Learn Hardcore German: Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant.

Film is a masculine noun in German.
Therefore, in the nominative singular (as the subject of the sentence), it takes the article der → der Film.

You simply have to learn the gender of each noun together with the noun:

der Film (masculine)
die Zeitung (feminine)
das Buch (neuter)

Why is Film capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.

Film is a noun → it must be written as Film, not film.
Adjectives like kurz and interessant are written with a lowercase initial letter, unless they start a sentence or are part of a proper name.

Why is there a comma before aber?

German normally uses a comma to separate main clauses or parts that could be expanded into their own clauses.

In Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant. we have:

First part: Der Film ist kurz
Second part: (Der Film ist) interessant – the verb and subject are not repeated, but they are understood.

German uses the comma to mark the contrast introduced by aber (“but”). In very simple sentences like this, you will always put a comma before aber when it connects two clauses or clause-like parts.

What exactly does aber mean here, and how is it used?

Here aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. It connects two statements that contrast with each other:

Der Film ist kurz → one fact
(Der Film ist) interessant → contrasting fact

You normally use aber like English but:

Er ist müde, aber glücklich. – He is tired but happy.

Word order:

aber comes after the comma and is followed by the part it introduces.
Unlike some other conjunctions, aber does not change the word order of the clause that follows it.

Why do we only use ist once, even though there are two adjectives?

German works like English in this case:

English: The film is short but interesting. (only one is)
German: Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant. (only one ist)

The verb ist (“is”) belongs to Der Film and logically applies to both adjectives:

Der Film ist kurz
Der Film ist interessant

When you connect them with aber, you don’t need to repeat ist. Repeating it (Der Film ist kurz, aber ist interessant) sounds unnatural and is normally avoided.

Why are kurz and interessant not written as kurze or interessante?

German adjectives behave differently depending on where they appear:

Predicative position (after a form of sein = “to be”):
- No ending: Der Film ist kurz.
- No ending: Der Film ist interessant.
Attributive position (directly before the noun):
- They do take endings that depend on gender, case, and article:
  - ein kurzer Film – a short film
  - ein interessanter Film – an interesting film

In your sentence, kurz and interessant come after ist, so they are predicative adjectives and remain in their basic form without endings.

Can I also say Der Film ist interessant, aber kurz? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Der Film ist interessant, aber kurz.

The basic meaning is the same: the film is both short and interesting, with a contrast between the two qualities.

However, the emphasis can slightly shift:

Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant. → The shortness feels like the “main” point, and being interesting is somewhat surprising or compensating.
Der Film ist interessant, aber kurz. → The interesting nature feels more central, and the shortness is mentioned as a limitation.

In everyday conversation, both are fully correct and natural.

What is the difference between kurz and klein?

Both can be translated as small in some contexts, but they are used differently:

kurz = short (refers to length or duration)
- Der Film ist kurz. – The film is short (not very long in time).
- Ein kurzer Weg. – A short way/distance.
klein = small (refers to size, not length/time)
- ein kleiner Hund – a small dog
- ein kleines Haus – a small house

You would not usually say Der Film ist klein for duration; you use kurz for time length.

How would the sentence change in the plural, for films instead of film?

For the plural films, the sentence becomes:

Die Filme sind kurz, aber interessant. – The films are short but interesting.

Changes:

Der → Die because Filme is plural.
Film → Filme (plural form).
ist → sind (third person plural of sein).
kurz and interessant stay the same (predicative adjectives don’t change with number).

Can I also say Der kurze, aber interessante Film? How is that different?

Yes, that is correct German, but the structure and function are different.

Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant.
- Full sentence with verb ist.
- kurz and interessant are predicative adjectives (after ist, no endings).
Der kurze, aber interessante Film
- This is a noun phrase, not a full sentence (no verb).
- kurze and interessante are attributive adjectives in front of the noun Film.
- They take endings (-e) because the noun is masculine, singular, nominative with the definite article der.

Example in a full sentence:

Der kurze, aber interessante Film läuft heute Abend. – The short but interesting film is showing this evening.

How do I pronounce kurz and interessant correctly?

Key points:

kurz
- k as in English k.
- u like oo in good (short, not like food).
- rz: final z is pronounced like ts in German. So the ending is roughly rts.
- Approximate pronunciation: [kurts].
interessant
- Stress is usually on the last syllable: in-te-re-ssant.
- in like English in.
- te like te in ten, but shorter.
- re like re in red, but shorter.
- ss is a voiceless s (like s in see, not z in zoo).
- ant like French-inspired “ahn(t)”, but many learners pronounce it as clear ant and are still understood.

Does aber always mean but, or does it have other uses?

In your sentence, aber is a conjunction meaning but.

However, aber is also used in spoken German as a modal particle or intensifier, often without a direct English equivalent. For example:

Das ist aber schön! – That’s really nice! / My, that’s nice!
Du bist aber groß geworden! – Wow, you’ve grown tall!

In such cases, aber doesn’t mean but; it adds emotion, surprise, or emphasis.

In Der Film ist kurz, aber interessant. though, it is the straightforward but.