Explore Movie Vocabulary
Learn English with movies. Discover how much of a movie’s vocabulary you already know and review unfamiliar words before watching.
The African Queen
Unique vocabulary and phrases by level
How difficult is The African Queen in English?
The African Queen: 67.0% A1–A2 vocabulary; 15.5% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary. Vocabulary size: 1,085.
Unique vocabulary
- For A2 learners: 25.8% of unique vocabulary is above A2 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B1 learners: 15.5% of unique vocabulary is above B1 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
- For B2 learners: 10.6% of unique vocabulary is above B2 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
7.3% Unclassified. Unclassified vocabulary has no reliable level assignment.
Vocabulary weighted by word occurrences
92.5% A1–A2 vocabulary; 3.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary; 1.7% Unclassified.
This counts repeated eligible words. Phrases are excluded from this calculation to avoid counting their component words twice.
Recurring words and phrases to preview
- torpedo (rare): 15 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
There ain't nothing to torpedo. - Yes, there is.
- queen (B1): 11 occurrences in available subtitles.
English meaning: A female monarch, or the wife of a king.
Subtitle example:
can get up a good head of steam on the old African Queen.
- rapid (B2): 11 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
And then after that, miss, there's the rapids.
- suppose (B1): 10 occurrences in available subtitles.
English meaning: To think something is probably true, or to imagine a possible situation.
Subtitle example:
what do you suppose makes a man's stomach carry on like this?
- steam (B2): 7 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
can get up a good head of steam on the old African Queen.
Compare with titles in similar genres
- American Honey: 15.6% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.1 percentage points more than The African Queen).
- Slow West: 15.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.2 percentage points less than The African Queen).
- The Blue Lagoon: 14.7% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.8 percentage points less than The African Queen).
These percentages describe vocabulary, not the proportion of dialogue you will understand. CEFR labels are estimates, not official film ratings. Accent, speed, songs, context, and your own vocabulary also affect comprehension. Repeated occurrences may include repeated dialogue or lyrics.
How we estimate vocabulary difficulty · Evidence generated: