Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cuban peso

Cuban peso

1 3.3
The money used in Cuba that equals 100 centavos
  • noun
  • /ˈkuːbən ˈpeɪsoʊ/
translation icon : peso cubano
  • Today, you would need about 12.50 Cuban pesos to buy a bar of soap on the black market.
  • paid in Cuban pesos

Examples

  • In the dollarized black market, imported soap is easily available for 50 U.S. cents per bar or 12.50 Cuban pesos.

    Academic text (1996)

  • A taxi driver charges ten Cuban pesos per person, per ride.

  • The average salary in Cuba is around 20 Cuban pesos a month.

Surface Forms

Cuban peso singular
Cuban pesos plural

Morphology

Cuban + peso

The meaning is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents: 'Cuban' (pertaining to Cuba) + 'peso' (a unit of currency) clearly yields the monetary unit used in Cuba. This follows a common adjective + noun pattern for national currencies found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.

Etymology

Cuban peso comes from Spanish: peso originally meant the 'weight' because old coins were measured by the weight of 'silver'. That's why Cuban peso today means the basic money of Cuba.