Explore Movie Vocabulary
Learn English with movies. Discover how much of a movie’s vocabulary you already know and review unfamiliar words before watching.
Zodiac
Unique vocabulary and phrases by level
How difficult is Zodiac in English?
Zodiac: 61.3% A1–A2 vocabulary; 18.6% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary. Vocabulary size: 1,902.
Unique vocabulary
- For A2 learners: 30.0% of unique vocabulary is above A2 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B1 learners: 18.6% of unique vocabulary is above B1 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
- For B2 learners: 12.7% of unique vocabulary is above B2 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
8.8% Unclassified. Unclassified vocabulary has no reliable level assignment.
Vocabulary weighted by word occurrences
92.9% A1–A2 vocabulary; 3.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary; 1.4% 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
- handwriting (B1): 35 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
and we should have been in on the handwriting.
- suspect (B1): 21 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
and show him suspect photos? - Why?
- code (C1): 17 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
He wants his code in the afternoon edition.
- cipher (rare): 15 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
So, almost every book on ciphers was stolen from the Presidio Library?
- symbol (B2): 14 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
The cipher's broken into three sections, each with eight lines and 17 symbols.
Compare with titles in similar genres
- Lions for Lambs: 18.4% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.3 percentage points less than Zodiac).
- The Judge: 19.0% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.4 percentage points more than Zodiac).
- Clockers: 19.0% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.4 percentage points more than Zodiac).
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: