Today's words · 📺 Film & TV genres
What shall we watch? 10 German words for film genres
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In Germany, at quarter past eight on a Sunday evening, half the country switches on the same crime show.
It's Friday night and you're watching a film with German friends. „Lieber Krimi oder Komödie?“ Everyone has an opinion, and you just shout „Egal!“ — even though you'd actually watch anything except horror.
Today's ten words are for talking about film and TV genres. With them you can say what you like and give a quick verdict afterwards. Handy when you start learning with German series, too! 📺
📋 The ten words at a glance
- der Krimi — crime novel, crime film, thriller
- die Komödie — comedy
- das Drama — drama; fuss
- der Horror — horror; nightmare (colloquial)
- der Dokumentarfilm — documentary (film)
- der Spielfilm — feature film
- der Tatort — crime scene; (TV) Tatort (crime series)
- lustig — funny, amusing
- gruselig — creepy, spooky
- das Genre — genre
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Krimi
[KREE-mee]crime novel, crime film, thriller(Pl. die Krimis)
📌 Am Sonntag sehen wir immer einen Krimi.
→ On Sundays we always watch a crime show.
💡 A cute short form of Kriminalroman 🔍 Sounds a bit like crime, right?
Bonus Ich liebe Krimis! = I love crime dramas!
die Komödie
[ko-MUR-dee-uh]comedy(Pl. die Komödien)
📌 Am Wochenende sehen wir uns eine französische Komödie an.
→ At the weekend we're going to watch a French comedy.
💡 Same Greek root as comedy 😂 Ends in -ie, so it's die.
⚠ Plural: die Komödien.
das Drama
[DRAH-ma]drama; fuss(Pl. die Dramen)
📌 Mach doch kein Drama daraus!
→ Don't make such a drama out of it!
💡 Just like English drama 🎭 A free word!
Bonus Mach kein Drama daraus! = Don't make a fuss about it!
⚠ Plural: die Dramen.
der Horror
[HOR-or]horror; nightmare (colloquial)(no pl.)
📌 Die Fahrt im Stau war der totale Horror.
→ Driving in the traffic jam was a total nightmare.
💡 From Latin horror, a shudder 👻 You shiver just saying it!
Bonus Colloquially it means a nightmare: Das war der totale Horror!
der Dokumentarfilm
[doh-koo-men-TAR-film]documentary (film)(Pl. die Dokumentarfilme)
📌 Der Dokumentarfilm zeigt den Alltag von Pflegekräften.
→ The documentary shows the everyday life of care workers.
💡 dokumentarisch + Film 🎥 Built just like documentary film.
Bonus People usually just say die Doku.
der Spielfilm
[SHPEEL-film]feature film(Pl. die Spielfilme)
📌 Der Spielfilm erzählt die Geschichte einer Flucht.
→ The feature film tells the story of an escape.
💡 spielen (to act) + Film 🎬 A film where actors play roles = a feature film.
der Tatort
[TAHT-ort]crime scene; (TV) Tatort (crime series)(Pl. die Tatorte)
📌 Die Polizei sperrte den Tatort ab.
→ The police cordoned off the crime scene.
💡 die Tat (deed, crime) + der Ort (place) = crime scene 🕵️ Also Germany's most famous TV series!
Bonus Heute Abend kommt ein neuer Tatort. = There's a new Tatort on tonight.
lustig
[LOOS-tish]funny, amusing(lustig – lustiger – am lustigsten)
📌 Der Film war sehr lustig.
→ The film was really funny.
💡 die Lust (fun, pleasure) + -ig = funny 😆 A film full of fun!
⚠ False friend: it has nothing to do with lusty. lustig just means funny.
gruselig
[GROO-zuh-lish]creepy, spooky📌 Der alte Keller ist mir zu gruselig.
→ The old cellar is too creepy for me.
💡 From sich gruseln, to shudder 🕸️ GROO-zuh-lish — a chill down your spine!
Bonus Mir ist das zu gruselig. = That's too creepy for me.
das Genre
[ZHAHN-ruh]genre(Pl. die Genres)
📌 Der Regisseur wechselt mühelos zwischen verschiedenen Genres.
→ The director switches effortlessly between different genres.
💡 Straight from French, pronounced the French way 🇫🇷
Bonus Was ist dein Lieblingsgenre? = What's your favourite genre?
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Tatort is Germany's best-known crime series and has been running since 1970. It's usually on Sunday evenings at 8:15 pm, with a different team of detectives in each city. Lots of people watch it together with friends, or even in pubs.
Foreign films in German cinemas and on TV are mostly dubbed into German. If you want the original, look for OV (original version) or OmU (original with German subtitles) on the cinema listings. 🎬
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You've just seen a really funny film. What do you tell your friend?
- ① Der Keller ist mir zu gruselig.
- ② Die Polizei sperrte den Tatort ab.
- ③ Der Film war sehr lustig.
Show the answer
③ Der Film war sehr lustig.
lustig means funny, so this says ‘The film was really funny’.
Think of your three favourite films and say their genres in German. Krimi? Komödie? Or Horror? 🍿
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🎥 Filming & actors