cinema
ci·ne·ma/ˈsɪn.ə.mə/noun
cinema is spelled C-I-N-E-M-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables (ci·ne·ma). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cinema means “A movie theatre, a movie house” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cinema is cinemas.
How many letters and syllables are in cinema?
| Letters | 6: C-I-N-E-M-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ci·ne·ma |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cinema?
Cinema appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cinema?
- US /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/
- UK /ˈsɪn.ɪ.mə/
- UK /ˈsɪn.ɪ.mɑː/
Cinema has 3 syllables, split ci·ne·ma in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cinema.ogg, En-uk-cinema.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cinema?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as cinema (/ɪnəmə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: anemic, iceman.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cinema
- cinemas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cinema mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A movie theatre, a movie house.
The cinema is right across the street from the restaurant.
- 2
Films collectively.
Despite the critics, he produced excellent cinema.
- 3
The film and movie industry.
In the long history of Spanish cinema[…].
- 4
The art of making films and movies; cinematography.
Throughout the history of cinema, filmmakers[…].
- 5
A sophisticated or exemplary film, representative of the art of cinema.
- 6
Any media or event that is exemplary.
That game was absolute cinema.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cinema in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cinéma , septième art |
| German | Kino, Filmtheater, Lichtspielhaus , Filmindustrie |
| Portuguese | cinema , cinematografia , indústria cinematográfica |
| Spanish | cine, cinematógrafo, cinema |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cinema come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).