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Why do you say "Je vais en France" but "Je vais au Japon"? Like any inanimate object, continents,
countries, and regions also have genders in French. The ending will usually tell you which is feminine or
masculine and help you choose the correct preposition of place.
General rule
When the name of a region ends in any other vowel but E, or a consonant, it’s usually masculine.
Le Canada, le Japon, le Portugal, le Burundi, le Luxembourg, le Texas
When a masculine country starts with a vowel or an H, use the rules of the feminine countries
L’Iran, l’Ouganda, Oman, Angola, Israël
Plural names
A few names of regions are plural. Most plural regions end in an S, but not all regions ending in an S are
plural (le Laos, L’Arkansas)… So with plural regions, here is the rule
Les États-Unis, les Maldives, les Pays-Bas, Les Philippines…
Cities
Cities are usually not introduced by any article, and are usually feminine.
Paris est belle (because here Paris refers to “la ville de Paris”).
4 – US States. Je vais…