fixer
13×from “fixer-upper”: something (or someone) that needs repairs
Animated musical · American English
Frozen: English level and how hard it is to understand
Simple words and a small vocabulary (about 1,200 different words). The songs are the hard part: quick, rhyming, and full of feeling words.
Updated
Short answer
Frozen is best for A2 to B1 learners. Across the whole film, a B1 learner knows about 96.3% of the words, and the characters speak at about 145 words per minute (average).
Frozen in numbers
- Recommended level
- A2 to B1
- Speaking speed
- 145 words / min
- Spoken words
- 7,495 in 102 min
- Known at B1
- 96.28%
- Known at B2
- 97.08%
- Different words
- 1,190
Difficulty rank: 3 of 16 in our movies by English level list (easy words, fast songs).
Beyond the numbers
What makes Frozen hard (or easy)?
- Anna speaks fast and changes topic mid-sentence when she is nervous.
- Many sounds and exclamations (whoa, ooh, ew, oops) appear in the subtitles but not in textbooks.
- Winter words like thaw, sled, and fjords are not common in daily English.
Frozen is mostly American English. Accent and speed matter as much as vocabulary: if you know the words but can’t catch them, turn on English subtitles and slow down.
Learn these first
Useful words from Frozen
B2–C2 words that came up more than once in the film. Counts are for the whole movie.
snowman
8×a figure made of snow
reindeer
5×a deer that lives in cold places; Sven is one
thaw
4×to melt, to become warm again
sled
3×a vehicle that slides over snow
sorcery
2×magic, often dark or dangerous
fjords
2×long narrow sea inlets between cliffs
sauna
2×a hot room for sweating and relaxing
Spoken forms you will hear constantly
whoa ×42okay ×39uh ×30hey ×20yeah ×17gonna ×10
gonna = going to · wanna = want to · gotta = got to / have to. Textbooks rarely teach them, but films use them all the time.
Vocabulary profile
How common are the words in Frozen?
Share of all spoken words in each frequency band (A1 = the 5,000 most common words).
A189.51%
A24.36%
B12.41%
B20.8%
C10.55%
C21.57%
Unlisted0.8%
Watching plan
How to learn English with Frozen
- Learn the words of one song at a time. Singing along is great pronunciation practice.
- After each song, pause and read the lines you missed in the subtitles.
- Use English subtitles: the songs are much easier when you can read them.
In TeakReader you can import the subtitles of any movie, see the words you don’t know yet, and study them as flashcards before you press play. How it works
How we measured it
We took the full English subtitle file for Frozen (2013, 102 minutes), removed sound descriptions, speaker labels, and character names, and matched each of the 7,495 spoken words to the same frequency list we use for classic book levels. Speaking speed is spoken words divided by the time the subtitles are on screen. Only statistics and single words are shown here.
The recommended level is our estimate from vocabulary, speed, and style, not an official CEFR rating. Subtitle files differ slightly between releases, so treat the numbers as close estimates.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Frozen good for learning English?
Frozen is very learner-friendly: about 1,200 different words, average speed (145 words per minute), and a B1 learner knows about 96% of what is said. Start from strong A2 with subtitles. We recommend it from A2 to B1.
How fast do they speak in Frozen?
About 145 words per minute of dialogue, which is average for a film. Everyday conversation is often around 150 words per minute.
How many words do I need to understand Frozen?
A learner who knows the most common 20,000 English word forms (our B1 band) knows about 96.3% of the words spoken. Research on listening suggests that knowing about 95% of the words is enough to follow most of what is said, so subtitles help until you reach that point.
How did you measure this?
We analysed the film’s full English subtitle file (7,495 spoken words), removed sound notes, speaker labels, and character names, and matched every word to the same frequency list we use for book levels and TV shows. The level is our estimate, not an official CEFR rating.
Can I study the vocabulary of Frozen before watching?
Yes. In TeakReader, search for the movie and import its subtitles. You get a list of the words you don’t know yet, with meanings and flashcards.
Ready to read
Learn the words from Frozen before you watch.
Import any movie’s subtitles in TeakReader and get its unknown words with meanings and flashcards. Free on iPhone, iPad, and Android.