Billetes de cinco y de diez.
Fives and tens.
A banknote is named by the number printed on it, so billetes de cinco y de diez are fives and tens.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "ticket" in Spanish
el billete
nounmasculineplural: los billetesalso: banknote
"Ticket" in Spanish is el billete in Spain, for a train, bus or plane, and el boleto in most of Latin America. A ticket to a concert, a movie or a museum is la entrada. In Spain billete also means a banknote, and that's the meaning you'll hear in the scenes below.
Hear "billete" in real movie scenes
Both scenes use the money meaning. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Perdón, solo tengo billetes grandes
Sorry, I only have big bills.
It's the classic problem at the register: no change, only large notes, which Spanish calls billetes grandes.
From 30 minutos o menos · Spanish audio
Billete, boleto, entrada: which ticket?
Spanish picks the word by what the ticket is for and where you are.
| Spanish | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el billete | Train, bus, metro or plane tickets in Spain | un billete de tren (a train ticket) |
| el boleto | Travel tickets in most of Latin America, and event tickets in Mexico | un boleto de avión (a plane ticket) |
| la entrada | Concerts, movies, museums and games | dos entradas para el cine (two movie tickets) |
| el pasaje | Travel tickets, common in South America | un pasaje a Lima (a ticket to Lima) |
| la multa | A parking or speeding ticket, which is a fine | una multa de tráfico (a traffic ticket) |
| el ticket, el tique | A store receipt in Spain | ¿Me da el ticket? (Can I have the receipt?) |
Tip: At a station in Spain you'll hear sacar un billete, "to get a ticket", as often as comprar un billete.
Grammar: el billete, los billetes
Four points for tickets and banknotes.
Masculine, no accent mark
el billete, un billete, los billetes. The stress falls on LLE without any written accent.De says what kind
un billete de tren, un billete de autobús, un billete de cinco. What it's for, or what it's worth, comes after de.A for places, para for events
un billete a Madrid for the destination. entradas para el concierto or billetes para el lunes for the event or the day.The ll sound
In most of the Spanish-speaking world ll sounds like the y in yes: bee-YEH-teh. It never sounds like the l in bill.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Es un billete de cinco.
It's a five-euro bill.
Pago el café con un billete de diez.
I'm paying for the coffee with a ten.
Perdón, solo tengo billetes grandes.
Sorry, I only have big bills.
Un billete de tren a Madrid, por favor.
A train ticket to Madrid, please.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗un billete para el concierto (in Spain)
✓una entrada para el concierto
Shows, games and museums take entrada. Billete is for travel and for money.
✗bil-LEH-teh (pronunciation)
✓bee-YEH-teh
The double l is one sound, close to the y in yes.
✗un billete por Madrid
✓un billete a Madrid
English "for" tempts you toward por, but the destination takes a or para.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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The other 14 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Billete starts with bill, and a billete can be a bill. Picture a train ticket printed on a banknote, and you have both meanings in one image.
Questions about "ticket" in Spanish
How do you say ticket in Spanish?
For travel, el billete in Spain and el boleto in most of Latin America. For a concert or a movie, la entrada.
What does billete mean in Spanish?
Two things: a banknote (un billete de veinte, a twenty) and, in Spain, a travel ticket (un billete de tren).
How do you say "round-trip ticket" in Spanish?
Un billete de ida y vuelta in Spain, or un boleto de ida y vuelta in Latin America. One way is de ida.
How do you say "parking ticket" in Spanish?
Una multa, which means a fine. Me pusieron una multa means "I got a ticket".
