{"id":138178,"date":"2023-07-27T13:05:12","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T17:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/money-in-spanish-slang\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T09:46:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T14:46:38","slug":"money-in-spanish-slang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/money-in-spanish-slang\/","title":{"rendered":"42 Spanish Slang Words for Money from Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that <strong>flies<\/strong>, <strong>turkeys<\/strong>, <strong>shrimps<\/strong> and <strong>mangoes<\/strong> are common currencies in some Spanish-speaking countries?<\/p>\n<p>No, I haven&#8217;t gone mad\u2014I&#8217;m just using Spanish money slang.<\/p>\n<p>If you look up the word &#8220;money&#8221; in a dictionary, you&#8217;ll probably just get the term <em>dinero<\/em>, though you might even see <em>plata<\/em> and <em>billete<\/em>. But with a diverse 21 countries having Spanish as their official language, there&#8217;s a huge wealth of slang for this term.<\/p>\n<p>Before we get into all the slang, feel free to check out our story-based lesson on money from our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@FluentUSpanish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube channel<\/a>, in case you need a refresher:<\/p>\n<p><lite-youtube videoid=\"I2-QC0buJ40\"><\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<h2>1. <strong><em>Pela<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Spain<\/p>\n<p>Possibly of Catalonian origin, the word\u00a0<em>pela<\/em> comes from the verb <em>pelar <\/em>(to peel). This term is one of the most common ways to refer to money in general in Spain.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s normally used in the plural (<em>pelas<\/em>).<\/p>\n<div class=\"group w-full text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100 border-b border-black\/10 dark:border-gray-900\/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]\">\n<div class=\"flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto\">\n<div class=\"relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3\">\n<div class=\"min-h-[20px] flex items-start overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No ha venido porque no tiene pelas<\/em>. (He hasn&#8217;t come because he doesn&#8217;t have any money.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>2. <em>Plata<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>All Latin America<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>plata\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;silver&#8221;) is one of the most widespread ways to refer to money, second only to the word\u00a0<em>dinero\u00a0<\/em>itself.<\/p>\n<p>Even people who don&#8217;t use this word on a daily basis know its meaning. So, if in doubt, feel free to use it whenever you are in Latin America.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tenemos plata, g\u00fcey<\/em>.(We don&#8217;t have any money, man.)<\/p>\n<h2>3. <em>Mosca<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p><em>Mosca\u00a0<\/em>(fly) is another popular slang word Spanish-speaking people like to use to refer to money.<\/p>\n<p>In Spanish, you can say\u00a0<em>el dinero vuela\u00a0<\/em>(lit. money flies), and from that to calling it a <em>mosca\u00a0<\/em>was just a matter of time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"group w-full text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100 border-b border-black\/10 dark:border-gray-900\/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]\">\n<div class=\"flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto\">\n<div class=\"relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3\">\n<div class=\"min-h-[20px] flex items-start overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>\u00a1Afloja la mosca!<\/em> (Shell out!)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>4. <em>Luca<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Mainly Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela<\/p>\n<p>This is a very interesting word because, despite referring to money in several countries, you could say it has a different meaning in each of them.<\/p>\n<p>For the purposes of this post, let&#8217;s say that if you&#8217;re in any of the countries mentioned above, a\u00a0<em>luca\u00a0<\/em>is 1,000 local monetary units (except for Peru, where it means one monetary unit).<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s even common to hear the expression\u00a0<em>luca verde\u00a0<\/em>(green\u00a0<em>luca<\/em>) to refer to 1,000 US dollars.<\/p>\n<div class=\"group w-full text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100 border-b border-black\/10 dark:border-gray-900\/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]\">\n<div class=\"flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto\">\n<div class=\"relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3\">\n<div class=\"min-h-[20px] flex items-start overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Pr\u00e9stame cinco lucas verdes, mano<\/em>. (Lend me five grand, bro.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>5. <em>Chatarra<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Spain<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll see Spain quite a lot in this post, but that&#8217;s only because the words they use over there are very unique and almost exclusive to the country.<\/p>\n<p><em>Chatarra\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;scrap metal,&#8221; so it&#8217;s easy to understand why Spaniards call their coins that.<\/p>\n<div class=\"group w-full text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100 border-b border-black\/10 dark:border-gray-900\/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]\">\n<div class=\"flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto\">\n<div class=\"relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3\">\n<div class=\"min-h-[20px] flex items-start overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No me des tanta chatarra, Ana<\/em>. (Don&#8217;t give me so many coins, Ana.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>6.\u00a0<em>Billete<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>All Latin America<\/p>\n<p>A <em>billete\u00a0<\/em>is a banknote (among other things), and it&#8217;s also a super common way to refer to money in general in Latin America.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Pr\u00e9stame billete, loco.<\/em> (Lend me some money, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>7. <em>Pavo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Spain<\/p>\n<p>Once again, we have Spain by itself, but I couldn&#8217;t resist adding this word to the list.<\/p>\n<p><em>Pavo\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;turkey,&#8221; and it&#8217;s a term Spaniards use to refer to the US dollar.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Pag\u00f3 500 pavos por ese reloj<\/em>. (He paid $500 for that watch.)<\/p>\n<h2>8. <em>Lana<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Mainly Mexico, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/panamanian-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Panama<\/a> and Peru<\/p>\n<p><em>Lana\u00a0<\/em>(wool) is a word you might have heard while watching a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-tv-live-stream\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mexican\u00a0<em>telenovela<\/em><\/a>, since it&#8217;s one of the terms they use to refer to money.<\/p>\n<p>This is thought to have originated in the era when the wool industry was booming in America. If you had a lot of wool, you were basically a rich person.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No me queda mucha lana.<\/em>\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have a lot of money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>9. <em>Guitarra<\/em>\/<em>Guita<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p>You probably recognize the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-cognates-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish cognate<\/a> <em>guitarra\u00a0<\/em>(guitar), but did you know that&#8217;s what they call money in Bolivia?<\/p>\n<p>The short form <em>guita<\/em> is mainly used in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Uruguay.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tengo guita, boludo<\/em>.\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have any money, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>10. <em>Kilo<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Quilo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Cuba and Spain<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<em>kilo\u00a0<\/em>is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidtables.com\/convert\/weight\/how-many-pounds-in-kg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a kilogram<\/a>, and it has two different meanings when it comes to money.<\/p>\n<p>In Spain, it means <strong>one million pesetas<\/strong> (approx. 6,780 US dollars), but in Cuba it means <strong>one penny<\/strong>. That&#8217;s quite a difference!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>La fiesta no me cost\u00f3 ni un quilo<\/em>.\u00a0(I didn&#8217;t spend a penny at the party.)<\/p>\n<h2>11. <em>Moni<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Monis<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Mon\u00eds<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Cuba<\/p>\n<p>An obvious borrowing of the word &#8220;money,&#8221; <em>moni\u00a0<\/em>and its forms are mainly used in Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>However, it&#8217;s increasingly difficult to find a Spanish-speaking person who doesn&#8217;t know the meaning of the term.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Yo no tengo moni, compay<\/em>.\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have any money, buddy.)<\/p>\n<h2>12. <em>Cuartos<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used: <\/strong>Mainly the Dominican Republic and Spain<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>cuarto\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;fourth,&#8221; &#8220;quarter&#8221; and &#8220;room.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It can also be used (normally in the plural form) to refer to money in the Dominican Republic and Spain, mainly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Se puli\u00f3 los cuartos en un auto.<\/em>\u00a0(He wasted his money on a car.)<\/p>\n<h2>13. <em>Parn\u00e9<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Spain<\/p>\n<p>This is a word that tends to appear quite often in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-flamenco\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flamenco and\u00a0<em>sevillanas<\/em><\/a>. So if you&#8217;re interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/worldmusiccentral.org\/world-music-resources\/musician-biographies\/spanish-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Spanish folklore music<\/a>, this one is handy to know.<\/p>\n<p><em>Parn\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>comes from the Cal\u00f3 language (the language spoken by the Romani in Portugal and Spain), but it&#8217;s an accepted word in Spanish.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Mi hermano no tiene parn\u00e9<\/em>.\u00a0(My brother doesn&#8217;t have any money.)<\/p>\n<h2>14. <em>Chirola<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina<\/p>\n<p><em>Chirola\u00a0<\/em>is an example from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/humanities\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/lunfardo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lunfardo<\/a> jargon of Argentina, and it refers to low-value coins. It&#8217;s often used to describe small quantities of cash, and it&#8217;s commonly used in the plural.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>\u00bfMe prest\u00e1s unas chirolas, bolu?<\/em>(Can you lend me a few coins, bro?)<\/p>\n<h2>15. <em>Quivo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Bolivia<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve tried my hardest to research why Bolivians call money <em>quivo,<\/em> but I haven&#8217;t been able to find anything.<\/p>\n<p>Only one thing is certain: It&#8217;s pretty much only used in Bolivia.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Nos quedamos sin quivo.<\/em>\u00a0(We have no money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>16. <em>Biyuya<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Biyuyo<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Billuyo<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Billullo<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Biyullo<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Billuzo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Biyuyo\u00a0<\/em>and company are another popular set of words used to refer to money.<\/p>\n<p>There are almost as many different spellings as countries where they&#8217;re used, but they all mean the same thing: Money!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Me qued\u00e9 sin biyuyo<\/em>.\u00a0(I have no money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>17. <em>Morlaco<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>morlaco\u00a0<\/em>is another Lunfardism that&#8217;s used to refer to money in general.<\/p>\n<p>The term started being used to refer to money by low-income immigrants around 1900.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Ese auto cuesta unos buenos morlacos<\/em>.\u00a0(That car is quite expensive.)<\/p>\n<h2>18. <em>Harina<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Costa Rica<\/p>\n<p><em>Harina\u00a0<\/em>is one of my favorite words in this list. It means &#8220;flour,&#8221; and it&#8217;s mainly used in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, I haven&#8217;t been able to find the reason why this term is used to refer to money, so we can only guess.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Mae, me qued\u00e9 sin harina<\/em>.\u00a0(Bro, I have no money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>19. <em>Astilla<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Mainly Cuba (less frequently in Argentina)<\/p>\n<p>An\u00a0<em>astilla\u00a0<\/em>is a splinter.<\/p>\n<p>The DRAE (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Diccionario-lengua-Espa%C3%B1ola-Edici%C3%B3n-Spanish\/dp\/8467041897?tag=fluentu-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary<\/a>) includes the expression\u00a0<em>sacar astilla<\/em> (to make a profit), which could explain why\u00a0<em>astilla<\/em> ended up meaning money in Cuba.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Me qued\u00e9 sin astilla.<\/em>\u00a0(I have no money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>20. <em>Baro<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Varo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico<\/p>\n<p>The words\u00a0<em>baro\/varo\u00a0<\/em>are mainly used in three countries, and they normally refer to a peso.<\/p>\n<p>However, in Cuba, they can also describe a huge sum of money.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>\u00bfMe prestas un baro, g\u00fcey?<\/em> (Can you lend me a peso, bro?)<\/p>\n<h2>21. <em>Pasta<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Cuba, Mexico and Spain (less frequently in Argentina)<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re a pasta lover, you&#8217;ll be disappointed to know the origin of\u00a0<em>pasta<\/em> as a way to refer to money comes from the molten metal paste that was once used to mint coins. Sorry!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Har\u00eda cualquier cosa por la pasta<\/em>.\u00a0(He&#8217;d do anything for money.)<\/p>\n<h2>22. <em>Cushqui<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Ecuador<\/p>\n<p>This has to be the most unusual yet most beautiful word on this list.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Kichwa\u00a0<em>kullki<\/em>, which means &#8220;money.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No s\u00e9 qu\u00e9 hacer con mi cushqui.<\/em>(I don&#8217;t know what to do with my money.)<\/p>\n<h2>23. <em>Papa<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>El Salvador and Nicaragua<\/p>\n<p><em>Papa\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;potato&#8221; in Spanish, which adds yet another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-food-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">food-related word<\/a> to our list.<\/p>\n<p>The link between money and potatoes comes from when the potato was the main means of subsistence for the indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n<p>If you had a good harvest, you could consider yourself rich.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Ya no queda papa<\/em>.\u00a0(There&#8217;s no money left.)<\/p>\n<h2>24. <em>Feria<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico<\/p>\n<p>A <em>feria<\/em> is a fair or carnival, but it also refers to small change or to money in general.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tengo feria, mano.<\/em>(I don&#8217;t have any money, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>25. <em>Luz<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Honduras and Nicaragua<\/p>\n<p>Another fun way to refer to money is <em>luz\u00a0<\/em>(&#8220;light&#8221;). However, I haven&#8217;t been able to find a single source explaining how this came about. Perhaps it&#8217;s from the sparkle of shiny coins?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No traigo luz<\/em>.\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have any money on me.)<\/p>\n<h2>26. <em>Marmaja<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Peru<\/p>\n<p><em>Marmaja\u00a0<\/em>comes from the Greek <em>marmar\u00edz\u014d<\/em>, which means &#8220;to shine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Again, money is shiny, so I think this one makes a lot of sense!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Rogelito tiene mucha marmaja<\/em>.\u00a0(Rogelito has a lot of money.)<\/p>\n<h2>27. <em>Pisto<\/em>\/<em>Pixto<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<em>pisto\u00a0<\/em>is, among other things, a vegetable fry (all this talk of food is making me hungry!).<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also a word you can use to refer to money in El Salvador (where it&#8217;s very commonly used), Guatemala and Honduras.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Te gastaste todo el pisto, viejo.<\/em>(You&#8217;ve spent all the money, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>28.<em>Morralla<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Mexico<\/p>\n<p><em>Morralla <\/em>literally means &#8220;whitefish.&#8221; It&#8217;s also a word Mexicans use to refer to small change.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Tengo pura morralla<\/em>.\u00a0(I have a lot of small change.)<\/p>\n<h2>29. Chen Chen<em>\/<\/em><em>Chench\u00e9n<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Panama<\/p>\n<p>In English, cash registers go &#8220;ka-ching!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In Panama, they take the word for that sound and use it to mean money. Neat!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Me qued\u00e9 sin chench\u00e9n, primo<\/em>. (I have no money left, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>30. <em>Pirapire<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Paraguay<\/p>\n<p>This is another beautiful example of indigenous words and food being incorporated into Spanish.<\/p>\n<p><em>Pira pire\u00a0<\/em>(two words) means &#8220;fish skin&#8221; in Guaran\u00ed. But when you write these two words together (<em>pirapire<\/em>), they mean money.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No hay pirapire<\/em>.\u00a0(There&#8217;s no money.)<\/p>\n<h2>31. <em>Jurdel<\/em><em>\/<\/em><em>Jurdeles<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Spain<\/p>\n<p>I promise this is the last time I talk about a word you can only use in Spain. But I love non-mainstream languages, and Cal\u00f3 is a great example of one.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jurdel\/jurdeles <\/em>is a term for money you&#8217;ll hear often if you&#8217;re interested in flamenco and similar folklore music. The majority of my Spanish students love the topic, so my guess is that you will, too.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Necesito sacarme unos jurdeles<\/em>.\u00a0(I need to earn some money.)<\/p>\n<h2>32. <em>Chimbil\u00edn<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Panama<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>chimbil\u00edn\u00a0<\/em>comes from\u00a0<em>chimbil\u00a0<\/em>(the fruit of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/plant\/cereus-cactus-grouping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">cereus cactus<\/a>) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-suffixes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish suffix<\/a> <em>-\u00edn<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t found any reliable source explaining the jump from cactus to money, but my guess is that the transversal cut of a cereus cactus might resemble a coin.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Necesitamos m\u00e1s chimbil\u00edn.<\/em>\u00a0(We need more money.)<\/p>\n<h2>33. <em>Chavos<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Puerto Rico<\/p>\n<p>Every time I hear the word\u00a0<em>chavo<\/em> (&#8220;child,&#8221; &#8220;youngster&#8221;), the first thing that comes to my mind is Mexico&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=chavo+del+ocho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>El Chavo del Ocho<\/em>.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, this word has nothing to do with the sitcom or children in Puerto Rico, since it&#8217;s a synonym for money.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tengo chavos.<\/em> (I don&#8217;t have any money.)<\/p>\n<h2>34. <em>Mango<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p>Mangoes are delicious but the word <em>mango<\/em> with the meaning of money doesn&#8217;t come from the fruit but from the Lunfardo term <em>marengo<\/em>, which probably refers to a coin minted after Napoleon&#8217;s victory in the Battle of Marengo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tenemos un mango.<\/em>(We don&#8217;t have any money.)<\/p>\n<h2>35. <em>Gamba<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Chile and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p>We add another food word to the list with <em>gamba<\/em>, which is Spanish for &#8220;shrimp&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to money, it&#8217;s commonly used to refer to a 100 pesos note.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is because there was once a 100 pesos note in Chile that was the color of a cooked shrimp!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Pr\u00e9stame gamba, pana<\/em>.\u00a0(Lend me some money, bro.)<\/p>\n<h2>36. <em>Palo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina, Colombia, Panama and Peru<\/p>\n<p><em>Palo <\/em>primarily means a stick, a club or a pole.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also a word that&#8217;s used in a couple of Spanish-speaking countries to refer to one million pesos.<\/p>\n<p>If you add the word\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-colors-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>verde <\/em>(green)<\/a> at the end, it refers to a million dollars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Me cost\u00f3 tres palos<\/em>.\u00a0(It cost me three million pesos.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>37. <em>Menudo<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Costa Rica, Cuba and Puerto Rico<\/p>\n<p>Generally speaking, something\u00a0<em>menudo\u00a0<\/em>is something small.<\/p>\n<p>This might explain why\u00a0<em>menudo\u00a0<\/em>refers to small change in a couple of countries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Necesito menudo para la guagua<\/em>.\u00a0(I need change for the bus.)<\/p>\n<h2>38. <em>Tolete<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Cuba and the Dominican Republic<\/p>\n<p>This one&#8217;s quite a dangerous word.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Tolete\u00a0<\/em>means &#8220;oarlock\/rowlock&#8221; literally.<\/p>\n<p>If it&#8217;s used in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, it can mean &#8220;peso.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you use it anywhere else (or even in these two countries depending on the context), it&#8217;ll mainly mean &#8220;male reproductive organ.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Pr\u00e9stame 5000 toletes<\/em>.\u00a0(Lend me 5,000 pesos.)<\/p>\n<h2>39. <em>Teca<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Argentina and Uruguay<\/p>\n<p><em>Teca<\/em> means teak in Spanish, and it&#8217;s mainly used in the Montevideo area.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not completely clear why this word started to refer to a sum of money, but one of the theories is that it comes from the Lunfardism <em>tela<\/em>, which also refers to money.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tengo teca para viajar a Montevideo.<\/em>\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have any money to travel to Montevideo.)<\/p>\n<h2>40. <em>Muna<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Venezuela<\/p>\n<p>There isn&#8217;t a clear explanation as to why\u00a0<em>muna<\/em> started to be used to refer to money.<\/p>\n<p>My personal theory is that it comes from the verb\u00a0<em>munir<\/em>, which means &#8220;to provide with something.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Dale sus munas<\/em>.\u00a0(Give him his money.)<\/p>\n<h2>41. <em>Maracandaca<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>El Salvador and Nicaragua<\/p>\n<p>The word\u00a0<em>maracandaca<\/em> possibly comes from the word <em>macaco<\/em>, which was one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collectorsweekly.com\/stories\/161686-silver-coins-or-macacos-from-the-spanish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the first coins in Central America<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, it normally refers to money in general in El Salvador, and to a c\u00f3rdoba in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1n las maracandacas?<\/em>\u00a0(Where&#8217;s the money?)<\/p>\n<h2>42. <em>Suelto<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where it&#8217;s used:\u00a0<\/strong>Ecuador and Spain (less frequently in Mexico)<\/p>\n<p>Something <em>suelto\u00a0<\/em>is something loose or untied. That&#8217;s probably how this came to be another word to refer to small change.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>No tengo suelto<\/em>.\u00a0(I don&#8217;t have any change.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Phew! That was intense!<\/p>\n<p>With so many ways to refer to money, you&#8217;ll know exactly which slang word to use in each Spanish-speaking country.<\/p>\n<p>And now start saving that\u00a0<em>plata<\/em> and studying some more Spanish for your next trip.<\/p>\n<p>Stay curious, my friends, and as always, happy learning!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that flies, turkeys, shrimps and mangoes are common currencies in some Spanish-speaking countries? No, I haven&#8217;t gone mad\u2014I&#8217;m just using Spanish money slang. If you look up&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":249142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"42 Spanish Slang Words for Money from Around the World | FluentU Spanish","description":"There are lots of Spanish slang words for \"money\". You might already know \"dinero\" and \"plata,\" but to understand financial talk from around the Spanish speaking world, you'll need to learn some local terms for money. Here we've collected 42 fun and diverse slang words for money from all around Spain and Latin America."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[600,590,593],"tags":[],"coauthors":[191],"class_list":["post-138178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slang-spanish-vocabulary","category-spanish","category-spanish-vocabulary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138178"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249493,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138178\/revisions\/249493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138178"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=138178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}