Meaning of 电影院
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cinema; movie theater
Measure word: 家,座
How to use 电影院
电影院 is the everyday word for a movie theater, and it usually follows 去 (qù) or 在 (zài). Example: 我们晚上去电影院吧。(Wǒmen wǎnshang qù diànyǐngyuàn ba.) Let's go to the cinema tonight.
Break it into 电影 (diànyǐng, movie) plus 院 (yuàn, a courtyard or institution). 电 is electricity and 影 is shadow or image, so a 电影院 is the building where electric shadows play on a screen.
Common mistake: Learners often drop 院 and say 去电影 when they mean the place. Say 去电影院 (go to the cinema) or 去看电影 (go see a movie). Also keep 影 in third tone, yǐng, not yìng.
电影院 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
电 diàn · lightning · 5 strokes
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影 yǐng · shadow · 15 strokes
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院 yuàn · courtyard · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 电影院.
| 电话 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 电影 | diànyǐng | movie; film |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital |
| 电视 | diànshì | television; TV |
| 电脑 | diànnǎo | computer |
| 学院 | xuéyuàn | college; educational institute |
| 电视机 | diànshìjī | television set |
| 影响 | yǐngxiǎng | influence; effect |
| 影片 | yǐngpiàn | a copy of a film; film; motion picture; movie |
| 院子 | yuànzi | courtyard; garden |
| 出院 | chūyuàn | to leave hospital; to be discharged from hospital |
Questions about 电影院
What does 电影院 mean?
电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn) means "cinema; movie theater" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 电影院?
电影院 is made of 3 characters: 电 (5 strokes), 影 (15 strokes), 院 (9 strokes). That is 29 strokes in total.
Is 电影院 an HSK word?
Yes. 电影院 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 电影院 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 电影院 is written 電影院.
How do you say "go to the movies" in Chinese?
The most natural phrase is 去看电影 (qù kàn diànyǐng), which focuses on watching a film. Use 去电影院 (qù diànyǐngyuàn) when you want to stress the place itself.
Why do 电影院 and 医院 both end in 院?
院 (yuàn) marks a building or institution, often one with a yard. It appears in many place names, such as 医院 (yīyuàn, hospital) and 电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn, cinema), so seeing 院 at the end is a good clue that the word names a place.