diàn yǐng yuàn
cinema; movie theater
我去电影院看电影。
Wǒ qù diànyǐngyuàn kàn diànyǐng.
I go to the cinema to watch a movie.
电影院里有很多人。
Diànyǐngyuàn lǐ yǒu hěn duō rén.
There are many people in the cinema.
电影院的票很贵。
Diànyǐngyuàn de piào hěn guì.
The tickets for the cinema are very expensive.
戏院 (xìyuàn)
theater
影院 (yǐngyuàn)
cinema
电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn)
movie theater
露天电影 (lùtiān diànyǐng)
open-air cinema
家庭影院 (jiātíng yǐngyuàn)
home theater
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The Chinese word 电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn) for "cinema" is a compound of three characters: 电影 (diànyǐng), 影 (yǐng), and 院 (yuàn).电影 (diànyǐng) literally means "electric shadow" and refers to the moving images that are projected onto the screen in a cinema. The character 电 (diàn) means "electricity" and the character 影 (yǐng) means "shadow" or "image".院 (yuàn) means "hall" or "theater" and refers to the building in which the movies are shown.So, the word 电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn) literally means "electric shadow hall" or "movie theater".
