¿tienes dinero?
In Spanish, "do you have money?" is said as ¿tienes dinero?
This phrase is used to ask if someone possesses money at the current moment.
What does it mean word for word?
The word tienes is the second-person singular conjugation of the verb tener, meaning "you have".
Which one should you use?
Unlike English, Spanish does not require an auxiliary verb like "do" to form a question. The question is indicated by the inverted question mark and rising intonation.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Several regional variations exist. In Latin American countries like Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, it is common to use the colloquial expression ¿tienes plata? In Mexico and some Caribbean countries, you may hear the informal ¿tienes feria? In Mexico and some Central American regions, the slang expression ¿tienes lana? is used to ask about someone's financial situation.
Did you know?
- If you are in Mexico and want to sound very informal, you might ask ¿tienes lana?, which literally means 'do you have wool'.
- The colloquial word plata actually means 'silver'. In many Latin American countries, this refers to money because of the historical importance of silver coins.
- The word dinero descends from the Latin dēnārius, which was the name of a standard silver coin in the Roman Empire.
Examples in context
- ¿Tiene dinero para invertir en este proyecto?Do you have money to invest in this project?
- Oye, ¿tienes dinero para salir el fin de semana?Hey, do you have money to go out this weekend?
- No, no tengo dinero.No, I don't have money.
- ¿tienes dinero?Do you have money?
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are at a snack stand.
- AlejandroSofía, ¿tienes dinero?Sofía, do you have money?
- SofíaNo, olvidé mi cartera.No, I forgot my wallet.
- AlejandroNo te preocupes, yo pago.Don't worry, I'll pay.
- SofíaMuchas gracias, Alejandro.Thank you very much, Alejandro.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dinero, CC BY-SA 4.0.
