看电影(kàn diàn yǐng) - to watch a film, to watch a movie in Mandarin

看电影 (kàn diàn yǐng) means to watch a film. 看 (kàn) covers watching here, and 电影 (diàn yǐng), literally "electric shadow", is the standard word for film or movie, a term coined in the early days of cinema.

The measure word for a whole film is 部 (bù), so "a film" is 一部电影 (yí bù diàn yǐng). For a single screening, 场 (chǎng) is used instead.

看电影 (kàn diàn yǐng) is one of the commonest ways to suggest a social outing, often softened into an invitation with 吧 (ba): 我们去看电影吧 (wǒ men qù kàn diàn yǐng ba), "let's go and watch a film".