens with j'hésite and j'habille.

Beyond the City Name

Real answers to où habites-tu are usually more precise than a city, and each level of precision has its own pattern.

Streets and neighbourhoods

A street name follows habiter with no preposition. Add a house number in front of it and nothing changes; use dans for a district or an arrondissement.

J'habite rue des Rosiers.: I live on rue des Rosiers.
Nous habitons 14 avenue Foch.: We live at 14 avenue Foch.
Il habite dans le 11e arrondissement.: He lives in the 11th arrondissement.
Elle habite dans un quartier calme.: She lives in a quiet neighbourhood.

Dans la rue des Rosiers exists but suggests being out in the street rather than living on it.

Countryside, coast, and mountains

General kinds of landscape take fixed prepositional phrases that have to be learned as units.

Ils habitent à la campagne.: They live in the countryside.
Nous habitons en ville.: We live in town.
Elle habite à la montagne.: She lives in the mountains.
On habite au bord de la mer.: We live by the sea.

En ville takes no article, while à la campagne and à la montagne keep one. The pair is worth memorising together.

Temporary arrangements

Chez plus a person means at that person's home, and it's the standard way to describe living with family or friends.

Je vis chez mes parents en ce moment.: I'm living at my parents' at the moment.
Il habite chez un ami depuis janvier.: He's been staying at a friend's since January.
Nous habitons à l'hôtel cette semaine.: We're staying at a hotel this week.

Chez is followed by a person, never a place: chez le médecin, chez Paul, but à la banque.

J'habite à + City FAQs

Is it j'habite à Paris or j'habite en Paris?: À Paris. Cities and towns always take à, whatever their gender or country: à Lyon, à Berlin, à Dakar. En is reserved for feminine countries and regions, as in j'habite en Belgique. The only city-level exception is a name containing an article, such as au Havre.
Which preposition do I use with countries?: En for feminine countries and for any country beginning with a vowel (en France, en Italie, en Iran), au for masculine ones (au Japon, au Brésil), and aux for plurals (aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas). Countries ending in -e are almost all feminine, with le Mexique as the notable exception.
What's the difference between habiter and vivre?: Habiter is about where your home is and always needs a place: j'habite à Nantes. Vivre is about existence and can stand alone or take other complements: il vit seul, elle vit de sa musique. In front of a city name they're close enough to swap, with habiter sounding more everyday.
Why is it j'habite and not je habite?: Because the h in habiter is mute, so the word effectively starts with a vowel sound and je elides to j'. The same applies right through the negative and to liaison: je n'habite pas ici, nous habitons, pronounced with the s carrying over.
How do I ask someone where they live in French?: Tu habites où ? is what people say in conversation; où est-ce que tu habites ? and où habitez-vous ? are more neutral and more formal in turn. To narrow it down, ask dans quel quartier ? or dans quelle ville ?