Explore Movie Vocabulary
Learn English with movies. Discover how much of a movie’s vocabulary you already know and review unfamiliar words before watching.
Nightmare Alley
Unique vocabulary and phrases by level
How difficult is Nightmare Alley in English?
Nightmare Alley: 63.1% A1–A2 vocabulary; 16.1% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary. Vocabulary size: 1,530.
Unique vocabulary
- For A2 learners: 27.7% of unique vocabulary is above A2 or marked rare. Expect substantial preparation; start with short scenes and English subtitles.
- For B1 learners: 16.1% of unique vocabulary is above B1 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
- For B2 learners: 10.9% of unique vocabulary is above B2 or marked rare. Preview recurring words and use English subtitles.
9.1% Unclassified. Unclassified vocabulary has no reliable level assignment.
Vocabulary weighted by word occurrences
92.1% A1–A2 vocabulary; 3.0% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary; 2.6% 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
- folk (B2): 11 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
All right, folks. Last stop. End of the line.
- spook (rare): 7 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
You're gonna go see that poor old man you spooked.
- patient (B1): 6 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
He a patient of yours?
- carnival (C1): 5 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
to the greatest carnival in the world.
- handle (B2): 5 occurrences in available subtitles.
Subtitle example:
You think you could handle it?
Compare with titles in similar genres
- The Business: 16.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.1 percentage points more than Nightmare Alley).
- The Departed: 16.3% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.2 percentage points more than Nightmare Alley).
- A Perfect World: 15.9% B2, C1, and rare vocabulary (0.2 percentage points less than Nightmare Alley).
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: