How to Say "documentary" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “documentary” is “documental” — A2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishA2
nounA2
a movie or television program about real people and events

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 of “documental”
“documental” can also mean:
- consisting of or based on documents(B2, formal)
Related Translations
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