n.
cinema; movie theater
电影院
cinema; movie theater
Literally 'electric shadow hall' (电影 movie + 院 courtyard/hall). Cinema or movie theater; say 去电影院 (go to the cinema).
Common Usage & Traps
- 去电影院 — go to the movie theater
- 在电影院 — at the movie theater
- 电影院在哪儿 — Where is the movie theater?
- 一家电影院 — one movie theater (家 is the usual counter for venues)
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去电影去电影院 / 看电影电影 is the film, not a building. You go to the 电影院 and you watch the 电影.
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我是电影院我在电影院English 'I'm at the cinema' tempts learners into 是. Being somewhere takes 在, not 是.
What does the 院 in 电影院 actually add, and why does 我去电影 sound off?
电影 is the film; 电影院 is the building. 院 is the piece that makes it a place.
院 by itself means courtyard, and it is the part that turns a thing into a place. That is why 医院 is a hospital and 电影院 is a cinema, not the film itself. So 我去电影院 means you are heading to the building, while 我去电影 sounds like you are heading to a film. Same logic on the watching side: 看电影 works, 看电影院 does not.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Going out | 去电影院 | 去电影 |
| Watching something | 看电影 | 看电影院 |
| Meaning | 电影院 = the place | 电影 = the movie |
If I'm heading out to watch a movie, do I say 我去电影院 or 我去看电影?
我去看电影 is the everyday 'I'm off to the movies'; 去电影院 just names the building.
去 wants a place after it, and 看 wants a thing after it. 电影院 is a place, so 去电影院 is clean. 电影 is a thing, so 看电影 is clean. In real life people often say both: 我去电影院看电影. If a friend asks where you're going, 我去电影院 is a fine answer. If they ask what you're up to tonight, 我去看电影 is the natural one.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Naming the destination | 我去电影院 | 我去电影 |
| Naming the activity | 我去看电影 | 我去看电影院 |
| Both, most common | 我去电影院看电影 | 我去看电影院 |
Do I use 是 or 有 when talking about the cinema near my place?
Point at the building and it's 这是电影院; say it exists and it's 这儿有电影院.
是 names something: 这是电影院 means 'this is the cinema'. 有 talks about something existing: 这儿有电影院 means 'there is a cinema here'. Standing in front of the place and pointing? Use 这是. Telling a friend what is around your neighborhood? Use 有. Do not stack them, because 这是有电影院 is broken.
“这是电影院！” (This is a movie theater!)
“这是电影院！” (This is a movie theater!)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Pointing at the building | 这是电影院 | 这是有电影院 |
| Saying what's around | 这儿有电影院 | 这儿是电影院 |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
Ever wondered where old Beijing's tea-drinking culture has gone? Follow a visitor discovering why locals now avoid famous tea houses—and practice expressing surprise and comparisons in Chinese along the way.
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这是 电影院 ！
Follow a day from waking at six-thirty to coming home at eight, then leap across days, months, and years. This simple story helps you practice speaking about routines and life changes with clear time words.
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今天去了 电影院 。
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