Learn French: Choosing Between Je vais à and Je vais chez for Destinations

The problem: English speakers frequently say je vais à when visiting a person because English uses to for both people and locations.

In everyday French, destinations commonly follow a helpful naming distinction. When you refer to a destination by a standard city name or a common public facility, you generally use the preposition à. When you identify the destination through a person, such as a friend, a family member, or a professional practitioner, French conventionally uses chez. Start by checking whether the phrasing you choose names a place or identifies a person.

The problem: Learners sometimes omit the definite article or wonder how à combines with feminine singular nouns.

When a destination is a singular feminine place starting with a consonant, the preposition à stays separate from the feminine article la. You simply say à la followed by the destination noun. Common everyday feminine locations include the pharmacy, the post office, and the beach.

You can practise this again in Learn French: Asking for Everyday Items with Je cherche and Avez-vous and Learn French: Future Intentions with Aller versus Departures with Partir.

The problem: Learners often say à le because they translate each word individually from English.

In French, the combination of à and the masculine article le before a noun is mandatorily contracted into au. Before a masculine place noun, you do not write or say à le. Whenever you head to a singular masculine place beginning with a consonant, use au.

The problem: Learners are unsure whether masculine nouns starting with a vowel use au or à l'.

When a singular place noun begins with a vowel or a silent h, masculine and feminine nouns avoid the contraction au. Instead, they use the elided article l', resulting in à l'. Nouns beginning with an aspirated h are an exception and do not elide, so they follow the standard article pattern instead. Using à l' before vowel sounds keeps pronunciation smooth and avoids clashing vowels.

The problem: Learners may forget to contract à with the plural article les.

When your destination noun is plural, the preposition à combines with the plural article les to form aux. This applies whether the noun is masculine or feminine. You pronounce the final x as a z sound before a vowel sound or a silent h, while an aspirated h blocks this liaison.

The problem: Learners often try to say au médecin or à la dentiste by treating professional titles as buildings.

When you have an appointment with a professional such as a doctor, dentist, or hairdresser, French conventionally identifies the destination by naming the practitioner with chez. You use chez followed by the definite article and the professional title. For example, you say chez le médecin rather than au médecin.

The problem: English speakers translate my house or your place word for word instead of using chez with a stressed pronoun.

To express going to someone's home, French uses chez with a stressed pronoun. Common forms include chez moi for my place, chez toi for your place in informal speech, chez lui for his place, and chez elle for her place. While aller chez moi expresses going to one's home, French commonly uses the verb rentrer, as in rentrer chez moi, when specifically describing returning or heading back home.

The problem: Learners get confused when both à and chez seem possible for the same daily errand.

Many daily errands in French can be phrased from two perspectives. If you refer to the shop as a physical premises or store, use à la or au depending on the noun's gender. If you refer to the craftsman or shopkeeper who runs the trade, use chez le or chez la. Both options are natural French, but your preposition must match the specific noun you choose.