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The English word ticket (that is, a slip of paper used to grant access to something) can be translated several different ways in Spanish:

  • boleto
  • pasaje
  • billete
  • ticket
  • entrada
  • resguardo

What are the differences between these words? In what situations would each be used? Specifically, which are appropriate for a plane, bus, or train ticket?

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3 Answers 3

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Pasaje and billete are usually used in the transportation sector (pasaje de tren, billete de avión, etc.). Boleto is commonly used in the lottery and gambling world (boleto de lotería), but can also be used in the same way as pasaje and billete.

Entrada refers to a ticket to a show or a generic event.

Resguardo is usually a paper that certifies something (a comercial transaction, a bureaucratic affair, a package delivery, the delivery of a document...).

Note I'm talking about the usage of these words in Spain.

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    The usual English word for resguardo is receipt.
    – hippietrail
    Nov 23, 2011 at 9:16
  • @hippietrail, thanks, the word didn't come to my mind.
    – Ignacio Contreras Pinilla
    Nov 23, 2011 at 10:02
  • No problem. I had to check because the word I always used for receipt was recibo.
    – hippietrail
    Nov 23, 2011 at 10:33
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    As I said in my answer there are a lot of highly localized usage there. In Argentina, for example, "billete" is for money or lottery ticket ONLY, "boleto" is for ground transportation ticket (bus, train, but never airplane or ship. Those use "pasaje") :). Also "boleto" is used in the sense you mentioned "resguardo", as in "boleto de venta" (a legal promise to sell a property)
    – Dr. belisarius
    Nov 23, 2011 at 16:12
  • @belisarius you're right; I was talking about what I've seen so far in Spain.
    – Ignacio Contreras Pinilla
    Nov 23, 2011 at 18:42
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Voy a colocar el significado coloquial de estas palabras en Chile, solo por referencia:

  • boleto/boleta
    • trozo de papel que atestigua de algún suceso. Es común que se refiera a un recibo de pago.
  • pasaje:
    • derecho de abordar a un transporte. También se refiere al trozo de papel que atestigua este derecho.
  • billete:
    • reservado para moneda de papel.
  • ticket:
    • igual que boleto pero no se usa para recibo de pago. Es común que se use en vez de entrada.
  • entrada:
    • derecho de entrar a algun lugar. Común para conciertos, cine, etc. Se usa también para nombrar el trozo de papel que atestigua esto.
  • resguardo / recibo:
    • no usado en Chile, pero se entiende que es un papel o comprobante en recibo de un pago o prenda.
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Boleto, pasaje, billete and ticket (and tiquete) have different local precise meanings, but are usually understandable by almost anyone.

Entrada, refers usually to a ticket you have to show up at the entrance (in the cinema, for example).

Resguardo is not an usual word for a ticket, but I heard it used referring to the part of the ticket stripped from the main body which allows you to exit from some place where you could only enter with a ticket and the going back in (showing the resguardo)

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  • The usual English word for resguardo is receipt.
    – hippietrail
    Nov 23, 2011 at 9:16
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    @hippi Receipt is usually translated as "recibo"
    – Dr. belisarius
    Nov 23, 2011 at 14:20
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    Indeed. But that's in the other direction. Welcome to the wonderful word of translation where symmetry as you know it is not guaranteed (-:
    – hippietrail
    Nov 23, 2011 at 14:43

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