Money Heist Quotes by Character: 33 Real Lines With Transcriptions, Phonetics and Show Insights
Yurii Rebryk · Updated October 4, 2026 · 12 min read
The best-known Money Heist quotes are Berlin’s “Death can be the greatest opportunity of your life”, Nairobi’s “To love you need courage” and the Professor’s “Either we both win… or we both lose”. Below are 33 lines checked against English transcripts of all 41 episodes, grouped by character, each with the part and episode, the scene, the idioms explained and IPA for the hard words.
In this article
- How these Money Heist quotes were checked
- Money Heist Professor quotes
- Tokyo quotes from the narrator
- Berlin quotes
- Nairobi quotes, including “Let the matriarchy begin”
- Funny Money Heist quotes: Denver, Moscow and Stockholm
- Palermo, Lisbon, Rio and Alicia Sierra quotes
- “Bella ciao” and the resistance theme
- Money Heist quotes that are misquoted or never said
- Money Heist quotes in Spanish
- Short Money Heist quotes for captions
- Money Heist facts: creator, parts, cast and awards
- How to shadow Money Heist lines to practise English
Jump to the Professor, Tokyo, Berlin, Nairobi, lines the show never had, show facts or shadowing practice.
How these Money Heist quotes were checked
Every quote here was found word for word in English transcripts of all 41 episodes; lines we could not find are in the “never said” table. IPA is the US pronunciation from the Cambridge Dictionary.
Money Heist (La casa de papel) is Spanish, so every English line is a translation, and the dub and the subtitles are written separately. With over 70% of US viewers choosing the dub, Netflix hired a new dubbing crew for Part 3 in 2019 and re-dubbed Parts 1 and 2 (The New York Times, via Wikipedia). Our Parts 1–2 transcript reads like a subtitle translation; Parts 3–5 are dub captions. If your version words a line differently, both can be right.
Netflix re-cut the 15 Antena 3 episodes of Parts 1–2 into 22 shorter ones, so those lines carry the part only. Parts 3–5 use Netflix numbering from the episode list.
Money Heist Professor quotes
The Professor is Sergio Marquina (Álvaro Morte), who plans both heists from outside. His calm lines are the easiest to copy.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “I don’t want any names, or personal questions, or, of course, personal relationships.” | Part 1 | The first class at the country house, setting the gang’s rules. | Of course before the last item gives it weight. Each robber then picks a city as a name. |
| “I lied to you. Because there is something that we’ll be stealing, we’ll be stealing the police’s time.” | Part 1 | A flashback class: the plan is built to waste police time. | Steal time is his joke; the usual phrase is buy time. |
| “By instinct, human beings always, always side with the weaker one. The underdog.” | Part 2 | He uses a Brazil v Cameroon match to explain why the public will back the gang. | side with = support. underdog /ˈʌn.dɚ.dɑːɡ/: the side expected to lose. |
| “I’m making a liquidity injection, but not for the banks. I’m doing it here, in the real economy.” | Part 2 | To Raquel, after saying the European Central Bank called its new money “liquidity injections”. | liquidity /lɪˈkwɪd.ə.t̬i/ = money available to spend. injection /ɪnˈdʒek.ʃən/. |
| “Either we both win… or we both lose.” | Part 5, Ep. 10 | The final standoff with Colonel Tamayo; later: “Colonel, it’s time for you to face it. This is checkmate.” | Checkmate = the winning end of a chess game. colonel sounds like “kernel”: /ˈkɝː.nəl/. |
| “I’m a thief. Son of a thief. Brother of a thief. I hope someday to be the father of a thief.” | Part 5, Ep. 10 | Asked how a self-styled Robin Hood can take a country’s gold, he answers with his family history. | One noun, four relations. thief /θiːf/: tongue between the teeth, long “ee”. |
| “It didn’t all work out the way we wanted. We’re not all here. But… well, we did achieve something.” | Part 5, Ep. 10 | With the surviving gang after the heist. | work out = end well. Stress the extra did: it adds emphasis. |
Tokyo quotes from the narrator
Tokyo (Silene Oliveira, played by Úrsula Corberó) narrates the series, so many of her famous lines are voice-over: fast, full of images, good for listening.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “But if you think about it, you never find a good day for a robbery.” | Part 1 | Mid-hijack, she remembers a marriage proposal from the night before. | If you think about it introduces a conclusion in speech. |
| “An M16 bullet is fired at 3,510 kph. It flies faster than the speed of sound. So if you’re shot in the heart, you won’t even hear the bullet that has killed you.” | Part 1 | Narration during the first shootout at the Royal Mint. | Fan posts say “2,100 miles per hour”; 3,510 km/h is about 2,180 mph. Say kph as “kilometres an hour”. |
| “All decisions we’ve taken in the past lead us inexorably towards our future.” | Part 1 | Narration about choices, just before Rio turns on the TV. | inexorably /ˌɪnˈek.sər.ə.bli/ = in a way nobody can stop. |
| “Hope is like dominoes, once one falls, the others follow.” | Part 1 | The gang’s mood drops and the hostages notice. | Like + noun makes a simile. dominoes /ˈdɑm·əˌnoʊz/. |
| “After all, love is a good reason to make everything go wrong.” | Part 1 | Narration warning that a love story will put the plan at risk. | Usually posted as “In the end, love is a good reason for everything to fall apart”: another translation. |
| “But happiness is a lightning bolt. An exhalation, and then, you fall. When you’ve touched the sky, the fall is colossal.” | Part 3, Ep. 7 | The gang’s happiest moment in the Bank of Spain, before things go wrong. | exhalation = breathing out. colossal /kəˈlɑː.səl/ = huge. |
| “A lot of people believe we only find one true love in our lives. But what they don’t realize… is you can have several lives.” | Part 5, Ep. 5 | Her last scene, to Rio, adding: “But now is the first day of your next life.” | What they don’t realize is… puts the new idea last. Reuse it. |
Berlin quotes
Berlin is Andrés de Fonollosa (Pedro Alonso), a terminally ill jewel thief and the Professor’s older brother. He is killed at the end of Part 2 (Wikipedia), so his later lines are flashbacks.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Do you know what five divorces are? Five times I believed in love.” | Part 1 | Inside the Mint, giving Rio cynical advice about women. | The joke turns failure into virtue. divorce /dɪˈvɔːrs/. |
| “First times are special. Unique. But the last times are beyond comparison, priceless.” | Part 2 | To the hostage Ariadna, before telling her he has months to live. | beyond comparison = better than anything. priceless = too valuable to price. |
| “I have the same right as anyone to die in peace. With dignity.” | Part 2 | A video answering police claims about his past. | the same right as. dignity /ˈdɪɡ.nə.t̬i/: the t sounds like a quick d. |
| “Death can be the greatest opportunity of your life, Sergio.” | Part 4, Ep. 1 | Flashback to his wedding, where he also says: “Life weighs more, little brother. Life.” | opportunity /ˌɑː.pɚˈtuː.nə.t̬i/: stress on TU. A dying man says it. |
| “Betrayal doesn’t depend on how much or deeply you love someone. It depends on the magnitude of the dilemma put in front of you.” | Part 4, Ep. 2 | The wedding: the Professor says he is betraying his bride; Berlin calls betrayal “an inherent part of love”. | depend on, never “depend of”. magnitude /ˈmæɡ.nə.tuːd/, dilemma /dɪˈlem.ə/. |
| “Love can’t be timed! Love is to be lived.” | Part 3, Ep. 6 | Flashback: the Professor asks how long he has known Tatiana. | is to be lived = should be lived. |
| “The things that are really important in life, Rafael, have a high price. Rebellion. Liberty. Ideals.” | Part 5, Ep. 1 | Flashback: to his son Rafael, who fears ending up in a police van. | have a high price = cost a lot, not only money. Pause after each one-word sentence. |
Nairobi quotes, including “Let the matriarchy begin”
Nairobi is Ágata Jiménez (Alba Flores), the forger who runs the printing in the Mint.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Professor, it’s Nairobi. Berlin is indisposed. So from now on, I’m in charge. Let the matriarchy begin.” | Part 2 | She takes the phone and the command from Berlin. Alba Flores asked to say the last line into the camera (Diario de Cuyo). | indisposed = politely ill; a dry joke here. matriarchy /ˈmeɪ.tri.ɑːr.ki/ = rule by women. |
| “Stockholm syndrome is when the hostage develops feelings for the kidnapper.” | Part 2 | She tells Denver that Mónica’s feelings may not be love. | X is when… is an informal definition. syndrome /ˈsɪn.droʊm/. |
| “To love you need courage. I have courage.” | Part 3, Ep. 5 | Palermo mocks her feelings for Helsinki; she answers, then tells Helsinki she loves him. | courage /ˈkɝː.ɪdʒ/: two syllables, stress on the first. |
Funny Money Heist quotes: Denver, Moscow and Stockholm
Denver (Jaime Lorente) and his father Moscow (Paco Tous), a former miner, bring the warm, funny moments. The hostage Mónica Gaztambide falls for Denver and becomes Stockholm.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver: “But if she has a syndrome or illness we’ll get over it together.” | Part 2 | His answer when Nairobi explains Stockholm syndrome. | get over = recover from. He treats a psychology term like a cold. |
| Denver: “If you come with us, you… your name could be Stockholm.” | Part 2 | Mónica plans to blame Stockholm syndrome; Denver makes it her code name. | Could be makes a soft suggestion. |
| Moscow: “Don’t worry, son. I’ve got loads of blood. I’ve eaten lots of blood sausage.” | Part 2 | Badly shot, he tries to calm Denver. | loads of = a lot of. sausage /ˈsɑː.sɪdʒ/: ends like “sidge”. |
Palermo, Lisbon, Rio and Alicia Sierra quotes
Palermo (Rodrigo de la Serna) plans the Bank of Spain heist with Berlin. Inspector Raquel Murillo (Itziar Ituño) joins the gang as Lisbon; Inspector Alicia Sierra (Najwa Nimri) replaces her.
| Quote | Part | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palermo: “I would betray you. That’s perfectly clear. And the rest of the gang, too. But the plan? Never.” | Part 4, Ep. 3 | Flashback: he tells the Professor where his loyalty lies. | Rising tone on “But the plan?”, falling on “Never.” |
| Palermo: “But there are no right sides in the inferno, Commander.” | Part 5, Ep. 6 | To Sagasta, the army commander inside the bank, after both sides lose people. | Lists say “no right sides in hell, Major”. inferno /ɪnˈfɝː.noʊ/ = huge fire; here, hell. |
| Lisbon: “Very few people in this world are capable of braving the impossible to save someone.” | Part 5, Ep. 6 | In a video message after Tokyo’s death. | brave as a verb = face danger. capable of + -ing. |
| Rio: “Every day. I woke up wondering if that day was my last day.” | Part 3, Ep. 7 | He tells the Professor about his secret detention. | Often quoted as “Every day, I’d wake up wondering if it was my last.” |
| Alicia: “I thought if I ran fast enough… the sadness wouldn’t catch up with me.” | Part 5, Ep. 7 | Hiding with the Professor, she talks about her husband’s funeral. | catch up with = reach someone ahead of you. |
“Bella ciao” and the resistance theme
“Bella ciao” (“goodbye, beautiful”) is an Italian anti-fascist song: the Professor and Berlin sing it before the first heist, and it plays as the gang escapes from the Mint. Writer Javier Gómez Santander brought it to the show, and it became a summer hit across Europe in 2018 (Wikipedia). Tokyo explains it in Part 1:
Wikipedia gives the same narration as “The life of the Professor revolved around a single idea: Resistance”. A partisan is a member of an armed resistance group.
Money Heist quotes that are misquoted or never said
We searched all 41 transcripts for each line below, with two different key phrases.
| Popular version | Seen on | What the show has |
|---|---|---|
| “I’m not a psychopath. I’m a high-functioning sociopath.” (as Berlin) | Economic Times, 2026 | Not in Money Heist: Sherlock says it in Sherlock, “A Study in Pink” (BBC, 2010), per Wikiquote. |
| “This is not a robbery. This is a revolution.” | Economic Times | No match: “revolution” is in none of the 41 episodes. |
| “The time is more than money.” | Google’s AI answer | Closest: Tokyo in Part 1, “the sentence time is money had never been better used”. |
| “When you hit bottom, you still have something to scratch on your way to the abyss.” | Google’s AI answer | No match for “hit bottom”; “abyss” appears only in other lines. |
| “It takes more courage to be in love than it does for war.” (as Helsinki) | Quora, EpicQuotes | No match. Closest: Nairobi’s “To love you need courage.” |
| “Real chaos makes no noise.” | Google’s AI answer (Berlin), EpicQuotes (Palermo) | Part 4, Ep. 3 has “Real chaos, my dear Sergio, makes no noise”, but the transcript does not show the speaker. |
Money Heist quotes in Spanish
La casa de papel means “The House of Paper”. Two famous lines in the original Spanish:
| Spanish | English | Source |
|---|---|---|
| “¡Empieza el matriarcado!” (Nairobi) | “Let the matriarchy begin.” | El Mostrador, 2018: viral around International Women’s Day |
| “Ganamos los dos o perdemos los dos.” (the Professor) | “Either we both win… or we both lose.” | El Comercio, 2021, on the finale |
Short Money Heist quotes for captions
- “Let the matriarchy begin.” (Nairobi)
- “To love you need courage.” (Nairobi)
- “Either we both win… or we both lose.” (the Professor)
- “This is checkmate.” (the Professor)
- “Love can’t be timed! Love is to be lived.” (Berlin)
- “Five times I believed in love.” (Berlin)
- “Now is the first day of your next life.” (Tokyo)
- “You never find a good day for a robbery.” (Tokyo)
Money Heist facts: creator, parts, cast and awards
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Álex Pina, through his production company Vancouver Media (Wikipedia) |
| First broadcast | Antena 3, 2 May to 23 November 2017, 15 episodes |
| On Netflix | Parts 1–2 re-cut into 22 episodes (December 2017, April 2018); Part 3 on 19 July 2019; Part 4 on 3 April 2020; Part 5 on 3 September and 3 December 2021 |
| Main cast | Álvaro Morte (the Professor), Úrsula Corberó (Tokyo), Pedro Alonso (Berlin), Alba Flores (Nairobi), Itziar Ituño (Lisbon) |
| Award | International Emmy for Best Drama Series, 2018 (International Academy) |
| Look and sound | Red jumpsuits, Salvador Dalí masks; theme song “My Life Is Going On” by Cecilia Krull, sung in English |
| Spin-offs | Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area (2022); Berlin, a prequel, from 29 December 2023 (Variety) |
How to shadow Money Heist lines to practise English
Shadowing means playing a short line, pausing, and saying it back with the same speed, stress and pauses. The Professor’s slow lines are easier than Tokyo’s fast narration; the shadowing practice guide explains the method. Capitals mark the stress.
| Line | Say it | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| “Either we both win… or we both lose.” | EIther we BOTH WIN… or we BOTH LOSE. | Pause at the dots. |
| “To love you need courage.” | to LOVE you need COUR-age. | KUR-ij, not “cou-RAGE”. |
| “Let the matriarchy begin.” | let the MA-tri-ar-chy be-GIN. | MAY-tree-ar-kee. |
| “I’m a thief. Son of a thief.” | I’m a THIEF. SON of a THIEF. | th: tongue between the teeth. |
| “Life weighs more, little brother. Life.” | LIFE weighs MORE, little BRO-ther. LIFE. | Weighs sounds like “ways”. |
The Professor: calm and slow
B1Either we both win… or we both lose.
I’m a thief. Son of a thief. Brother of a thief. I hope someday to be the father of a thief.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
Tokyo and Berlin: short lines
B2Hope is like dominoes, once one falls, the others follow.
First times are special. Unique. But the last times are beyond comparison, priceless.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
More drills: the English pronunciation practice guide and how to practise speaking alone. Other shows: Lucifer quotes and The Rookie quotes. To check your level, take the English speaking test.
Say the lines out loud and get feedback
Fluently is an AI speaking coach for non-native English speakers on iOS and Android. You speak out loud and get feedback on pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar. The download is free and starts with a free four-minute speaking assessment; full practice is a subscription after a free trial.
Frequently asked questions
What are some famous quotes about money in Money Heist?
Most come from the Professor. In Part 2 he holds up printed notes and tells Raquel: “This is nothing, Raquel. Paper. It’s paper.” In the finale he asks: “What is a country’s gold? Its wealth? No. It’s… an illusion.”
Who is the Professor in Money Heist, and who does he love?
Sergio Marquina, played by Álvaro Morte; with Raquel he uses the alias Salvador “Salva” Martín. He falls in love with Raquel Murillo, the inspector on the case, and admits it in Part 2 (episode list). From Part 3 she is in the gang as Lisbon.
Who sings “Bella ciao” in Money Heist?
The Professor and Berlin sing it together in Part 1. A track credited to “El Profesor & Berlin” entered the French singles chart at number five in May 2018 (Spanish Wikipedia).
Should I watch Money Heist dubbed or with subtitles to learn English?
For speaking practice, use the English audio: shadowing needs a voice to copy. If the English subtitles say something different from what you hear, follow the audio; both are translations of the Spanish.
Is Money Heist finished?
Yes. The series ended with Part 5, Volume 2 on 3 December 2021. The story continues in Berlin (2023), a prequel with Pedro Alonso back as Berlin (Variety).
