Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cinema

/ˈsɪn.ə.mə/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.17 in modern English

Syllables
ci-ne-ma
IPA
/ˈsɪn.ə.mə/
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A movie theatre, a movie house.

Countable

noun

Films collectively.

Uncountable

noun

The film and movie industry.

Uncountable

noun

The art of making films and movies; cinematography.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A sophisticated or exemplary film, representative of the art of cinema.

Uncountable

noun

A sophisticated or exemplary film, representative of the art of cinema.

Countable; Humorous; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *keyh₂-der. Ancient Greek κινέω (kinéō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek κίνημα (kínēma) Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek -γράφος (-gráphos)bor. Latin -graphuslbor. French -graphe French cinématographeclip. French cinémabor. English cinema Borrowed from French cinéma, clipping of cinématographe (term coined by the Lumière brothers in the 1890s), from Ancient Greek κίνημα (kínēma, “movement”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write, record”). Compare German Kino (“cinema”), ultimately from the same Greek source.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: κίνημα

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/
  • British English: /ˈsɪn.ɪ.mə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce cinema?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/.
What does cinema mean?
A movie theatre, a movie house.
Where does cinema come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce cinema

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cinema”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɪn.ə.mə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cinema”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cinema” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.