¡Hola! In this lesson, we will learn the names of the most popular movie genres in Spanish. We will introduce the vocabulary through pictures and interesting examples about films. You can also practice with interactive exercises about films and two listening comprehension activities on the topic. Let’s start…
Vocabulary introduction: A list of movie genres in Spanish
The technical term to refer to movie genres in Spanish is: “Género Cinematográfico”. It refers to the general theme of the film. In casual conversations, you will hear “tipos de películas” (types of movies) instead of “género cinematográfico”. We could explore all types of movies in complex categories, but we will focus on the main types of films instead. Take a look at the picture and think of the equivalent words for these movie genres in your language.
Interactive exercise No. 1
Look at these flashcards and write the correct names of each movie genre in Spanish below them, based on this list.
crimen / comedia / historia / acción / ciencia ficción / deportes / fantasía / del oeste / drama o tragedia / superhéroes / suspenso / documental / romance / musical / animación
Sentences about types of movies in Spanish
Please take some time to explore how the different types of movies in Spanish could be used in real sentences. Some of these examples will use essential verbs like “gustar” (to like), “encantar” (to love), or “adorar” (to adore) for expressions like as “Me gusta…” (I like), “No me gusta…”, “Mi película favorita es…” (My favorite movie is…) and important questions about activities in progress such as “¿Qué estás viendo?” (What are you watching?) and “¿Qué estás haciendo?”. Pay attention to the examples about film genres in Spanish in the following illustration:
Listen to the examples and check the translation to learn more.
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DRAMA – ¿Te gustan las películas de drama? – Sí, claro. Me gustan.
DRAMA – Do you like drama movies? – Yes, of course. I like them.
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COMEDIA – Me gustan las películas de comedia / Me gustan las comedias.
COMEDY – I like comedy movies / I like comedies.
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ACCIÓN – Esta película es muy buena. Es una película de acción muy famosa.
ACTION – This movie is very good. It’s a very famous action movie.
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CIENCIA FICCIÓN – ¿Qué estás viendo? – Estoy viendo una película de ciencia ficción.
SCIENCE FICTION – What are you watching? – I’m watching a science fiction movie.
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FANTASÍA – ¿Cuál es tu tipo de película favorita? – Las de fantasía, especialmente las de dragones.
FANTASY – What is your favorite type of movie? – Fantasy movies, especially those about dragons.
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TERROR – ¿Qué miras? – Una película de terror sobre fantasmas.
TERROR – What are you watching? – A horror movie about ghosts.
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ROMANCE – ¿Te gustan las películas de romance? – No, no me gustan porque son muy cursi.
ROMANCE – Do you like romance movies? – No, I do not like them because they’re so cheesy.
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MUSICAL – ¿Estás viendo una película musical? – Si, es una película musical muy entretenida.
MUSICAL – Are you watching a musical? – Yeah, it’s a very entertaining musical.
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ANIMACIÓN – A los niños les gustan mucho las películas de animación y dibujos animados.
ANIMATION – Children really like animated films and cartoons.
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SUSPENSO – Las películas de suspenso están llenas de intriga.
THRILLER – Thrillers are full of intrigue.
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As shown in the examples, to talk about movie genres in Spanish, you will need phrases like: “Película de…” + a movie type, for example: “Una película de drama” or “Una película de acción”. Sometimes there is no need to say the specific genre of the film, as it could be a mix of everything. Instead, we can talk about the content and say things like “Una película de zombis”, “Una película de espías” or “Una película de magia”.
Interactive exercise No. 2
Drag and drop the correct answers for each of these questions about movies in Spanish to the correct spaces, and then check your answers.
Listening Activity No. 1: Recognizing movie genres in Spanish
Listening Activity No. 2: Talking about movies in Spanish
Key expressions in the conversation:
- “Bastante buena“ means “Quite good”
- “Quédate y miremos…“ means “Stay and let’s watch…”
- “Te apuesto que… “ means “I bet that…”
We got to the end of this practical lesson. We hope the resources on the lesson were very useful to you. Keep practicing listening with us and talk to your friends about your favorite movies in Spanish. ¡Hasta la próxima!