A centavo is a small unit of money used in many Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries. Just as the United States uses cents (with 100 cents making one dollar), countries like Mexico and Brazil use centavos (with 100 centavos making one peso, real, or other main currency unit). Some other countries, such as the Philippines, used centavos in the past.

If you traveled to Mexico and bought a snack for 50 centavos, you'd be paying half a peso, similar to paying 50 cents for something in the United States.

In everyday conversation, people in these countries treat centavos just like Americans treat pennies and nickels: they're the small change that jingles in your pocket. A Mexican child saving up centavos to buy candy faces the same patient challenge as an American child collecting pennies. Some centavo coins have become so small in value over time that countries have stopped making them, the same way some people argue the United States should stop making pennies.