Luca
A thousand pesos — the unit Chileans actually count money in.
Related lesson: Chilean Spanish: A Survival Guide.
Hear it in context
Me costó veinte lucas.
It cost me twenty thousand pesos.
¿Me prestas dos lucas hasta el viernes?
Can you lend me two thousand pesos till Friday?
La entrada sale como quince lucas, más el gorro.
The ticket is about fifteen thousand, plus the booking fee.
What It Actually Means
A luca is one thousand Chilean pesos. Prices in conversation are almost never given in full: a 25,000-peso jacket costs veinticinco lucas, and only the price tag says otherwise. Above it sits the palo — a million pesos — which is how Chileans discuss salaries and rents.
Where It Comes From
Río de la Plata lunfardo again: luca meant a thousand pesos in Buenos Aires long before it reached Santiago, probably via Luca as slang for a banknote. Argentina still uses it; Chile made it universal.
How Natives Use It
For every everyday sum: rent in palos, a night out in lucas, and small change in gambas (a hundred pesos) among older speakers. Shops and banks stay formal, so you will hear luca from the person selling and mil pesos from the receipt.
Common Pitfall
Don’t mix currencies in your head: twenty lucas is twenty thousand pesos, which is a modest sum, not a fortune. And note that Spain’s pasta and Argentina’s guita mean money in general, whereas luca is a specific unit — see the money and banking lesson for how to say numbers out loud.