M or F--just memorize?

Question

how do we know if a country is M or F? I have been simply guessing--often incorrectly! du Japan? Do we just have to memorize them?

And how come Wales "Pays de Galles" is not "Des" like the Netherlands

Thanks

Christian Huter · Accepted Answer

The general rule for the gender of countries is pretty simple:
Countries ending in "e" are feminine. There are only few exceptions (e.g. le Mexique).I guess "le Pays de Galles" is just something to memorize. However, it also does not have a "..lands" equivalent in English like the Netherlands and "les Pays-Bas".See https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/continents-countries-counties-regions-and-states-are-masculine-feminine-or-plural-gender

Céline Pickard · Answer

Bonjour Laura,
Christian and Maarten are correct. Also, follow Cécile's advice here:
comment nous connaissons c'est le masculine pays ou la féminine pays?
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Laura,

it is ‘ le Pays de Galles ‘ because it is the singular of ‘ pays ‘, but ‘ les Pays-Bas ‘ as it is the plural of ‘ pays ‘ - same spelling for both, so context indicates which is required.

They become, for example, ‘ Je viens du Pays de Galles ‘ and ‘Je viens des Pays-Bas ‘ with the required contractions. (The ‘ de ‘ in Pays de Galles is a possessive ‘ de ‘)

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/pays

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/possessive-de/

If you are interested in the history behind these names, French and English Wikipedia sites are good references.