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 Business
Unique vocabulary and phrases by level
How difficult is The Business in English?
The Business: 67.4% A1–A2 vocabulary; 16.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary. Vocabulary size: 1,232.
Unique vocabulary
- For A2 learners: 23.6% of unique vocabulary is above A2 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B1 learners: 16.3% of unique vocabulary is above B1 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
- For B2 learners: 12.0% of unique vocabulary is above B2 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
9.0% Unclassified. Unclassified vocabulary has no reliable level assignment.
Vocabulary weighted by word occurrences
90.2% A1–A2 vocabulary; 3.2% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary; 4.8% 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
- mate (B1): 19 occurrences in available subtitles.
English meaning: A friend or companion; also a partner in some contexts.
Subtitle example:
Our operation grew so big, I was bringing my mates down to help.
- bollock (rare): 10 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Anyway, fuck all that bollocks. There's a party down at the club tonight.
- hell (C1): 9 occurrences in available subtitles.
English meaning: A place of suffering in some religious beliefs; also used informally to express anger or surprise.
Subtitle example:
Fucking hell. I'm sorry, mate, I've gotta do it
- get in (B2): 8 occurrences in available subtitles.
English meaning: To enter a place or vehicle; in some contexts, to arrive.
Subtitle example:
Ream, Charl. I've got this singer Carlos in our pocket.
- pal (B1): 7 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
Seeing as me and Ronnie are old pals and went to school together,
Compare with titles in similar genres
- The Departed: 16.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.1 percentage points more than The Business).
- Nightmare Alley: 16.1% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.1 percentage points less than The Business).
- U Turn: 16.6% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.3 percentage points more than The Business).
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: