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Lo único es que no tenemos dinero.

Lo único es que no tenemos dinero.
The only thing is that we have no money.
From Lesson 111:The neuter article (lo)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Lo único es que no tenemos dinero.

Why is it lo único here instead of el único or la única?
Lo is the neuter article. You use lo + adjective to talk about abstract ideas or general concepts, rather than specific masculine or feminine nouns. Here, lo único translates to the abstract idea of "the only thing". If you said el único, you would be referring back to a specific masculine noun, like "the only boy" or "the only one".
Does único mean "only" or "unique"?
It can mean both! Único is the standard Spanish adjective for "only", which is how it is used here (lo único = "the only thing"). However, it also means "unique" when describing something one of a kind.
Why do we need the word que after es?
In English, we often drop the word "that" in phrases like this and just say "The only thing is we have no money." In Spanish, you cannot drop this connecting word. You must always include que to link the two parts of the sentence together: es que (is that).
The translation says "we have no money", but why isn't there a word for "no" right before dinero?
To say "we have no money" in Spanish, you simply make the verb negative by putting no in front of it: no tenemos dinero (literally, "we don't have money"). You do not need to add another negative word directly in front of dinero.

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