Country and city names in Spanish are usually bare — no article at all. You say España, México, Chile, Francia, Japón, without any el or la. A handful of countries traditionally kept the article, though in modern usage most of these are now optional. When you add a modifier to any country name, the article suddenly becomes obligatory.
Default: No Article
For the vast majority of countries, use the name on its own.
México es un país grande y diverso.
Mexico is a large, diverse country.
This is the modern standard. You do not say el México, la Francia, or la Italia in ordinary Spanish.
Countries That Traditionally Take an Article
A small group of countries historically used the definite article. Today, the article is considered optional — both forms are correct — but you will encounter both in literature, news, and everyday speech.
| Country | With article | Without article |
|---|---|---|
| Perú | el Perú | Perú |
| Ecuador | el Ecuador | Ecuador |
| Argentina | la Argentina | Argentina |
| Uruguay | el Uruguay | Uruguay |
| Paraguay | el Paraguay | Paraguay |
| Brasil | el Brasil | Brasil |
| India | la India | India |
Nací en el Perú, pero vivo en España.
I was born in Peru, but I live in Spain.
La Argentina tiene una historia fascinante.
Argentina has a fascinating history.
Estados Unidos
The United States is almost always los Estados Unidos in formal writing, and the verb agrees accordingly — plural.
Los Estados Unidos son un país federal.
The United States is a federal country.
In casual speech, people simply say Estados Unidos or even just EE.UU. (the standard abbreviation, doubled to show plural). The Spanish initials EE.UU. are how you write "U.S." in print.
With Modifiers: Article Always Required
As soon as you add an adjective or descriptive phrase, the article becomes mandatory — even for countries that normally don't have one.
Me fascina la España medieval.
I'm fascinated by medieval Spain.
Estudio el México prehispánico.
I study pre-Hispanic Mexico.
Visitamos la Francia del norte.
We visited northern France.
The moment you say la España medieval or el México prehispánico, the country becomes a specific version of itself, and Spanish marks that with the article.
Cities
City names almost never take an article — Madrid, Buenos Aires, Lima, Bogotá, Ciudad de México. A few exceptions are cities whose name includes an article as part of the official name:
- La Habana (Havana)
- La Paz
- El Cairo
- Los Ángeles
- El Salvador (both a country and a city)
La Habana es la capital de Cuba.
Havana is the capital of Cuba.
Vivo en Los Ángeles desde el año pasado.
I've lived in Los Angeles since last year.
Because the article is part of the name, it does not contract with prepositions in careful writing: Voy a La Habana, not Voy a la Habana (casual) or Voy a Habana.
With Modifiers for Cities
Just like countries, modified city names take the article:
Me gusta el Madrid antiguo.
I like old Madrid.
Quick Recap
- Most countries and cities take no article.
- A few countries (Perú, Argentina, Ecuador...) optionally take one.
- Los Estados Unidos almost always includes the article.
- Cities that embed an article (La Habana, Los Ángeles) keep it as part of the name.
- With any modifier, the article becomes obligatory.
Common mistakes
❌ Vivo en la Francia.
Wrong: most country names take no article.
✅ Vivo en Francia.
Correct: no article with standard country names.
❌ Viajé a Estados Unidos.
Wrong: Los Estados Unidos almost always keeps the article.
✅ Viajé a los Estados Unidos.
Correct: include los with Estados Unidos.
❌ Vivo en México moderna.
Wrong: when a modifier is added, the article becomes obligatory.
✅ Vivo en el México moderno.
Correct: add the article when a modifier follows the country name.
Related Topics
- When to Omit the ArticleA2 — Contexts where Spanish drops the article even though English might include one
- Definite Articles (El, La, Los, Las)A1 — The four forms of the definite article and how they agree with the noun's gender and number