film
/film/masculine
The English phrase movie can be translated into French as film. Wiktionary also lists œuvre cinématographique.
Meaning: motion picture (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| film | /film/ | masculine |
| œuvre cinématographique | feminine |
The word refers to a motion picture.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
œuvre cinématographique is a highly formal and technical way to refer to a movie, often used in academic, critical or official contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural 'movies', add an 's' to the end of the word to get films.
How do you pronounce it?
/film/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use cinéma to mean 'a movie'. In French, cinéma refers to the industry or the physical movie theater. Instead of saying you are going to see a cinema, say Je vais voir un film.
Did you know?
- While film is the standard word, French critics often use the term septième art (the seventh art) to describe the medium of cinema.
- The word film is a linguistic guest in French, having been borrowed directly from English.
- French movie posters often list the distribution (cast) in a way that gives more prominence to the director than in English-language posters.
Examples in context
- Je vis le film.I saw the movie.This sentence is useful for saying you saw the film.Tatoeba #1776112 by sacredceltic, translation #1775179 by Spamster
- Ce film m'a plu.I liked that movie.This sentence is useful for expressing that you liked the film.Tatoeba #4174 by TRANG, translation #1887542 by CK
- Ce film craint !That movie stinks!This sentence is useful for expressing that the film stinks.Tatoeba #10473 by sacredceltic, translation #68577 by CK
- J'ai regardé un film intéressant hier soir.I watched an interesting movie last night.
- Le directeur organise une soirée cinéma pour présenter des films classiques.The director is organizing a movie night to showcase classic films.
- On va au cinéma ce soir ?Are we going to the movies tonight?
- 596 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are deciding what to watch at home.
- LéaTu veux regarder un film, Hugo ?Do you want to watch a movie, Hugo?
- HugoOui, quel film veux-tu voir ?Yes, which movie do you want to see?
- LéaJe propose ce nouveau film d'action.I suggest this new action movie.
- HugoD'accord, Léa, je suis partant.Okay, Léa, I'm up for it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “movie” translations and entries film, œuvre cinématographique, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cinématographique, film, œuvre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
