German Films & Cinema Vocabulary
This set covers the vocabulary you need to talk about going to das Kino and what happens once you're there: die Kinokarte at the counter, das Popcorn in your lap, and die Handlung unfolding on screen. One trap for English speakers is der Star \u2014 it means celebrity in general, not specifically a film star, so a famous singer or athlete is also ein Star in German.
Learn these 17 words
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All 17 words
plural: die Kinos
cinema
Wir sehen heute Abend im Kino einen schönen Film. — We're watching a nice film at the cinema tonight.
plural: die Kinokarten
movie ticket
Ich kaufe zwei Kinokarten für den Abend. — I'm buying two movie tickets for the evening.
popcorn
Wir essen Popcorn während des Films. — We eat popcorn during the movie.
plural: die Stars
celebrity
Diese Sängerin ist ein Star in Deutschland. — This singer is a celebrity in Germany.
plural: die Trailer
trailer
Der Trailer zeigt die spannendsten Szenen. — The trailer shows the most exciting scenes.
plural: die Dokumentarfilme
documentary
Wir schauen heute einen Dokumentarfilm über Tiere. — Today we're watching a documentary about animals.
plural: die Drehbücher
screenplay
Sie schreibt das Drehbuch für einen Thriller. — She is writing the screenplay for a thriller.
plural: die Filme
film, movie
Den Film musst du dir unbedingt ansehen. — You absolutely must watch this film.
plural: die Hauptrollen
lead role
Er spielt die Hauptrolle in diesem Film. — He plays the lead role in this film.
audience
Es war ein tolles Konzert. Das Publikum war begeistert. — It was a great concert. The audience was thrilled.
plural: die Szenen
scene
In dieser Szene des Films stirbt der — In this scene of the film, the main character dies.
plural: die Filme
film
Der Film war sehr spannend und interessant. — The film was very exciting and interesting.
plural: die Handlungen
plot/action
Die Handlung des Films war sehr spannend und überraschend. — The plot of the film was very exciting and surprising.
plural: die Komödien
comedy
Diese Komödie hat mir sehr gut gefallen. — I really enjoyed this comedy.
plural: die Untertitel
subtitles
Ich lese die Untertitel des englischen Films. — I read the subtitles of the English film.
cinematic
Der cineastische Stil des Films war meisterhaft. — The cinematic style of the film was masterful.
plural: die Komparsen
extra / supernumerary = present in excess of the normal or requisite number
Die Komparse stand im Hintergrund der Szene. — The extra stood in the background of the scene.
How to learn this set
Notice how many words here are built from Film or Rolle plus another word: der Dokumentarfilm and die Hauptrolle both work by stacking a descriptor onto a base noun whose gender never changes. Drill der Film, der Trailer, and der Dokumentarfilm together as one masculine cluster, since recognizing that shared gender saves you from second-guessing articles later. For die Handlung and die Szene, practice them in a sentence about a specific movie you know well \u2014 it forces you to actually use plot vocabulary instead of just recognizing it on a flashcard.
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Frequently asked questions
Is it der Film or das Film in German?
It's der Film — masculine. The plural is die Filme, and a documentary is der Dokumentarfilm, keeping the same gender since it's just Film with a prefix attached.
What is the German word for subtitles?
Der Untertitel, literally "under-title." German movies for foreign films are usually either untertitelt (with subtitles) or synchronisiert (dubbed), and Germany dubs far more than English-speaking countries do.
Why is die Hauptrolle feminine if Rolle just means "role"?
Die Rolle (the role) is feminine on its own, and Haupt- (main) as a prefix never changes the gender of the base word. That's true across German compounds: the last word always decides the gender, so die Hauptrolle stays feminine.
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