le cinéma
In French, "the movies" is translated as le cinéma.
The phrase le cinéma is versatile. It is used to refer to the physical movie theater, the activity of watching films and the art form of filmmaking itself. While English speakers often distinguish between the activity and the venue, French speakers use le cinéma to cover all these meanings.
Which one should you use?
While le cinéma covers the activity, the venue and the industry, you can also use the specific phrase aller au cinéma to express the activity of "to go to the movies".
Is it said differently in some regions?
The informal expression le cinoche is more common in France than in other francophone regions.
Did you know?
- The French concept of le septième art (the seventh art) is a common way to refer to le cinéma in academic or prestigious contexts.
- French speakers often use the phrase faire du cinéma to describe someone who is being overly dramatic or fake, similar to the English 'acting'.
- In France, the government provides significant subsidies to le cinéma to protect it from the dominance of Hollywood films.
Examples in context
- J'aime beaucoup le cinéma français.I really like French cinema.
- J'aime beaucoup le cinéma.I really like the movies.
- Le cinéma est une forme d'art.The movies are an art form.
