If the city name begins with a vowel, de becomes d'

Jangir G.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

If the city name begins with a vowel, de becomes d'

Je viens de Hong Kong.


Why "de Hong Kong" and not "d'Hong Kong" ? Is it because city name consists of two words ?

Asked 1 year ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Jangir, 

This has been asked before and here is my answer to another student -

https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/pourquoi-il-n-est-pas-je-viens-d-hong-kong

Bonne Continuation !

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The ‘h’ in “Hong Kong” is an h aspiré and treated as a consonant.  

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/pronunciation/h-aspire/

Jangir G. asked:

If the city name begins with a vowel, de becomes d'

Je viens de Hong Kong.


Why "de Hong Kong" and not "d'Hong Kong" ? Is it because city name consists of two words ?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!