cobrar
/koˈbɾaɾ/
In Spanish, to cash out is cobrar.
The verb cobrar is used when you are receiving money that is owed to you or when you are collecting a specific payment, such as when you cobrar un cheque (to cash a check).
Which one should you use?
While cobrar refers to receiving or collecting money, it is the opposite of pagar, which means to pay or give money.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of cobrar is cobrado, which is used to describe money that has already been collected or cashed.
How do you pronounce it?
/koˈbɾaɾ/
Did you know?
- The word cobrar can be used metaphorically to mean 'to take revenge' or 'to settle a score' in some regions, as if collecting a debt of honor.
- While cobrar means to receive money, it is also the word a business uses to 'charge' a fee, such as cobrar entrada for admission.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, a cobrador is a professional whose specific job is to travel from home to home to collect payments.
Examples in context
- Estoy retirando dineroI am cashing out.
- El cliente necesita retirar dinero de su cuenta bancaria.The client needs to cash out money from their bank account.
- Necesito rescatar dinero de mi boleto de lotería ganador.I need to cash out money from my winning lottery ticket.
- Ella fue al banco a cobrar su premio.She went to the bank to cash out her prize.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are talking about a prize from a contest.
- Mateo¡Ganamos el concurso, Lucía!We won the contest, Lucía!
- Lucía¡Qué bien! ¿Dónde podemos cobrar el premio?That's great! Where can we cash out the prize?
- MateoDebes ir al banco central.You must go to the central bank.
- LucíaGracias, iré esta tarde.Thanks, I will go this afternoon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry cobrar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
