Slang terms for money
Slang terms for money often derive from the appearance and features of banknotes or coins, their values, historical associations or the units of currency concerned. Within a single language community some of the slang terms vary across social, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata, but others have become the dominant way of referring to the currency and are regarded as mainstream, acceptable language.
Australia
Current denominations
Australian dollars are informally known as "dollarydoos". Other colloquialisms include "bung" and "buck".The five-cent coin is sometimes referred to as "shrapnel" as the smallest remaining coin in value and physical size. This nickname was inherited from one- and two-cent coins when they were abolished in 1996.
A twenty-dollar note is called a "lobster" because of its red colour.
A fifty-dollar note is also known colloquially as a "pineapple" or the "Big Pineapple" because of its yellow colour.
Former denominations
Pre-decimal currency in Australia had a variety of slang terms for its various denominations. The Australian threepence was referred to as a "trey" or a "trey bit", a name probably derived from old French meaning three. The sixpence was often referred to as a "zack", which was an Australian and New Zealander term referring to a coin of small denomination, probably derived from Zecchino. The term was also used to refer to short prison term such as six months. An Australian shilling, like its British counterpart, was commonly referred to as a "bob", and the florin was consequently known as "two bob". Similarly, one Australian pound was colloquially described as a "quid", "fiddly", or "saucepan", the latter as rhyming slang for "saucepan lid/quid". The five-pound note could be referred to as a "fiver", or its derivatives, "deep sea diver" and "sky diver".A number of post-decimal denominations which have since been discontinued had their own nicknames. The two-dollar note was known as the "sick sheep" in reference to its green colour and the merino ram that it showed. The paper hundred-dollar note was nicknamed the "grey ghost", or the "Bradman" in recognition of its proximity to the 99.94 batting average of cricketer Donald Bradman.
Canada
In Canada, the one-dollar coin is known as the loonie. This is because it bears an image of the common loon, a bird.The two-dollar coin is known as the toonie, a portmanteau combining the number two with loonie. It is occasionally spelled twonie; Canadian newspapers and the Royal Canadian Mint use the toonie spelling.
Similar to the United States 5 cent coins are called nickel, 10 cent coins are dimes, 25 cent coins are quarters or two bits. Dollar amounts are all also referred to as bucks.
A five-dollar note is known colloquially as a fin, a fiver, or half a sawbuck.
A ten-dollar note is known colloquially as a ten-spot, a dixie, or a sawbuck.
A twenty-dollar note is known colloquially as QE2, or a Queen Sheet.
A one hundred-dollar note is known colloquially as a C-Note, or a Borden. $100.00 is also called an onion in gambling corners.
Since Canadians and Americans both refer to their respective currencies as "the dollar," and because the two countries tend to mingle both socially and in the media, there is a lot of overlap in slang terms for money. However, this usually only extends to terms that are not specific to one country or the other. For example, both Canadians and Americans refer to a $100 note as a C-note, but an American might refer to it as a Benjamin, after its portrait of Benjamin Franklin, while a Canadian might refer to it as a Borden, after its portrait of Robert Borden.
Eurozone
Since its introduction in 1999, a number of slang terms for the euro have emerged, though differences between languages mean that they are not common across the whole of the eurozone. Some terms are inherited from the legacy currencies, such as quid from the Irish pound and various translations of fiver or tenner being used for notes. The German Teuro is a play on the word teuer, meaning 'expensive'. The Deutsche Mark by comparison was approximately worth half as much as the euro and some grocers and restaurants have been accused of taking advantage of the smaller numbers to increase their actual prices with the changeover by rounding to 2:1, in Portugal the same has happened and usually use the term "Aéreo" with the meaning of "Aéreal", the currency that flies away. In Flanders the lower value copper coins are known as koper or rosse. Ege in Finland and Pavo in Spain are also terms applied to the euro.India
In India slang names for coins are more common than the currency notes. For 5 paisa it is 'panji'. A 10 paisa coin is called 'dassi' and for 20 paisa it is 'bissi'. A 25 paisa coin is called 'chavanni' and 50 paisa is 'athanni'. However, in recent years, due to inflation, the use of these small value coins has declined, and so has the use of these slang terms. The more prevalent terms now are 'peti' for a Lakh and 'khokha' for a Crore and 'tijori' for 100 crores Peti also means suitcase, which is the volume needed to carry a Lakh of currency notes. Tijori means a large safe or a cupboard, which would be the approximate space required to store that money in cash form. Due to the real estate boom in recent times, businessmen also use the terms '2CR' or '3CR' referring to two crores and three crores respectively.Kenya
In Kenya there are about 42 different languages, which have different dialects and indigenous names for money, in addition to the official National languages of Swahili and English. In English, Kenyan currency is a Shilling while in Swahili it is "Shilingi."Other notable names include:
| Slang term | Bantu-dialect | nilotic-dialect |
| chapaa, pesa, munde, mundez, mulla, dough, ganji, cheddaz, cheddar/mkwanja | Mbesha | Otongloh/Mafarangah |
In addition, youth have a sub-culture street language for the different denominations. Using the street slang, urbanites often amalgamate Swahili, English, and their mother-tongue to concoct meanings and names for the different denominations. Among the commonly used terms are:
| Image | Denomination | designation | Nickname | pronunciation | |
| Coins | .01ct | ndururu | |||
| Coins | .10ct | peni | |||
| Coins | .50ct | sumuni | |||
| Coins | 1.00 | Ksh.1 | bob/1bob shilingi | ||
| Coins | 2.00 | Kshs.2 | |||
| Coin & Notes | 5.00 | Kshs.5 | Ngovo/Guoko/kobuang'/kobole | ||
| Coin & Notes | 10.00 | Kshs.10 | hashu/ikongo/kindee | ||
| Coin & Notes | 20.00 | Kshs.20 | dhanashara/mbao/blue | ||
| Coin | 40.00 | Kshs.40 | Jongo/Kiroosi | Jongo ya tefo/Ki-roo-see | |
| Notes | 50.00 | Kshs.50 | hamsa/hamsini/finje/chuani/nich | ||
| Notes | 100.00 | Kshs.100 | mia/soo/oss/red/kioo | ||
| Notes | 200.00 | Kshs.200 | soo mbili/soo mbeh/rwabe | ||
| Notes | 500.00 | Kshs.500 | five soc | soo tano/punch/jirongo | |
| Notes | 1000.00 | Kshs.1000 | 1K | a thao/tenga/ngiri/ngwanye/bramba/ndovu/muti/kapaa/kei gee | |
| Notes | 1,000,000 | Kshs.1,000,000 | 1mitre | mita moja |
In writing, money is denoted by "Kshs" before or the slang notation "/=" after. For examples, Kshs.1.00 is one-bob, whereas 5,000/= is five-Kei.
Corruption is rampant in the Kenyan government, and corrupt officials in government agencies often refer to illicit kickbacks as "chickens" to avoid anti-corruption and money laundering enforcement.
Malaysia
In Malaysia there is a difference between states in their names for money. Normally "cents" are called "sen", but in the northern region "sen" are called "kupang" and the "det" means money. For example, "weh aku takdak det"and 50 sen/cents is called 5 kupang and not 50 kupang.
In the East Coast Region, they still used sen. But only for the value of 50 cents, they replace it with the word se-amah, if it's RM 1, it will be called dua-amah, and so on.
And, exclusively in Kelantan, they don't refer the value of money in "ringgit", for example, in other states, RM 10 is called 10 ringgit, RM 25 is called 25 ringgit and so on. But, in Kelantan, they replaced the word "ringgit" with "riyal", for example, RM 10 is usually called 10 ringgit, but in Kelantan, it's called 10 riyal. This might be because Kelantan is an "Islamic state" on which the administration of the state is mostly by ulama.
Russia
The Russian language has slang terms for various amounts of money. Slang names of copeck coins derive from old Russian pre-decimal coins and are rarely in use today: an "altyn" is three copecks, a "grivennik" is ten copecks, a "pyatialtynny" is fifteen copecks, and a "dvugrivenny" is 20 copecks. Most of these coins are of Soviet mint and no longer used; only the ten copeck coin remains in circulation.The word "chervonets" means ten rubles and refers to an early 20th-century gold coin of the same name. It is also called "chirik". The words for bank notes from 50 to 1000 rubles are the newest and most modern, since currently bank notes of this value are most common in circulation. 50 rubles are called "poltinnik", 100 rubles are called "stol'nik", 500 rubles are called "pyatihatka", "fiolet", and 1000 rubles are called "shtuka", "kusok" or "kosar'".
Slang words for greater amounts of money originate from the 1990s and the Russian Civil War eras, when the ruble was suffering hyperinflation. The most common are "limon" for a million rubles and "arbuz" for a billion rubles.
Slovakia
From 1993 to 2008, Slovakia used its own currency, slovenská koruna, instead of Euro. During this period, slang words for greater amounts of money were established, including "kilo" for one hundred crowns, "liter" for one thousand crowns and "melón" for one million crowns. These slang words are still used after 2008, albeit less frequently.South Africa
Decimal currency was introduced in 1961, when the South African pound, previously based on the United Kingdom currency, was replaced by the rand at the rate of 2 rand to 1 pound, or 10 shillings to the rand. Thus the United Kingdom term "bob" for a shilling equates to 10 cents.South African slang for various amounts of money borrows many terms from the rest of the English speaking world, such as the word "grand" when referring to R1,000. Other words are unique to South Africa, such as the term "choc" when referring to a R20 note. One "bar" refers to an amount of R1,000,000.
Among the English speaking communities "Bucks" is commonly used to refer to Rands. Less commonly used is the Afrikaans slang for Rands which is "Bokke", the plural of Bok; The Afrikaans word for antelope, derived from the Springbok image on the old R 1 coin. e.g. R 100 = 100 Bucks/Bokke, R 5 = 5 Bucks/Bokke etc.
| Term | Denomination | Designation | Origin |
| 2 Bob | .20 | a 20 cent coin | United Kingdom 2 shillings |
| 5 Bob | .50 | a 50 cent coin | United Kingdom 5 shillings |
| Boice | 2 | a R2 coin | township slang |
| Tiger | 10 | a R10 note | township slang |
| Chocko | 20 | a R20 note | township slang |
| 5 Tiger | 50 | a R50 note | township slang |
| Pinkies | 50 | a R50 note | due to the note's colour |
| Jacket | 50 | a R50 note | township slang |
| 1 Sheet | 100 | a R100 note | township slang |
| Clipa | 100 | a R100 | township slang |
| Stena | an amount of R1,000 | from the township word for brick | |
| Grand | an amount of R1,000 | United Kingdom | |
| Bar | an amount of R1,000,000 | Durban slang | |
| Meter | 1,000,000 | an amount of R1,000,000 | township slang |
Netherlands
Netherlands-slang5 cent : centoe, kleingeld, stuiver
10 cents: dubbeltje "duppie"
25 cents: kwartje
1 euro : uru, djara, ballen, e, ekkie, pop
2.5 Guilders" rijksdaalder
5 euro: lotto, vijfje
10 euro: donnie, tientje, joet -
25 euro: twaja donnie, geeltje
50 euro: bankoe
100 euro: barkie, meier, mud, snip -
1000 euro: doezoe, rooie/rooie rug/rug, kop
100.000 euro: ton
1.000.000 euro: milli
New Zealand
In New Zealand one dollar and two dollar coins are often referred to as "gold coins". This presumably comes from the term "gold coin donation", which is widely used in New Zealand in schools on days such as mufti day and in a Koha.Sweden
In Sweden money in general is colloquially referred to by the words stålar, deg or klöver and the English loanword cash. Slang terms for the Swedish krona in use today include spänn and bagis. Riksdaler is still used as a colloquial term for the krona in Sweden. A 20-kronor banknote is sometimes called selma, referring to the portrait of Selma Lagerlöf on the older version of the note.In the southern part of Sweden, the parts that originally belonged to Denmark until the mid 1600, you can also use the word spänn for money. If you remove the umlauts in the word it will mean bucket in the county Skåne in Sweden. In the rest of Sweden the bucket word is hink. The word spann comes from the time when Skåne belonged to Denmark
The expression above would then be...det kostar 10 spänn... it costs 10 kronor.
United Kingdom
Ready money has been referred to in the United Kingdom as "dosh" since at least 1953; Brewer equates this term with "paying through the nose", dosh being a Russian-Jewish prefix referring to the nose, that is, paying in cash. The phrase itself "ready money" has also given rise to the far more popular "readies", though there is debate as to whether this is an obvious reference to the immediate availability of the currency or the red and white colour of the British ten shilling Treasury note of 1914. The related term "cash on the nail" is said to refer to 17th century trading stands in Bristol and elsewhere, over which deals were done and cash changed hands. Other general terms for money include "bread", "cabbage", "clam", "milk", "dosh", "dough", "shillings", "frogskins", "notes", "ducats", "loot", "bones", "bar", "coin", "folding stuff", "honk", "lolly", "lucre"/"filthy "Lucre", "moola/moolah", "mazuma", "paper", "scratch", "readies", "spondulicks/spondoolics/spondulix/spondoolies", and "wonga".Quid is used for pound sterling or £, in British slang. It is thought to derive from the Latin phrase "quid pro quo". A pound may also be referred to as a "nicker" or "nugget".
Some other pre-decimalisation United Kingdom coins or denominations became commonly known by colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being "bob" for a shilling. A farthing was a "mag", a silver threepence was a "joey", and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a "threepenny bit" ; a sixpence was a "tanner", the two-shilling coin or florin was a "two-bob bit", the two shillings and sixpence coin or half-crown was a "half dollar" and the crown was a "dollar". Slang terms are not generally used for the decimal coins that replaced them but in some parts of the country, "bob" continues to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence, and two bob is 10p. For all denominations "p" is used for pence.
In the United Kingdom the term "shrapnel" may be used for an inconvenient pocketful of loose change because of the association with a shrapnel shell and "wad" or "wedge" for a bundle of banknotes, with "tightwad" a derogatory term for someone who is reluctant to spend money. Similar to " shrapnel" the use of "washers" in Scotland denotes a quantity of low value coinage. Quantities of UK 1p and 2p coins may be referred to as "Copper", 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins as "Silver" and £1 and £2 coins as "Bronze" due to their colour and apparent base metal type. "Brass" is northern English slang for any amount of money.
The one pound note still in circulation in Scotland is occasionally referred to as a "Sheet" and thus the ten shilling note as a "Half Sheet". More commonly the ten shilling note was a "ten bob note" or, in London, "half a bar".
"As bent as a nine bob note" is or was common colloquial phrase used to describe something or someone crooked or counterfeit.
In pub culture five and ten pound notes are sometimes called "blue beer tokens" and "brown beer tokens" respectively.
Fairly recent additions are a "Winston" for £5, and "bullseye" for £50 .
£5 is called a "fiver". A "tenner" is £10. A "Darwin" also refers to a £10 note, due to the image of Charles Darwin on the back. £20 is sometimes referred to as a “score”. A "pony" equals £25. A "bullseye" is £50.
£100 is sometimes referred to as a "ton" e.g. £400 would be called 4 ton. Also, a "century" or a "bill" are also used as £100. A "monkey" is £500.
£1,000 is commonly referred to as a grand, e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 grand, or rarely in certain dialects as a "bag", e.g., £4,000 would be called 4 bags.
A "oner" has referred to various amounts from one shilling to a pound, to now meaning £100 or £1,000, and a "big one" denoting £1,000. A "oncer" referred particularly to a one-pound note, now defunct.
Other rhyming slang expressions for particular quantities of money in the United Kingdom include: "Lady Godiva" for a fiver, or a "Jacks" - Jackson Five and "diver" for pearl diver. A "Cockle" is £10 - Cock and Hen — ten. A "Bobby" is £20 - Bobby Moore.
In London financial culture, a billion pounds or, more often, US dollars, is referred to as a 'yard'. This derives from the old British English word for a thousand million, a milliard, which has now been replaced by the 'short scale' name 'billion' from US English. The term 'million' for a million pounds or dollars is often dropped when it is clear from context. E.g. "He made three quid last year" would mean "He earned three million pounds". "They manage a hundred bucks" means that they have assets of a hundred million US dollars.
United States
General terms include bucks, dough, bread, moolah, cheddar, paper, stash, Benjamin, Benji, loot, smackers, and samoleons. Outdated or rarely used terms include: bones, clams, tamales, scratch, grease, cheese, guap, lettuce, salad, scrilla, scrill, chips, cake, ducats, spondulix, celery, and cabbage. The dollar has also been referred to as a "bean" or "bone".U.S. coinage nicknames reflect their value, composition and tradition.
- The “ONE CENT” coin is commonly called a penny due to historical comparison with the British penny. Older U.S. pennies, prior to 1982, are sometimes called “coppers” due to being made of 95% copper. Pennies dated 1909–1958, displaying wheat stalks on the reverse, are sometimes called “wheaties” or “wheat-backs”, while 1943 steel wheat cents are sometimes nicknamed "steelies".
- The “FIVE CENTS” coin is commonly called a nickel due to being made of 25% nickel since 1866.
- The “ONE DIME” coin is worth ten cents and is simply referred to as a dime.
- The “QUARTER DOLLAR” coin is worth twenty-five cents and is commonly called a quarter. A quarter used to be called two-bits, but this is falling out of use.
- The “HALF DOLLAR” coin is worth fifty cents and is commonly called a “fifty-cent piece”.
- Dimes and quarters used to be sometimes collectively referred to as “silver” due to their historic composition of 90% silver prior to 1965.
U.S. banknote nicknames reflect their values, the subjects depicted on them and their color.
- $1 bill is sometimes called a "single," a "buck," a "" or rarely an "ace".
- $2 bill is sometimes referred to as a "deuce" or a "Tom".
- $5 bill has been referred to as a "fin", "fiver" or "five-spot".
- $10 bill is a "sawbuck", a "ten-spot", or a "Hamilton".
- $20 bill as a "Jackson", or a "dub", or a "double sawbuck".
- Among horse-race gamblers, the $50 bill is called a "frog" and is considered unlucky.
- $100 bill is occasionally "C-note" or "century note"; it can also be referred to as a "Benjamin", or a "yard". "A rack" is $10,000 in the form of one hundred $100 bills, banded by a bank or otherwise.
- $1000 notes are occasionally referred to as "large". In slang, a thousand dollars may also be referred to as a "grand" or "G", "K", or a "stack" as well as a "band". For example, "The repairs to my car cost me a couple grand" or "The repairs to my car cost me a couple stacks".
- $100,000 US dollars is called a "brick".
"Greenback" originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand Note dollars created by Abraham Lincoln to finance the costs of the American Civil War for the North. The original note was printed in black and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S. dollar.
Other more general terms for money, not specifically linked to actual banknotes:
- Monetary units larger than 1 dollar are often referred to by the names of their coin counterparts: $5 is a "nickel," $10 is a "dime," and $25 is a "quarter."
- One hundred dollars is known in some circles as a "yard." It can also be called a buck, or a "dollar", but since a buck is also used for one dollar, the context needs to be clear.
- A million dollars is sometimes called a "rock," popularized by several TV shows and movies, most recently The Sopranos: in one episode Tony Soprano states, "So adjusting for inflation I'm looking at half a rock?" In a separate episode Soprano states: "This whole thing is going to cost me close to a rock." Another slang term for a million dollars is an "M", as used in rap songs. Financial institutions and applications will often use "MM" when writing shorthand for a million dollars, as a million is the product of the Roman numeral "M" times itself. More common usage is a "mil".