When traveling to a Spanish speaking country for vacation or to settle down you need to know how to say how much does it cost? or other money related words in order to make your daily purchases. There are several fixed expressions and questions you need to be aware of to buy stuff, spend your money on a hotel reservation or simply exchange your dollars.
No matter the spanish-speaking country you’re going, the word “dinero” is the most widely used to talk about money. If you are travelling to Central or South American countries, you’ll use the slang term plata which is literally translated as silver. Whereas in Spain, you’ll use pasta. In Mexico, people commonly use the slang term lana to refer to money which can be literally translated as wool.
As in the English language, there are several phrases and expressions that can be used to talk about money in Spanish. You can simply use ¿Cuánto dinero (tu) tienes? to ask someone how much money she/ he has. In Spanish, personal pronouns can be omitted so you don’t need to use tu or usted when referring to you.
| For Have you got any money?, you can use ¿Tienes algo de dinero? or ¿Tenés algo de dinero? The verb tienes is used with the personal pronoun tu, whereas in Argentina and Uruguay spanish native speakers use the verb tenés when referring to the personal pronoun You. |
| If you don’t have any money left, you simply say No me queda dinero or No tengo más dinero. When you don't have any money and are in need, you use Necesito dinero which literally means I need money. If you actually have money, you can use Tengo dinero. You can see that the personal pronoun I or Yo is omitted in every sentence. You don’t need to use it since it is implied in the verb. |
How to talk to Someone in Bank in Spanish
Dealing with Exchange Rate in Spanish |
If you are starting a new life from scratch in a Spanish speaking country or have found the job of your dreams, the truth is you’ll need to learn money phrases to talk about your current financial situation. The best way to pick up new words in Spanish is doing so in context, practicing real life phrases and expressions which you’ll sure use in any situation.
What is Ahorrar dinero?
Nowadays, there are many alternatives to pay for products or services. Spanish native speakers tend to say Tengo tarjeta de crédito when they want to pay with a credit card. Use Tengo muchas deudas meaning you have many debts or Tengo una hipoteca to say you have a mortgage. As in the english language, tú tienes una hipoteca or muchas deudas. In both languages you use the verb have to say tener. |
In English, infinitive verbs are preceded by the particle to. In Spanish, infinitive verbs end in -ar, -er or -ir as in the case of Comprar, pedir or tener which are translated as to buy, to ask and to have.
When Spanish native speakers use these verbs in a sentence they don’t use them in infinitive. You can use Compro chocolates todas las noches if you want to say you buy chocolates every night. When you buy something you spend money or gastar dinero. If you gastas dinero very often, you can say Yo malgasto el dinero which means I waste money. When spanish speaking people no tienen más dinero, they can pedir prestado or borrow some money from a family member. |
If you are in a Spanish speaking country you need to know some questions related to money and exchange rate. When you are in a store and want to know a product’s price you can say ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? Generally speaking, when you make this question people reply with a number and a currency used in that country. For example, es 5.000 pesos chilenos which means it costs 5,000 chilean pesos. In Spanish, a dot is used instead of a coma.
If you’ve recently arrived and want to exchange your dollars for pesos you can ask ¿Dónde puedo cambiar el dinero? Spanish native speakers will guide you to find a suitable bank or money exchange office to do so. Once you are at el banco you can ask to the bank clerk ¿Cuál es el tipo de cambio? if you want to know the exchange rate. Alternatively, you can ask him/her ¿Cuántos pesos puedo comprar por un dólar? to know how many pesos you can buy with a dollar.
Looking at real-life examples in spanish will help you learn money related vocabulary faster and easier. Learning new words in context is simpler since you’ll know how and when to use specific phrases or expressions.
When in a spanish-speaking country you’ll definitely need these expressions quite often to get money to go shopping, buy a train ticket, book a hotel room or pay the rent. This means, everyday activities involve using money and you can’t ignore basic questions to ask for prices. |
