Should one say Gambia or The Gambia? Usually, one says the first. Likewise, one uses Madina (or the English exonym Medina) instead of al-Madinah, and Riad instead of ar-Riyad. In Arabic the definite article is al (assimilated to some consonants, like in ar-Riyad or as-Suwais)

In some languages, definite articles are post-positionally affixed to the word; Swedish älven means the river, as opposite to älv, which means (a) river. Although less obvious to the layman, here one also has to make a choice.