Most Catalan names of countries and towns have no article: Catalunya, Andorra, Portugal, Barcelona, Girona. Other place names contain or conventionally select an article: el Vendrell, la Seu d'Urgell, les Bahames, l'Ebre. There is no dependable translation rule; the article belongs to each place name's Catalan usage and controls contraction, elision, capitalization, and agreement.
Current IEC usage also recognizes fluctuation with some names, including Xina/la Xina and Argentina/l'Argentina. Treat this as established variation, not as permission to add or remove articles from every toponym.
Four practical place-name patterns
| Pattern | Examples | With a or de |
|---|---|---|
| no lexical article | Catalunya, Andorra, Barcelona | a Catalunya, d'Andorra, de Barcelona |
| lowercase masculine article | el Vendrell, el Maresme | al Vendrell, del Maresme |
| lowercase feminine/elided article | la Fatarella, l'Empordà | a la Fatarella, de l'Empordà |
| capitalized non-Catalan article | El Salvador | a El Salvador, d'El Salvador |
Viu a Andorra, treballa a la Seu d'Urgell i passa els caps de setmana a l'Alt Urgell.
She lives in Andorra, works in La Seu d'Urgell, and spends weekends in Alt Urgell.
Andorra has no article. La Seu d'Urgell has a lexical feminine article, and l'Alt Urgell elides before a vowel. The forms are learned with the names.
Han anat al Vendrell i després visitaran el Maresme.
They went to El Vendrell and will then visit the Maresme.
The lowercase masculine article contracts in al Vendrell. Without a preposition it appears as el Maresme.
Countries and larger regions
The majority of country names are bare in ordinary prose: Albània, Mongòlia, Andorra, Espanya, França, Itàlia, Portugal. Others conventionally take an article, such as El Salvador and les Bahames. Some allow both patterns, depending on established usage and context: Àfrica/l'Àfrica, Xina/la Xina, Argentina/l'Argentina, Toscana/la Toscana, Sàhara/el Sàhara. Japó/el Japó also fluctuates.
Demà viatjaran d'Andorra a les Bahames.
Tomorrow they'll travel from Andorra to the Bahamas.
The source name is bare, while plural les Bahames keeps its article after a. The phrase is not a Bahames in ordinary prose.
Les exportacions de la Xina han augmentat, però també es troba la variant «exportacions de Xina».
China's exports have increased, but the variant ‘exports from China’ is also found.
Both article patterns are recognized for Xina. Consistency within a passage is usually clearer than alternating without reason.
El Salvador is different: its capitalized article is treated as an unaltered part of a non-Catalan name. It neither contracts nor loses its capital after a preposition.
La nova ambaixadora d'El Salvador arribarà demà.
The new ambassador from El Salvador will arrive tomorrow.
Write d'El Salvador, not del Salvador, when naming the country. This exceptional convention contrasts with Catalan or Catalanized lowercase articles.
Towns and lexical articles
Most settlement names are bare: a Barcelona, de Girona, a València, de Lleida. A smaller but important group has an article: l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, el Prat de Llobregat, el Vendrell, la Bisbal d'Empordà, la Fatarella, les Borges Blanques.
L'Èlia viu a Barcelona, però treballa a l'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
Èlia lives in Barcelona but works in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
This is lexical contrast, not a difference between large and small cities. Barcelona is bare; l'Hospitalet includes an elided article.
The established article is written lowercase inside a sentence: el Prat, la Bisbal, l'Hospitalet. It is capitalized only when it begins the sentence: El Vendrell és a prop de la costa. Interior articles remain lowercase too: Castellar de n'Hug, Callosa d'en Sarrià.
La reunió serà a la Seu d'Urgell, no pas a la seu del consell comarcal.
The meeting will be in La Seu d'Urgell, not at the headquarters of the county council.
This minimal pair has the same sounds but different reference. Capital Seu belongs to the place name; lowercase seu is the common noun “headquarters.” Both take the feminine article.
Rivers, mountains, and counties
River names generally take an article when used without a generic noun: l'Ebre, el Ter, el Llobregat, el Segre. Some are feminine, including la Noguera Ribagorçana, so gender must be learned rather than guessed from “river.”
Seguirem l'Ebre fins que el Segre hi desemboqui.
We'll follow the Ebro until the Segre flows into it.
Mountain and range names also follow lexical convention: el Canigó, el Montseny, els Pirineus, but bare Montserrat. Catalan counties normally take an article—la Selva, el Segrià, el Montsià, l'Alt Empordà—with Osona as the notable articleless exception.
Els Pirineus orientals nevats es veuen des de l'Empordà.
The snow-covered eastern Pyrenees can be seen from the Empordà.
The plural chain els Pirineus orientals nevats is masculine plural; l'Empordà is masculine singular behind elision.
Han travessat Osona i ara són a la Selva.
They crossed Osona and are now in La Selva.
Do not impose one article rule on all regions. Even within the county system, Osona differs from the ordinary article-bearing pattern.
Contraction and elision
Lowercase el/els contracts after a, de, and per: al, als, del, dels, pel, pels. Feminine articles remain separate, and vowel-initial forms elide in the normal way. The broader choice between location prepositions is covered in A versus En for Location.
| Base name | With a | With de | With per |
|---|---|---|---|
| el Prat | al Prat | del Prat | pel Prat |
| els Pirineus | als Pirineus | dels Pirineus | pels Pirineus |
| la Garrotxa | a la Garrotxa | de la Garrotxa | per la Garrotxa |
| l'Alguer | a l'Alguer | de l'Alguer | per l'Alguer |
Viatjarem del Prat a l'Alguer i tornarem per la Garrotxa.
We'll travel from El Prat to Alghero and return through La Garrotxa.
Contraction depends on the actual article, not on the semantic category “place.” Names without an article simply take the preposition: de Catalunya, a Girona.
Modified place names acquire determiners
A normally bare proper name can take an article when a modifier selects a historical period, social image, or version of the place: la Barcelona medieval, la Catalunya industrial, una Europa més solidària. The determiner belongs to the larger descriptive noun phrase, not to the unmodified name.
Barcelona atrau molts visitants, però la Barcelona medieval encara conserva racons tranquils.
Barcelona attracts many visitors, but medieval Barcelona still preserves quiet corners.
Bare Barcelona names the city directly. La Barcelona medieval selects one historical manifestation. Catalan normally places the classifying adjective after the name rather than copying English “medieval Barcelona” mechanically.
Imaginen una Catalunya més verda, oberta i pròspera.
They imagine a greener, more open, and more prosperous Catalonia.
The indefinite article presents one conceivable version of Catalunya; the three feminine singular adjectives agree with the place conceptualized as such a version.
Regional and inherited articles inside names
Place names preserve their established local article. (regional: Balearic) names such as sa Pobla, es Mercadal, and s'Arenal contain the salat article; it is not replaced by la/el/l' in the official name. Valencian names such as la Vila Joiosa, el Campello, and la Vall d'Uixó retain their established general articles. L'Alguer is the traditional Catalan name for Alghero (regional: Alguerese context).
Anirem de sa Pobla as Mercadal abans de tornar a Palma.
We'll go from Sa Pobla to Es Mercadal before returning to Palma. (Balearic place names)
The regional forms belong to the toponyms themselves. Here a + es contracts to as, just as lowercase general a + el contracts to al. Using these names does not license a random mixture of salat and general articles for surrounding common nouns.
English and Spanish forms are not safe models. English The Hague corresponds to Catalan la Haia, with lowercase article inside a sentence; Spanish La Habana corresponds to Catalanized l'Havana. Use the Catalan name and its Catalan article behavior.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an article to an ordinarily bare city name.
❌ Demà viatjarem a la Barcelona.
Incorrect for the unmodified city name — Barcelona is normally bare.
✅ Demà viatjarem a Barcelona.
Tomorrow we'll travel to Barcelona.
2. Omitting a town's lexical article.
❌ Treballa a Hospitalet de Llobregat.
Incorrect — the established name is l'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
✅ Treballa a l'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
She works in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
3. Failing to contract a lowercase masculine article.
❌ Aquest tren va a el Vendrell i ve de el Prat.
Incorrect — a + el and de + el must contract.
✅ Aquest tren va al Vendrell i ve del Prat.
This train goes to El Vendrell and comes from El Prat.
4. Contracting the capitalized article of El Salvador.
❌ La delegació arriba del Salvador.
Incorrect when naming the country — its capitalized article does not contract.
✅ La delegació arriba d'El Salvador.
The delegation is arriving from El Salvador.
5. Capitalizing a Catalan place-name article inside a sentence.
❌ Passarem la nit a La Seu d'Urgell.
Incorrect — the lexical article is lowercase inside the sentence.
✅ Passarem la nit a la Seu d'Urgell.
We'll spend the night in La Seu d'Urgell.
Key Takeaways
Most countries and towns are bare, but rivers, most counties, many mountains, and a lexical set of countries and towns take articles. Lowercase masculine articles contract; feminine and elided forms behave normally; capitalized foreign articles such as that in El Salvador remain uncontracted. Learn each name with its article, preserve established regional forms, and distinguish a bare proper name from modified phrases such as la Barcelona medieval.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Definite Articles: el, la, els, lesA1 — Choose and place Catalan definite articles by gender and number, with Central pronunciation and the main regional paradigms.
- Article Elision: l’A1 — Form l' from el or la before vowels and silent h, while preserving la in the contexts that block elision.
- A versus En for LocationA2 — Choose between Catalan a and en by separating destination from position and then considering the determiner, place type, discourse context, and regional standard.
- Capitalization in CatalanA2 — Use Catalan capitals for sentence beginnings and true proper names while keeping titles, demonyms, weekdays, and months in sentence case.
- Proper NounsB1 — Use Catalan personal and place names with the right articles, capitalization, plural forms, modifiers, and metonymic readings.
- Regional Article SystemsB2 — Compare the general literary article with Balearic salat forms, regional lo/los, personal articles, elision, and their different social distributions.