grand - for money or currency

A

acm74

New Member
Budapest
french
Hello!
I'm currently living in Hungary and it's pretty common to have 5000 forints in your pocket (17€)
I was wondering if I can say: "I have 5 grand(s) in my pocket" or is it used only for GBP and USD?
Many thanks
 
    • Bonjour acm74,

    Je pense que "grand" induit fortement l'idée qu'on parle de grosses sommes. Tu peux l'utiliser avec n'importe quelle monnaie, à condition que "one grand" ne corresponde pas à des queues de cerises. Donc, pas pour le forint, je pense.

    En revanche, les anglais utilisent beaucoup, à l'oral, la lettre "K" pour parler de milliers (prononcer "quay").
    J'ai 5000 dans mon porte-feuilles (parlant de n'importe quelle monnaie) = I have 5K in my wallet.
    Je vais courir 10 000 metres ce week-end = I'm going to run a 10K this weekend.
     
    I would think that you could use "grand" with any currency -- the word simply means "thousand."

    Thus:
    How many rubles did you have to pay for that car? Sixty grand.
    Talking about forints or kroner or marks: I've got five grand in my pocket right now, and I'm going to the bank to get more.
     
    misterk said:
    I would think that you could use "grand" with any currency -- the word simply means "thousand."

    Thus:
    How many rubles did you have to pay for that car? Sixty grand.
    Talking about forints or kroner or marks: I've got five grand in my pocket right now, and I'm going to the bank to get more.
    Click to expand...
    According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, grand specifically refers to a thousand dollars. I've personally heard it to mean a thousand pounds but would hesitate using it about other currencies, fearing it might be misunderstood.
     
    I'm a bit surprised, there, Misterk. Just to be sure, I understand it wouldn't suprise you to spend 5 grands on a taxi ride? Or that you spent 5 grands to pay your friends a beer?

    Somehow, it sounds wrong to me (but I could be mistaken).
     
    Ok thanks to everyone :)
    I also aksed my american flatmate and he never used that term to talk about forints.
    Pity, because, It's more likely for me to use it here than in France with euros...
     
    Just adding my opinion: I would use the word 'grand' (invariable, never with an S), to talk about a thousand units of any currency.
     
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