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【Learn Chinese】Let’s go to the cinema!

Mandarin Morning

拼音

English

Going to the cinema can be one more great weekend activity for you and your friends. Let’s start learning Chinese vocabulary related to going to the cinema with a word “cinema” itself:

电影院 diànyǐngyuàn - cinema, movie theater
立体电影院 lìtǐ diànyǐngyuàn - 3D-cinema (lit. “three-dimensional-cinema”)
巨幕影院 jùmù yǐngyuàn - IMAX-cinema (lit. “giant-screen-cinema”)

Movie Genres
Which genre is your favorite: documentary, fantasy, or maybe action? People watch various genres depending on their mood or interests. There are some popular movie genres:
纪录片 jìlùpiàn - documentary film
动作片 dòngzuòpiàn - action film
动画片 dònghuàpiàn - animation film
喜剧片 xǐjùpiàn - comedy film
惊悚片 jīngsǒngpiàn - horror film
One of the meanings of the word 片 (piàn) is “movie”. In speech, it’s commonly used to express film genres. If you add 片 (piàn) after genre’s name, it becomes “[genre] movie”. For example, 奇幻 (qíhuàn), “fantasy” + 片 (piàn) “movie” is 奇幻片 (qíhuànpiàn), “fantasy movie”.
你喜欢什么电影? Nǐ xǐhuan shénme diànyǐng? - What movie do you like?

At the Cinema
If you choose to watch a movie at the cinema, you might need to know some of these words:
电影 diànyǐng - movie, film
放映厅 fàngyìng tīng - screening room
三维眼镜 sānwéi yǎnjìng - 3D-glasses
演员 yǎnyuán - actor/actress
导演 dǎoyǎn - film director
爆米花 bàomǐhuā - popcorn
自动取票机 zìdòng qǔ piào jī - automatic ticket machine

After Movie
To ask about the impression about the movie you just watched, you can say:
这部电影怎么样? Zhè bù diànyǐng zěnmeyàng？- How was the movie?
And to share your experience, you can say:
我真的喜欢这部电影 Wǒ zhēn de xǐhuan zhè bù diànyǐng - I really liked this movie
我都看哭了 Wǒ dōu kàn kū le - This movie made me cry
我觉得还可以吧 Wǒ juéde hái kěyǐ ba - I think it’s just ok
太无聊了 Tài wúliáo le - It’s so boring