movie; film
HSK level
电影 is written with 20 strokes (电: 5, 影: 15). The animation replays automatically.
电影 (diànyǐng) is the standard Chinese word for 'movie' or 'film,' literally 'electric shadow' — a calque from the early 20th-century way of describing projected light on a screen.
It is the neutral term used in conversation, on tickets, and in writing. Watching a movie is 看电影 (kàn diànyǐng), and the venue is 电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn).
Two things to know: first, the measure word is 部 for the film as a work (一部电影) and 场 for a specific screening (一场电影); second, native speakers say 看电影 even for streaming on a phone, so the word is not limited to theaters. There is no separate everyday word for 'film' vs 'movie' in Chinese.
Character by character
Memory hook: Literally 'electric shadow' — pictures projected by electric light onto a screen. The 1900s description stuck.
电影 appears in 20 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
我们今天晚上去看电影吧。
Wǒmen jīntiān wǎnshang qù kàn diànyǐng ba.
Let's go see a movie tonight.
spoken
这部电影很好看。
Zhè bù diànyǐng hěn hǎokàn.
This movie is really good.
neutral
你喜欢中国电影吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan zhōngguó diànyǐng ma?
Do you like Chinese movies?
spoken
电影院在那边。
Diànyǐngyuàn zài nàbiān.
The movie theater is over there.
spoken
影片 is more formal/written, used in reviews, news, and industry contexts. 电影 is the everyday word — use it in speech and casual writing.
Acquire it by listening
You just saw 电影 in 20 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.
