Money and the economy in Spanish: el paro, el IVA, and “sube un 3 %”
Pick an indicator · example data
13,212,912,612,312,111,8
enefebmarabrmayjun
The headline
El parothe unemploymentbajafallspor tercer mesfor third monthconsecutivo.in-a-row
el PAH-roh BAH-hah por TEHR-thehr MES kon-seh-koo-TEE-boh · “Unemployment falls for the third month in a row.”Why:el paro is unemployment in Spain (estar en paro = to be unemployed). Latin America says el desempleo.
Short answer: the economy is la economía; unemployment is el paro in Spain and el desempleo in Latin America; GDP is el PIB; and VAT is el IVA (21 % in Spain for most goods). Prices suben (rise) or bajan (fall) un 3 %, with un before the figure. Everyday money verbs are ganar (earn), gastar (spend), ahorrar (save) and pedir prestado (borrow).
Money verbs
Ganar, gastar, ahorrar, invertir
Ganashe-earnsdos mil eurostwo thousand eurosal mes.per-the month
GAH-nah dohs MEEL EW-rohs al MES · “She earns two thousand euros a month.”Why:al mes = per month; al año = per year.
AhorroI-saveun pocoa littlecada mes.every month
ah-OH-rroh oon POH-koh KAH-dah MES · “I save a little every month.”Why:ahorrar also means saving time or energy: ahorrar tiempo.
Leto-himdeboI-owecincuenta euros.fifty euros
leh DEH-boh theen-KWEN-tah EW-rohs · “I owe him fifty euros.”Why:deber + money = to owe. Le marks the person you owe.
¿Meto-meprestasyou-lenddiez euros?ten euros
meh PRES-tahs DYETH EW-rohs · “Can you lend me ten euros?”Why:Spanish asks “do you lend me…?”. To say “borrow”, use pedir prestado: le pedí prestado dinero.
Reading a Spanish invoice
Base imponible, IVA, total
Total = base imponible + IVA. Shop prices already include IVA; invoices between businesses show it separately. Note the decimal comma: 121,00 €.
At the bank
La cuenta, la transferencia, la hipoteca
Spanish
English
Use it with
la cuentaKWEN-tah
account
abrir una cuenta (open an account)
la tarjetatar-HEH-tah
card
pagar con tarjeta (pay by card)
el cajerokah-HEH-roh
cash machine
sacar dinero del cajero
la transferenciatrans-feh-REN-thyah
bank transfer
hacer una transferencia
el préstamoPRES-tah-moh
loan
pedir un préstamo
la hipotecaee-poh-TEH-kah
mortgage
pagar la hipoteca
los intereseseen-teh-REH-ses
interest
un tipo de interés (an interest rate)
Salary and contracts
La nómina, el contrato
Payslip
Miralooktu nómina.your payslip
MEE-rah too NOH-mee-nah · “Check your payslip.”Why:la nómina = monthly payslip; also the payroll.