Colombia

Colombian Slang for Money & Work

4 Colombian slang terms for money & work, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.

Slang for cash, cost, employment and effort. Money terms are among the oldest and most durable slang in any language, and often the most regionally specific.

camello

noun · Informal · kah-MEH-yoh

A job, or work generally. 'Conseguir camello' is to find work; 'estoy sin camello' is to be unemployed.

+2 more senses

hacer una vaca

idiom, noun · Informal · ah-SEHR OO-nah VAH-kah

To have a whip-round; to put in equal shares for a shared purchase, typically drinks, a barbecue or a leaving present.

+1 more sense

lucas

noun · Informal · LOO-kahs

Thousands of pesos. Una luca is 1,000; veinte lucas is 20,000. Because Colombian prices run in thousands, this is how everyday amounts are actually spoken.

+1 more sense

rebusque

noun · Colloquial · rreh-BOOS-keh

Informal income-hustling: selling sweets on the bus, doing deliveries, reselling, whatever pays today. Not a euphemism for crime, and Colombians are precise about that distinction.

+1 more sense