Spanish slang for money, country by country
The standard word is dinero, and it works everywhere. Casually, most of Latin America says plata. Mexico says lana, Spain says pasta, Argentina and Uruguay say guita, Central America says pisto and Puerto Rico says chavos.
Dinero is never wrong. But it's a bit like saying "money" every time in English, when your friends say cash, bucks or dough. Each country has its own.
| Word | Where | Also means |
|---|---|---|
| plata | most of Latin America | silver |
| lana | Mexico, and also Argentina, Peru and Uruguay | wool |
| feria | Mexico, especially the north | a fair |
| varos | Mexico | one varo is one peso |
| pasta | Spain | dough, paste |
| pelas | Spain | the old pesetas |
| guita | Argentina, Uruguay and Spain | — |
| pisto | El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras | hard liquor, in Mexico |
| chavos | Puerto Rico | cents |
Pasta works exactly like English "dough": a food word that turned into money. Lana is wool, and plata is silver, back when coins were made of it.
The ones that mean something else next door
- Pisto. Money in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In Mexico it's hard liquor, so ¿traes pisto? gets a different answer depending on where you ask.
- Chavo. In Puerto Rico chavos is cash. In Mexico a chavo is a kid or a guy.
- Feria. Money in Mexican slang, but also a fair or a street market everywhere.
- Pasta. In Spain it's money. Everywhere else it's mostly just pasta.
In a sentence
- No tengo lana.
- I'm broke.
- Mexico.
- ¿Tienes plata?
- Do you have any money?
- Most of Latin America.
- Cuesta una pasta.
- It costs a fortune.
- Spain.
- Me quedé sin guita.
- I ran out of money.
- Argentina, Uruguay.
Argentina and Spain also have mosca (literally a fly) and tela (cloth). There are dozens more. You won't learn them from a list: you pick up the ones from the place you hear Spanish, and the place comes attached.
For other everyday words that change by country, like straw, bus, T-shirt and cool, there's the word map.
Questions
What is slang for money in Spanish?
It depends on the country: lana in Mexico, plata in most of Latin America, pasta in Spain, guita in Argentina and Uruguay, pisto in Central America and chavos in Puerto Rico. Dinero is the standard word everywhere.
What does lana mean in Spanish slang?
Money, mostly in Mexico. Literally it means wool.
What does plata mean?
Silver, and across Latin America it's also the everyday word for money: no tengo plata is "I've got no money".
What does pisto mean?
Money in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In Mexico it means hard liquor, and it's also the name of a vegetable dish, like ratatouille.
What does chavos mean in Puerto Rico?
Money, cash. A chavo is a cent, the way you might say pennies. In Mexico a chavo is a kid or a guy instead.
Sources
Keep going
- Spanish words by country, on a mapPopote, pitillo, pajita: the same straw has a different name in nearly every Spanish-speaking country. A map of the everyday words that change, for straw, bus, popcorn, T-shirt, kite and cool.
- One thing, many words: Spanish by countryHow do you say straw, bus, beans or popcorn in Spanish? It depends on the country. The everyday words that change across the Spanish-speaking world, where each one is said, and which to learn.
- Fine here, rude there: Spanish words that change by countryCoger, concha, bicho, papaya: everyday Spanish words that are completely normal in one country and vulgar in the next. Where each one is safe, and what to say instead.