Explore Movie Vocabulary
Learn English with movies. Discover how much of a movie’s vocabulary you already know and review unfamiliar words before watching.
Contact
Unique vocabulary and phrases by level
How difficult is Contact in English?
Contact: 50.5% A1–A2 vocabulary; 20.9% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary. Vocabulary size: 2,010.
Unique vocabulary
- For A2 learners: 36.6% of unique vocabulary is above A2 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B1 learners: 20.9% of unique vocabulary is above B1 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B2 learners: 14.0% of unique vocabulary is above B2 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
12.9% Unclassified. Unclassified vocabulary has no reliable level assignment.
Vocabulary weighted by word occurrences
87.1% A1–A2 vocabulary; 4.8% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary; 3.1% 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
- system (B1): 25 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
She's doing all the dishes. - All systems nominal.
- confirm (B1): 22 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Confirm!
- copy (B1): 16 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Copy that, K-4 WLD. How's the weather down there in Florida?
- security (B2): 13 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Excuse me, who are you? - Michael Kitz, National Security Advisor.
- source (B1): 11 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Sources close to the VLA report that the planet has been contacted
Compare with titles in similar genres
- The Manchurian Candidate: 20.8% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.1 percentage points less than Contact).
- Arrival: 17.5% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (3.4 percentage points less than Contact).
- Europa Report: 17.4% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (3.5 percentage points less than Contact).
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: