If you want to talk about Money in Spanish, you probably know how to say Dinero but there are many expressions that Spanish speakers use to talk about it.
Here are some common ones:
| #1 | Pisto (Guatemala) |
| #2 | Plata (Costa Rica) |
| #3 | Lana (Mexico) |
Continue reading to learn more about the different ways to say “dinero” or “money” in Spanish.
Table of Contents
Dinero in Costa Rica: “Plata”
If you visit Costa Rica, you will hear Ticos saying “plata” which means “silver” and it is used in informal contexts
| ES | No tengo plata |
| EN | I don’t have any money |
| ES | Necesito Plata |
| EN | I need some money |
| ES | ¿No tenes plata? |
| EN | Don’t you have any money? |
Dinero in Mexico: “Lana”
Lana is a very common way in Mexico to mean dinero in Spanish. Lana is used in informal conexts
| ES | ¿Tienes lana? |
| EN | Do you have any money? |
| ES | No tengo lana |
| EN | I don’t have any money |
Dinero in Guatemala: “Pisto”
When I lived in Guatemala, the most common way to say “money” in Spanish was “Pisto”
I didn’t really what the word “Pisto” meant but I used it every day
| ES | No tengo pisto |
| EN | I don’t have any money |
| ES | Ella tiene pisto |
| EN | She doesn’t have any money |
Pisto is pretty common term used in El Salvador and Honduras
Feria: Another Way to Say Dinero
“La feria” in Spanish typically refers to a fair or a festival but that word can be used to mean money or change.
| ES | Déjate la feria |
| EN | Keep the change |
| ES | Ya no tengo feria |
| EN | I don’t have any more money |
| ES | No traigo feria |
| EN | I don’t have any money with me |
Does Biyuyo Mean Money?
Biyuyo is a colloquial term used in some Spanish-speaking countries, particularly in the Caribbean, to refer to a small amount of money or pocket change.
I’m familiar with the word Biyuyo because a few people use it to mean money, however the word is not used often and some kids might not even known what it is.
| ES | ¿Y el biyuyo? |
| EN | What about the money? |
Does Mosca means Money?
In various Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay, the term “mosca,” which directly translates to “fly” in English is used to mean money.
As a Costa Rican, I can confirm that that “mosca” sometimes can be used to refer to money but it is not something I use or hear daily in conversations.
In Costa Rica, I think that Biyuyo and Mosca are in the same category, probably understood by many but not used very much.
What’s “Un Rojo” en Costa Rica?
The currency of Costa Rica is “El Colón” and “un rojo” means one thousand colones
So if you want to buy a cheap phone, you would probably hear “80 rojos” instead of 80 thousand colones.
We call one thousand colones bill rojos because the one thousand colones bill is red.
This is how “un rojo” looks like
| ES | El plato sale en 3 rojos |
| EN | The dish costs 3 thousand colones |
What Does the “Menudo” Mean?
“Menudo” can be used in some Spanish-speaking regions to mean “change”
| ES | ¿Y el menudo? |
| EN | What about the change? |
