The national currency of the Czech Republic is composed of the crown or koruna.   The crown is made up  of one hundred  hellers.   There is  no such thing as one heller or haler - the smallest Czech coin is worth 10 hellers. By the way, heller coins are made of aluminium.  

If you go to the Czech Republic, first of all, you will probably need to find a bank or banka where you could exchange your money or penize or your traveller's checks - cestovniseky.  You can also look for an exchange office - sminarna - which are plentiful in Prague, but outside big cities you could find yourself in difficulty.  You will want to know the exchange rate or sminnykurs or the commission - provize at the bank or exchange office.  The easiest way to get your money is to find a cash machine or bankomat and simply withdraw Czech crowns. 

Most big shops and restaurants in the Czech Republic take credit cards - platebni karty - which are becoming more and more popular in the country.

There are a few sayings and idioms containing the word penize or money.  About greedy people, Czechs say Je na penize, literally he/she is after money.  Dirty money is spinave penize and to launder money is prat penize.  Czechs also say penize nesmrdi or money dosen't stink, a saying that comes from Roman times and which is to say that however dirty the job, the money you get for it in the end is always just money.  Another, rhyming saying is Bez peniz do hospody nelez.  Literally it means - Don't go the pub without money. 

   Thanks for reading, hopefully you learned some helpful words about penize (money) in the Czech Republic.

-Pavla Horakova
Radio Prague