/poɾ ˌkwatɾo ˈperas/ lit. ‘for four coins’
Spanish idiom, colloquial. For a very small amount of money.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Por cuatro perras
?
Colloquial Spanish from Spain, used about buying something for almost nothing or being paid almost nothing: “lo compró por cuatro perras”, “trabaja por cuatro perras”. “Cuatro” isn’t a real count here; Spanish uses it to mean “a handful” (as in “cuatro gatos”, hardly anyone).
Por cuatro perras
in real sentences
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Al final, parece que Tomasa lo compró por cuatro perras.
In the end, it looks like Tomasa bought it for next to nothing.
Tatoeba, sentence by Seael, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Jacobo vendería a su propia madre por cuatro perras miserables.
Jacobo would sell his own mother for a handful of coins.
Tatoeba, sentence by Seael, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Por cuatro perras
come from?
The perras were real coins. English and Spanish Wiktionary both explain that Spain’s 5 and 10 céntimo coins, minted from 1870, showed a lion so badly drawn that people said it looked like a dog, so the small one became the “perra chica” and the big one the “perra gorda”. From there “perras” came to mean money in general. Spanish Wiktionary flags that story as needing a citation, so treat it as the standard explanation and not a proven fact.
Mistakes learners make with Por cuatro perras
Taking it to Latin America. Spanish Wiktionary marks “perra” in the sense of money as used in Spain and the Philippines, and elsewhere “perra” is first of all a female dog and a common insult, so the phrase can land badly.
Other Spanish idioms like Por cuatro perras
Spot a mistake in Por cuatro perras
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