The short version
- In everyday conversation in Spain, most people say peli rather than película.
- Three structures do most of the work: va de… (it's about), sale… (… is in it) and me gustó porque…
- Look up the Spanish titles of your favourite films in advance. They're often completely different from the English ones.
If you want to talk about films in Spanish, the first word to learn is peli. In a bar in Spain you'll rarely hear ¿Has visto alguna película buena? People say ¿Has visto alguna peli buena últimamente?
It's one of the most common questions in casual conversation, along with its twin, ¿Qué serie estás viendo? Films and series are easy to talk about, everyone has an opinion, and the conversation can go on for as long as you like.
The cinema was one of the themes I built my own flashcard decks around when I moved to Spain, because it comes up so often. You don't need many words. You need a few structures you can use over and over.
The words you'll need
Start with these. They're enough for most conversations about films and series.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la peli / la película | the film |
| la serie | the series |
| el cine | the cinema / film in general |
| la temporada | the season (of a series) |
| el capítulo / el episodio | the episode |
| el actor / la actriz | the actor / actress |
| el director / la directora | the director |
| el final | the ending |
| la trama | the plot |
| doblada | dubbed |
| en versión original | in the original language |
For genres, Spanish usually says una peli de…: una peli de miedo (a horror film), una peli de acción, una peli de ciencia ficción, una peli de dibujos (an animated film). Comedy and drama work as nouns: una comedia, un drama. A romantic film is una peli romántica.
Most films in Spanish cinemas are dubbed into Spanish. If you want the original language with Spanish subtitles, look for VOSE on the listings (versión original subtitulada en español), or just VO. Many cities have at least one cinema that shows films this way.
Saying what a film is about
This is where most learners get stuck. They try to translate "it's about" and end up with something clumsy. In Spain, the everyday way is va de.
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ¿De qué va? | What's it about? | ¿De qué va la peli? |
| Va de ___ | It's about ___ | Va de un hombre que pierde la memoria. |
| Sale ___ | ___ is in it | Sale Penélope Cruz. |
| Es una peli de ___ | It's a ___ film | Es una peli de miedo. |
| Está basada en ___ | It's based on ___ | Está basada en un libro. |
| Pasa en ___ | It's set in ___ | Pasa en Madrid en los años 80. |
Sale is a small word that saves a lot of effort. Instead of working out how to say "starring" or "the main actor is", you just say sale and the name. Sale Javier Bardem, y está muy bien.
Keep the plot short. You don't need to explain the whole film, and nobody wants you to. One sentence with va de and one with sale is plenty.
- Es una peli de miedo.It's a horror film.
- Es una peli de miedo que pasa en un pueblo de Galicia.It's a horror film set in a village in Galicia.
- Es una peli de miedo que pasa en un pueblo de Galicia. Va de una familia que se muda a una casa antigua.It's a horror film set in a village in Galicia. It's about a family who move into an old house.
Giving your opinion
Once you've said what it is, people want to know if it was any good. Use the past for a film you've finished: me gustó, me encantó, no me gustó nada. There's more on these verbs in me gusta vs me encanta.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me encantó. | I loved it. |
| Está muy bien. | It's really good. |
| Es un peliculón. | It's a brilliant film. (informal) |
| No está mal. | It's not bad. |
| Es un rollo. | It's boring. (informal) |
| Me enganchó. | I got hooked. |
| El final no me convenció. | I wasn't convinced by the ending. |
| Me dio mucho miedo. | It really scared me. |
| Me hizo reír mucho. | It made me laugh a lot. |
Add a reason with porque and you've got a proper answer. Me encantó porque los actores son buenísimos. No me gustó mucho porque es demasiado larga.
La peli es aburrida means the film is boring. Estoy aburrido or aburrida means you're bored. If you say soy aburrido, you're telling people you're a boring person. When a film bored you, the easiest option is Me aburrió.
Asking and recommending
Asking questions is what turns this into a conversation instead of a review. These questions work for films and series alike.
- ¿Has visto algo bueno últimamente? Have you seen anything good lately?
- ¿Qué serie estás viendo ahora? What series are you watching at the moment?
- ¿Qué tipo de pelis te gustan? What kind of films do you like?
- ¿La has visto? Have you seen it?
- ¿Dónde la puedo ver? Where can I watch it?
To recommend something, say Te la recomiendo (I recommend it). The la works for films and series, because la peli and la serie are both feminine. For something stronger: Tienes que verla. (You have to see it.)
Spanish speakers do use the English word spoiler. ¡Sin spoilers, por favor! is exactly what you'd hear.
A trick: learn the Spanish titles
This is one of the most useful things you can do before a conversation about films, and almost nobody does it.
Films are often released in Spain with completely different titles. Some are translated directly, but many aren't. The Sound of Music is Sonrisas y lágrimas (Smiles and Tears). Die Hard is La jungla de cristal. Airplane! is Aterriza como puedas.
If you say the English title, people might not know what you mean, and you'll lose the thread trying to describe it.
Write down your five favourite films. Search for each one with "título en España" and note the Spanish title. Then, for each one, say out loud: the Spanish title, one sentence with va de, and one with me gusta porque. That's five ready-made answers to ¿Cuál es tu peli favorita?
Films also come up when people talk about their plans. Fui al cine is a standard answer to ¿Qué hiciste el finde?, so this pairs well with talking about your weekend. And if you want to describe the characters, describing people in Spanish has the words.
Practise it this week
Learn the words
Put the starter words and genres on flashcards. Say each one out loud.
Prepare your favourites
Do the top five exercise above. Keep each description to two or three sentences.
Talk about the last thing you watched
Every time you finish a film or episode this week, describe it out loud in Spanish: what it is, what it's about, and what you thought.
Practise the questions
Run both sides of the dialogue. Asking ¿Y tú qué estás viendo? keeps the conversation going and gives you time to listen.
Share it
Record a one-minute recommendation and post it in the 100 Spanish Conversations community on Skool. Other learners will reply and you'll probably get a few recommendations back.
Recap
- Say peli, not película, in everyday conversation.
- Use va de for the plot and sale for the actors.
- Give an opinion with me gustó or me encantó and add porque.
- Ask questions back so it's a conversation, not a review.
- Learn the Spanish titles of your favourite films before you need them.
The cinema is one of the themes in 100 Spanish Conversations, along with 99 others, each built step by step from the words to a full conversation you can practise out loud.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com