Gastar vs Pasar: Spending Money vs Spending Time in Spanish

English uses one verb — spend — for both money and time. Spanish uses two completely different verbs, and mixing them up is a very common mistake for English speakers.

• Gastar = to spend money (or use up resources)
• Pasar = to spend time (or for time to pass)

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Gastar: Spending Money and Using Up Resources

Gastar covers spending money and using up anything consumable.

Spending money

• Gasté cien euros en zapatos. — I spent a hundred euros on shoes.
• No gastes tanto dinero. — Don’t spend so much money.
• ¿Cuánto gastaste en el viaje? — How much did you spend on the trip?
• Gasta demasiado en ropa. — She spends too much on clothes.

Using up resources

• El coche gasta mucha gasolina. — The car uses a lot of petrol.
• Gasté toda la batería. — I used up all the battery.
• Esta calefacción gasta mucha energía. — This heater uses a lot of energy.

Wearing something out

Gastar can also describe wearing something down through use:

• He gastado estos zapatos. — I’ve worn out these shoes.
• Las ruedas están gastadas. — The tyres are worn out.

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Pasar: Spending Time

Use pasar when talking about spending time doing something or being somewhere:

• Pasé el verano en México. — I spent the summer in Mexico.
• Pasamos el día en la playa. — We spent the day at the beach.
• ¿Cómo pasas el tiempo libre? — How do you spend your free time?
• Pasó horas estudiando. — She spent hours studying.

Time passing on its own

Pasar also describes time going by:

• ¿Cómo pasa el tiempo! — How time flies!
• Pasaron tres años. — Three years passed.
• Ya pasó un mes. — A month has already gone by.

Pasar in other contexts

Pasar is a versatile verb with many other uses beyond time:

• ¿Qué pasó? — What happened?
• Pasa por aquí. — Come through here.
• ¿Me pasas la sal? — Can you pass me the salt?

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The Core Rule

You want to say…	Verb	Example
Spend money	gastar	Gasté veinte euros.
Use up resources	gastar	Gasta mucha luz.
Spend time	pasar	Pasé la tarde leyendo.
Time passes	pasar	Pasaron los años.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Pasé mucho dinero en eso. (wrong — this sounds like you let money walk past) ✓ Gasté mucho dinero en eso. — I spent a lot of money on that.

❌ Gasté el fin de semana en casa. (wrong) ✓ Pasé el fin de semana en casa. — I spent the weekend at home.

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