Some people will say that money can’t buy happiness, but it does make the world go round somewhat.
No matter where you are in the world, you are not going to avoid having to use and talk about money. If you want to do business in a Spanish-speaking country you are going to need to learn financial terms in Spanish.
Even if you are traveling for pleasure, it’s still important to learn how to talk about money in Spanish. After all, one of the common Spanish travel phrases that you will find yourself using daily will be: ¿Cuánto? or ¿Cuánto cuesta?
These phrases are the most basic way to ask a Spanish speaker about the cost of an item. You will use it in restaurants, stores, bars, and during business negotiations. An important phrase indeed that is all about money,
Aside from knowing how to ask how much something costs, however, there are a few other financial terms in Spanish that are useful to know. We’re going to go through a few of them in this post and later we will provide you with a downloadable PDF of these terms to make it easier for you to study and learn.
1. El dinero
Pronunciation guide: el dee-neh-roh
English translation: Money
This is the most basic word for “money” in Spanish. “Dinero” is a masculine noun, which is why it is preceded by an “el”.
2. La plata
Pronunciation guide: la plah-tah
English translation: Silver or money in Latin American Spanish dialects
“Plata” is the Spanish word for the precious metal silver. However, in some Spanish dialects that originate from Latin America, it is also used to refer to “money”.
“Plata” is a feminine noun, which is why it is preceded by a “la”.
3. El banco
Pronunciation guide: el bahng-koh
English translation: Bank
This Spanish financial term refers to the bank, which is a major financial institution in both English and Spanish.
4. Banca
Pronunciation guide: bahng-kah
English translation: Banking
If you want to talk about the financial activity of banking, this is the word to use.
5. La cuenta
Pronunciation guide: la kwehn-tah
English translation: Account
Most Spanish speakers who don’t work in “el banca” might still find themselves regularly going to “el banco” because they have an account of some sort with the institution. There are different types of “la cuenta” that you can have with a bank.
6. La cuenta de ahorros
Pronunciation guide: la kwehn-tah deh ah-oh-rrohs
English translation: Savings account
This is the Spanish word for “savings account”.
7. La cuneta corriente
Pronunciation guide: la kwenh-tah koh-rryehn-th
English translation: Checking account
This is the Spanish term for “checking account”. With a checking account, people entrust their money to a bank and are issued checks or a checkbook that they can use as “cash”.
8. El cheque
Pronunciation guide: el cheh-keh
English translation: Check
If you have a “la cuenta corriente” you can pay people by writing out a specific amount on “el cheque”. They can then present this “cheque” to a bank and get cash in exchange.
9. La chequera
Pronunciation guide: la cheh-kah-rah
English translation: Checkbook
This is a small booklet of checks that a bank will issue to you after you have opened a checking account with them.
10. El esatado de cuenta
Pronunciation guide: el ehs-tah-doh deh kwehn-tah
English translation: Bank statement or account statement
If you want to get an idea of how much you have in your bank account, you can ask for an “el estado de cuenta”.
11. El saldo de cuenta
Pronunciation guide: el sahl-doh deh kwehn-tah
English translation: Account balance
The amount of money in your account is the “el saldo de cuenta”.
12. El cajero automático
Pronunciation guide:
English translation: ATM or cash machine
Many Spanish-speaking areas will have ATM or cash machines outside banks or in other places such as shopping centers where you can withdraw cash.
13. Billete
Pronunciation guide: bee-yeh-teh
English translation: Paper money or bill
You might have learned that this common Spanish word mean’s “ticket” and it does, but it can als refer to paper money or bills.
14. Moneda
Pronunciation guide: moh-neh-dah
English translation: Coins or currency
This financial term in Spanish can either refer to coins or be used when you are talking about currency.
15. Pagar
Pronunciation guide: pah-gahr
English translation: To pay
This Spanish verb translates to pay or the act of exchanging money or something of value for something else.
16. El precio
Pronunciation guide: el preh-syoh
English translation: The price or value
This financial term in Spanish refers to the value or cost of a good or service.
17. Cuota
Pronunciation guide: kwoh-tah
English translation: Fee
This is the Spanish word for fee or charge.
18. Préstamo
Pronunciation guide:
English translation: Loan
This financial term in Spanish refers to a loan or money that is borrowed from a financial institution like a bank. It can also be money that was borrowed from friends or family.
19. Deuda
Pronunciation guide: deyoo-dah
English translation: Debt
This is the Spanish financial term for “debt”. When you owe money, you have debt.
20. Salario
Pronunciation guide: sah-lah-ryoh
English translation: Salary
“El salario” is the compensation that an employee gets for the work that they do. If you are a company or business owner, you pay your employees a salary.
21. Presupuesto
Pronunciation guide: preh-soo-pwehs-toh
English translation: Budget
This is the Spanish word for “budget”, an amount of money that you have set aside for specific expenses.
22. Impuesto
Pronunciation guide: emm-pwehs-toh
English translation: Tax
“Impuesto” or taxes are fees that are paid to the government.
23. Libre de impuestos
Pronunciation guide: lee-brah deh eem-pwehs-tohs
English translation: Duty-free or tax-free
If you don’t have to pay taxes on a purchase, it is “libre de impuestos”.
24. Tip de cambio
Pronunciation guide: tee-poh deh kahm-byoh
English translation: Exchange rate
The exchange rate is the value of one country’s currency in the currency of another company. If you are traveling in Spain for example, you might need to change US dollars to Euros and the exchange rate will determine how many Euros you will get for your dollars.
25. Oficina de cambrio
Pronunciation guide: oh-fee-see-nah deh kahm-byoh
English translation: Exchange bureau
If you need to exchange your money, look for the nearest “oficina de cambrio”.
26. Compañía
Pronunciation guide: kohm-pah-nyee-ah
English translation: Company
This is the Spanish word for “company”.
27. Ingresos
Pronunciation guide: een-greh-sohs
English translation: Income or revenue.
This financial term in Spanish translates to “income” which refers to how much an individual earns, and “revenue” which is how much a company or a country earns.
28. Los gastos
Pronunciation guide: los gahs-tos
English translation: Expenses
This Spanish word refers to money spent by an individual, company, or organization over a given time period.
29. La ganacia
Pronunciation guide: la gah-nahn-syah
English translation: Profit
If your company or business is seeing a return in investment or is making money, it is making a profit.
30. Propiedad
Pronunciation guide: proh-pyeh-dahd
English translation: Property
Something of value that someone owns or possesses is referred to as their “propiedad”.
31. El inventario
Pronunciation guide: el emm-behn-tah-ryoh
English translation: The inventory
This financial term refers to a list of possessions that a company has.
32. La nómina
Pronunciation guide: la noh-mee-nah
English translation: Payroll
This Spanish financial term refers to a list of employees who get paid by a company for services rendered. It can also mean employee wages.
33. El activo
Pronunciation guide: el ahk-tee-boh
English translation: Asset
An asset is something of value that a company possesses that allows it to keep running. For example, it can be money that keeps the company running or a factory and the equipment inside that allows it to produce goods for sale.
34. El pasivo
Pronunciation guide: el pah-see-boh
English translation: Liability
When we’re talking about finances, a liability is something that a company owes.
35. El libro mayor
Pronunciation guide: el lee-broh mah-yohr
English translation: Ledger
This is the Spanish financial term for a “ledger”.
36. El balance general
Pronunciation guide: bah-lahn-she heh-neh-rahl
English translation: Balance sheet
This is the Spanish word for “balance sheet”.
37. El capital
Pronunciation guide: el kah-pee-tahl
English translation: Capital
The running of a business requires “el capital” which is money and assets that allow the day-to-day operations of the business to continue.
38. Financiación
Pronunciation guide: fee-nahn-syah-syohn
English translation: Funding
This is the Spanish word for “funding”, which refers to money or assets given or invested by other parties into a company’s projects.
39. Bancarrota
Pronunciation guide: bahng-kah-rroh-tah
English translation: Bankruptcy
This is the Spanish word for “bankruptcy”, when an individual or a company has lost its capital.
40. El contrador/la contadora
Pronunciation guide: el kohn-tah-dohr/ la kohn-tah-dohr
English translation: Accountant
This financial term in Spanish refers to someone whose occupation or job is to keep the financial records of a company.
Spanish is a gendered language, so if you are speaking about a male accountant, it is “el contrador” while you refer to a female accountant as a “la contradora”.
41. La contabilidad
Pronunciation guide:
English translation: Accounting
This financial term in Spanish refers to the field of accounting or bookkeeping. If you perform accounting, you are an accountant.
42. Vender
Pronunciation guide: behn-dehr
English translation: To sell
This is the Spanish verb for the act of selling a service or a product.
43. Exportar
Pronunciation guide: ehks-pohr-tahr
English translation: To export
This refers to the financial activity of sending goods and services to be sold abroad.
44. Importar
Pronunciation guide: eem-pohrr-tahrr
English translation: To import
This refers to the financial activity of bringing goods or services from abroad into a country where they will be sold.
45. Economía
Pronunciation guide: eh-koh-noh-mee-ah
English translation: Economy
The “economia” is a country’s wealth and resources.
46. Oferta y demanda
Pronunciation guide: oh-fehr-tah ee deh-mahn-dah
English translation: Supply and demand
The basic principle of economics is the law of supply and demand.
47. Mercado
Pronunciation guide: mehr-kah-doh
English translation: Market
You might hear this word as referring to a place where goods may be bought or it can refer to consumers, people who will buy a product.
48. La inflación
Pronunciation guide: la ihn-fley-shihn
English translation: Inflation
This financial term in Spanish refers to a decrease in the purchasing power of money due to an increase in the prices of goods and services.
49. La bolsa de valores
Pronunciation guide: la bohl-sah deh bah-loh-rehs
English translation: Stock market
This financial term in Spanish translates to “stock market” in English.
50. La acción
Pronunciation guide: la ahk-syohn
English translation: Share
These are the Spanish words for “shares” which you can buy and sell at the “la bolsa de valores”.
51. El accionista/la caccionista
Pronunciation guide: el ahk-syoh-nees-tah/la ahk-syoh-nees-tah
English translation: Shareholder
If you bought shares in a company, you are a shareholder. If you are male, you are “el accionista”. If you are female, you are “la accionista”.
52. El fondo de inversions
Pronunciation guide: el fohn-doh deh eem-behr-syohn
English translation: Investment fund
This is the Spanish financial term for an “investment fund”.
53. Los valores el gobierno
Pronunciation guide: los bah-loh-rehs el goh-byehr-noh
English translation: Government securities or government bonds.
This is how you refer to government securities or bonds in Spanish.
Conclusion
If you want to learn how to properly have conversations about money, investments, and general financial matters in Spanish, memorizing these Spanish financial terms is a good way to start.
What are some useful financial terms in Spanish?
El dinero - money, La plata - Silver or money in Latin American Spanish dialects, El banco - bank, La cuenta - account, La cuenta de ahorros - savings account, La cuneta corriente - checking account, El cheque - check
