"Movie" in Spanish is la película, stressed on LI: peh-LEE-koo-lah. The movie theater is el cine, and going to the movies is ir al cine. In Spain, friends often shorten película to la peli.
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "película" in real scenes
A movie someone loves and one an actor recommends. Each video starts and stops on that line.
me encanta esa película
I love that movie
As it gets dark outside the movie theater, the film is still on their minds, and it's one the speaker would watch again and again. Esa points to a movie both people know.
From Hechizo del tiempo · Spanish audio
A, es una película muy buena.
Well, it's a very good movie.
In an interview, one of the voice actors gives a short, excited recommendation of the movie they made together. Buena matches the feminine película.
From Angry Birds 2 · Spanish audio
Movie words you'll need
Where to go, what to do there and which genre to pick.
Spanish
English
el cine
the movie theater; film as an art
ir al cine
to go to the movies
ver una película
to watch a movie
la peli
movie (casual, Spain)
una película de terror
a horror movie
una película de acción
an action movie
Tip: Many movies in Spanish theaters are dubbed. To hear the original voices with subtitles, look for V.O.S., versión original subtitulada.
Grammar: la película, las películas
Four points for talking about movies.
Feminine, with an accent
la película, una película, las películas. The accent on the í marks the stress, and it stays in the plural.
Genre after de
Spanish names the kind of movie with de after the noun: una película de acción, una película de terror.
This movie, that movie
The demonstrative takes the feminine form: esta película for this movie, esa película for that one.
The movie and the place
The building is el cine, and so is film as an art form: Me gusta el cine. What you watch on the screen is la película.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Me encanta esta película.
I love this movie.
¿A qué hora empieza la película?
What time does the movie start?
La película es muy aburrida.
The movie is very boring.
¿Qué película hay hoy en el cine?
What movie is playing at the theater today?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗pelicula
✓película
Write the accent on the í. It tells you to stress LI: peh-LEE-koo-lah.
✗Voy a la película (meaning I'm going to the movies)
✓Voy al cine
You go to the cine, and there you watch a película.
✗una acción película
✓una película de acción
The genre comes after the noun, joined with de.
Real conversation: picking a movie
A short chat with your roommate at home.
You're in the living room of your shared apartment. Your roommate Santiago is on the couch, looking at his phone for something to do today.
S
Oye, ¿vamos al cine hoy?
Hey, should we go to the movies today?
You
Bueno, ¿qué película?
Okay, which movie?
S
Esta. ¿Qué te parece?
This one. What do you think?
You
S
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
La película, plural las películas. In Spain, friends often say la peli.
How do you say "go to the movies" in Spanish?
Ir al cine: ¿Vamos al cine el sábado?
What's the difference between película and cine?
La película is the film you watch. El cine is the theater where it's shown, or the art of filmmaking.
How do you say horror movie in Spanish?
Una película de terror. You'll also hear una película de miedo.
Learn "movie" in Spanish from real movie scenes
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