(diàn yǐng) - movie, film in Mandarin
diànyǐngTraditional: 電影
Translation
movie, film
Word origin
The word 电影 combines 电 'electricity' with 影 'shadow, image', literally 'electric shadows', the term coined for the cinema. 影 has the 彡 (decorative strokes) element and 景 (jǐng) conveying a scene or image.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 电 (diàn, electricity) + 影 (yǐng, shadow/image)
Stroke order
电
影
Examples
。
Let's go watch a movie.
。
This movie is really good.
型？
What type of movies do you like most?
。
Let's go and see a film at the weekend.
。
This film is especially moving.
电影 (diàn yǐng) literally means electric shadow, a term that dates to early cinema when moving pictures were described as shadows cast by light. Today it simply means film or movie. The measure word is 部 (bù) for full films or 场 (chǎng) for screenings. Common phrases include 看电影 (to watch a film), 电影院 (cinema), and 电影明星 (film star).
Used in
Grammar articles
(7)Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 11.