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How to Say "documentary" in Spanish

The Spanish word fordocumentaryis documentalA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2
nounA2
a movie or television program about real people and events
A large video camera on a tripod filming a giraffe in a sunny savanna.

Examples

Vi un documental muy interesante sobre la historia de México.

I saw a very interesting documentary about the history of Mexico.

Prefiero ver documentales que películas de ficción.

I prefer watching documentaries over fiction movies.

Using the word as a person thing

When you use this word to mean a movie, it is always masculine (el documental). To make it plural, just add -es (los documentales).

Documentary vs. Document

Mistake:Using 'un documental' when you mean 'a paper document'.

Correction: Use 'documental' for the film, but use 'documento' for the piece of paper.

Other Meanings ofdocumental

documentalcan also mean:

  • consisting of or based on documents(B2, formal)

See all meanings in the full dictionary entry →

Related Translations

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