Song guide

Hips Don't Lie

Shakira, Wyclef Jean

Hips Don't Lie by Shakira, Wyclef Jean, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 25 expressions explained and 508 words translated with their grammar. Learn Spanish from the song, free.

93 lines translated 508 words explained 25 expressions

Lyrics with English translation, line by line

Each line as sung, what it means, and — where it needs one — why it's said that way.

  1. Yeah, Wyclef y Shakira

    Yeah, Wyclef and Shakira

    Wyclef Jean is a Haitian-American rapper and founding member of the Fugees. This song is a collaboration between him and Colombian pop star Shakira, released in 2006 on her album «Oral Fixation Vol. 2.»

  2. No fighting, no fighting

    No fighting, no fighting

  3. Shakira, Shakira

    Shakira, Shakira

  4. Yo no sabía que ella bailaba así (Bailaba así)

    I didn't know she danced like that (She danced like that)

  5. Aquella noche yo me enloquecí (Enloquecí)

    That night I went crazy (I went crazy)

  6. ¿Cómo se llama? (Sí) Bonita (Sí)

    What's her name? (Yes) Beautiful (Yes)

  7. Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira) Su casa

    My house (Shakira, Shakira) Your house

    'Mi casa, su casa' is a play on the well-known Spanish expression 'mi casa es su casa' ('my house is your house'), a traditional Latin American hospitality phrase meaning 'make yourself at home.' The song shortens it for rhythmic effect.

  8. Tú sabes qué palabra usar (Uh-huh)

    You know what word to use (Uh-huh)

  9. Para hacerme suspirar (Yeah)

    To make me sigh (Yeah)

  10. Mantente (Sí) atento (Sí)

    Stay (Yes) alert (Yes)

  11. Ya va llegando el momento

    The moment is already arriving

  12. Será, será

    It will be, it will be

    'Será, será' echoes the famous song 'Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be),' popularised by Doris Day in 1956. The lyric plays on this cultural reference to express fatalistic acceptance of destiny.

  13. Que lo que aún no fue

    That what hasn't happened yet

  14. Es porque fue para hacerse hoy

    Is because it was meant to happen today

  15. Me sientes, te siento

    You feel me, I feel you

  16. Mira así, baby, así es perfecto

    Look, just like this, baby, just like this is perfect

  17. Amor, yo no me canso de verte

    Love, I never tire of seeing you

  18. Y me estás enloqueciendo (Uh-huh)

    And you are driving me crazy (Uh-huh)

  19. En mis brazos, yo quiero tenerte

    In my arms, I want to hold you

  20. Y que sientas lo que siento (Yeah)

    And for you to feel what I feel (Yeah)

  21. Cuando te veo caminar

    When I see you walk

  22. No me puedo controlar amor

    I can't control myself, love

  23. Te mueves como el viento

    You move like the wind

  24. Sólo quisiera imaginar

    I would only wish to imagine

  25. Ser el dueño de tu corazón

    Being the owner of your heart

  26. Y detener el tiempo

    And to stop time

  27. Yo no sabía que ella bailaba así (Bailaba así)

    I didn't know she danced like that (She danced like that)

  28. Aquella noche yo me enloquecí (Enloquecí)

    That night I went crazy (I went crazy)

  29. ¿Cómo se llama? (Sí) Bonita (Sí)

    What's her name? (Yes) Beautiful (Yes)

  30. Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira) Su casa

    My house (Shakira, Shakira) Your house

  31. Tú sabes qué palabra usar (Uh-huh)

    You know what word to use (Uh-huh)

  32. Para hacerme suspirar (Yeah)

    To make me sigh (Yeah)

  33. Mantente (Sí) atento (Sí)

    Stay (Yes) alert (Yes)

  34. Ya va llegando el momento (No fighting)

    The moment is already arriving (No fighting)

  35. Será, será

    It will be, it will be

  36. Que lo que aún no fue

    That what hasn't happened yet

  37. Es porque fue para hacerse hoy

    Is because it was meant to happen today

  38. Me sientes, te siento

    You feel me, I feel you

  39. Sí baby, así es perfecto

    Yes baby, just like this is perfect

  40. Lo que será, será

    What will be, will be

  41. Y lo que aún no fue

    And what hasn't happened yet

  42. Es porque fue para que se haga

    Is because it was meant to come to pass

  43. Me buscas, te encuentro

    You look for me, I find you

  44. Mira así, baby, así es perfecto (Shakira, Shakira)

    Look, just like this, baby, just like this is perfect (Shakira, Shakira)

  45. Amor, ahora que empiezas a verme

    Love, now that you're starting to see me

  46. De esa forma animal

    In that animal way

  47. Ya no sé lo que piensas hacerme

    I no longer know what you're planning to do to me

  48. Si está bien o si está mal

    Whether it's right or whether it's wrong

  49. Mi voluntad se echó a perder

    My willpower has been ruined

  50. No hay ciego peor que él

    There is no worse blind man than he

    Lines 49–50 quote a famous Spanish proverb: 'No hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver' — 'There is no worse blind man than he who does not want to see.' It is the Spanish equivalent of the English saying 'There are none so blind as those who will not see.'

  51. Que no quiere ver

    Who does not want to see

  52. Si lo que hago con las manos

    If what I do with my hands

  53. Los deshago con los pies

    I undo with my feet

  54. Porque lo que hay es lo que ves

    Because what there is, is what you see

  55. Baila en la calle, de noche (Uh, yeah)

    She dances in the street, at night (Uh, yeah)

  56. Baila en la calle de día

    She dances in the street by day

  57. Baila en la calle de noche

    She dances in the street at night

  58. Baila en la calle de día

    She dances in the street by day

  59. Yo no sabía que ella bailaba así (Bailaba así)

    I didn't know she danced like that (She danced like that)

  60. Aquella noche yo me enloquecí (Enloquecí)

    That night I went crazy (I went crazy)

  61. ¿Cómo se llama? (Sí), bonita (Sí)

    What's her name? (Yes) Beautiful (Yes)

  62. Mi casa (Shakira, Shakira) (Su casa)

    My house (Shakira, Shakira) (Your house)

  63. Tú sabes qué palabra usar (Uh-huh)

    You know what word to use (Uh-huh)

  64. Para hacerme suspirar (Yeah)

    To make me sigh (Yeah)

  65. Mantente (Sí) atento (Sí)

    Stay (Yes) alert (Yes)

  66. Ya va llegando el momento

    The moment is already arriving

  67. Señorita, feel the conga

    Miss, feel the conga

    The conga is an Afro-Cuban drum and the music style associated with it. It is deeply rooted in Caribbean and Latin American culture, particularly in Cuba and Colombia. Wyclef's line blends English and Spanish, reflecting the bilingual, multicultural nature of the song.

  68. Mueve tu cintura como toda Colombia

    Move your waist like all of Colombia

    'Mueve tu cintura como toda Colombia' is a hyperbolic compliment — Shakira's dancing is so representative of Colombian rhythm that her waist moves like the whole country. Shakira is from Barranquilla, Colombia, and is famous for her belly-dancing-influenced hip movements.

  69. Yeah, oh, yeah, ladies, sí! (Yeah, yeah, hey, yeah)

    Yeah, oh, yeah, ladies, yes! (Yeah, yeah, hey, yeah)

  70. Mira, en Barranquilla se baila así, say it! (Yeah)

    Look, in Barranquilla they dance like this, say it! (Yeah)

    Barranquilla is a major Caribbean coastal city in Colombia and Shakira's hometown. It is famous for its Carnival (Carnaval de Barranquilla), one of the largest carnivals in the world, and its vibrant cumbia and vallenato music traditions.

  71. En Barranquilla se baila así (Yeah)

    In Barranquilla they dance like this (Yeah)

  72. Yeah, she's so sexy, every man's fantasy

    Yeah, she's so sexy, every man's fantasy

  73. A refugee like me back with the Fugees from a third world country (Huh-uh)

    A refugee like me back with the Fugees from a third world country (Huh-uh)

    The Fugees were a Grammy-winning hip-hop group formed in the early 1990s, consisting of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras Michel. The name 'Fugees' is short for 'refugees,' reflecting the Haitian immigrant backgrounds of its members.

  74. I go back like when 'Pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty

    I go back like when 'Pac carried crates for Humpty Humpty

    'Pac refers to Tupac Shakur, the legendary rapper. 'Carrying crates' is hip-hop slang for doing roadie/DJ work — carrying record crates — at the very start of one's career. Humpty Humpty refers to Humpty (Gregory Jacobs) of Digital Underground, for whom Tupac worked early in his career. Wyclef is saying he goes back just as far in the music world.

  75. We leave the whole club jazzy

    We leave the whole club jazzy

  76. Why the CIA wanna watch us?

    Why does the CIA want to watch us?

  77. It's the Colombians and Haitians

    It's the Colombians and Haitians

  78. I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction

    I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction

  79. Bo-bop-so-bop, no more do we snatch ropes

    Bo-bop-so-bop, no more do we snatch ropes

    'Ropes' in hip-hop slang refers to thick gold chain necklaces. 'No more do we snatch ropes' means the artists have moved beyond street-level crime — they now earn legitimately through music.

  80. Refugees run the seas, 'cause we own our own boats, boats

    Refugees run the seas, 'cause we own our own boats, boats

  81. (No fighting)

    (No fighting)

  82. Será, será

    It will be, it will be

  83. Que lo que aún no fue

    That what hasn't happened yet

  84. Es porque fue para hacerse hoy

    Is because it was meant to happen today

  85. Me sientes, te siento

    You feel me, I feel you

  86. Sí, baby, así es perfecto

    Yes, baby, just like this is perfect

  87. Lo que será, será

    What will be, will be

  88. Y lo que aún no fue

    And what hasn't happened yet

  89. Es porque fue para que se haga

    Is because it was meant to come to pass

  90. Me buscas, te encuentro

    You look for me, I find you

  91. Sí baby, así es perfecto

    Yes baby, just like this is perfect

  92. No fighting

    No fighting

  93. No fighting

    No fighting

Expressions and idioms in “Hips Don't Lie”

The lines that don't mean what the dictionary says.

bailaba así danced like that
The imperfect tense (bailaba) describes a habitual or ongoing action in the past — 'she used to dance / she was dancing like that.' It contrasts with the preterite (enloquecí on line 4) which marks the single completed moment of going crazy.
yo no sabía I didn't know
The imperfect tense (sabía) is used here rather than the preterite because the not-knowing was an ongoing background state, not a single completed event. This is a classic use of the imperfect for states of mind.
yo me enloquecí I went crazy
enloquecer used reflexively (me enloquecí) means 'to go crazy / to lose one's mind.' The reflexive pronoun me signals that the subject is affected by the action. Without the reflexive, enloquecer can mean 'to drive someone else crazy.'
¿Cómo se llama? What is her name?
llamarse is the reflexive form of llamar and is the standard Spanish construction for asking or stating someone's name. Literally 'How does she call herself?' — the reflexive se is essential; you cannot simply say '¿Cómo llama?' to ask a name.
Tú sabes qué palabra usar You know what word to use
saber + infinitive means 'to know how to do something.' Here saber is followed by an embedded question (qué palabra usar), showing that saber can introduce indirect questions as well as infinitives.
para hacerme suspirar to make me sigh
para + infinitive expresses purpose ('in order to'). hacer + object pronoun + infinitive is the causative construction: hacer + me + suspirar = 'to make me sigh.' The clitic me is attached to hacer in the infinitive form.
Mantente atento Stay alert
mantenerse (reflexive of mantener) means 'to keep oneself / to stay.' Mantente is the tú imperative of mantenerse. The construction mantenerse + adjective means 'to remain in a state,' similar to quedarse + adjective.
va llegando is arriving / keeps arriving
ir + gerund is a periphrastic construction expressing gradual or progressive action — something that is slowly but surely happening. It is more dynamic than the simple present and implies the action is unfolding incrementally.
lo que aún no fue what has not yet happened
lo que is a neuter relative pronoun meaning 'that which / what.' It nominalises the following clause, turning it into a noun phrase. aún no adds the sense of 'not yet,' and fue (preterite of ser/ir) here means 'came to pass / happened.'
fue para hacerse hoy was meant to happen today
fue para + infinitive expresses destiny or purpose in the past: 'it was (destined) in order to happen.' hacerse here means 'to come to pass / to happen,' a reflexive use of hacer that shifts its meaning away from 'to make/do.'
no me canso de verte I never tire of seeing you
cansarse de + infinitive means 'to get tired of doing something.' The reflexive cansarse (vs. plain cansar = 'to tire someone out') shifts the meaning to an internal state. verte is ver + te (clitic), meaning 'to see you.'
me estás enloqueciendo you are driving me crazy
estar + gerund forms the present progressive in Spanish, emphasising an action happening right now. The object pronoun me precedes the conjugated verb. enloquecer here is used transitively ('to drive someone crazy'), contrasting with the reflexive use on line 4.
quiero tenerte I want to hold you
querer + infinitive expresses desire or want. tenerte = tener + te (clitic), meaning 'to have/hold you.' In romantic contexts querer can also mean 'to love,' adding emotional depth to the line.
que sientas lo que siento that you feel what I feel
After a verb of wanting/wishing with a change of subject, Spanish requires the subjunctive. sientas is the present subjunctive of sentir. The pattern quiero que + subjunctive is one of the most important structures in Spanish.
no me puedo controlar I can't control myself
poder + infinitive means 'to be able to / can.' The reflexive infinitive controlarse ('to control oneself') has its clitic me detached and placed before the conjugated verb poder — both positions (me puedo controlar / puedo controlarme) are equally correct in Spanish.
sólo quisiera imaginar I would only wish to imagine
quisiera is the imperfect subjunctive of querer, used here as a polite or softened conditional ('I would like / I wish I could'). This is a very common way to express a wish or desire more tentatively than the present indicative quiero.
para que se haga so that it would come to pass
para que + subjunctive expresses purpose with a change of subject. The subjunctive haga (from hacer) is required after para que. se haga is the passive/reflexive form meaning 'be done / come to pass.' Compare with para + infinitive (same subject) on line 13.
empiezas a verme you start to see me
empezar a + infinitive is a periphrastic construction meaning 'to start/begin to do something.' The preposition a is obligatory between empezar and the following infinitive — you cannot say 'empiezas verme.'
piensas hacerme you plan to do to me
pensar + infinitive means 'to plan to / to intend to do something.' This is a periphrastic construction expressing intention. hacerme = hacer + me, meaning 'to do to me.'
ya no sé I no longer know
ya no is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'no longer / not anymore.' ya alone means 'already' or 'now,' but combined with no it reverses to mean the opposite — something that was true before but is no longer.
se echó a perder was ruined / went to ruin
echarse a perder is a fixed idiomatic expression meaning 'to be ruined / to go bad / to spoil.' echar a + infinitive can also mean 'to start suddenly doing something' (e.g. echarse a llorar = to burst into tears), but echarse a perder is a set idiom with its own distinct meaning.
no hay ciego peor que él there is no worse blind man than he
hay is the impersonal form of haber meaning 'there is/are.' No hay + noun is the standard way to say 'there is no...' in Spanish. This line is the first half of a famous Spanish proverb.
que no quiere ver who does not want to see
querer + infinitive expresses desire or willingness. The full proverb is 'No hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver' — 'There is no worse blind man than he who does not want to see,' meaning wilful ignorance is the worst kind.
mueve tu cintura move your waist
mover is a stem-changing verb (o→ue). The imperative mueve is used here as a direct command. In dance contexts, mover la cintura is a very common colloquial expression for moving one's hips/waist rhythmically.
se baila así they dance like this / this is how it's danced
se + third-person verb is the impersonal/passive reflexive construction in Spanish. se baila literally means 'one dances' or 'it is danced' — it describes a general custom without specifying who does it. This is extremely common for describing cultural practices.

Vocabulary to learn from “Hips Don't Lie”

The words the song uses most.

Verbs in the song, and the form being sung

Present tense for each; the highlighted row is the one you'll hear.

ser will be

sung: será irregular
ser — present tense
yo soy
tú eres
él / ella / usted es
nosotros somos
vosotros sois
ellos / ustedes son

bailar danced / used to dance

sung: bailaba
bailar — present tense
yo bailo
tú bailas
él / ella / usted baila
nosotros bailamos
vosotros bailáis
ellos / ustedes bailan

ser / ir was / went

sung: fue irregular
ser / ir — present tense
yo soy
tú eres
él / ella / usted es
nosotros somos
vosotros sois
ellos / ustedes son

sentir you feel

sung: sientes irregular
sentir — present tense
yo siento
tú sientes
él / ella / usted siente
nosotros sentimos
vosotros sentís
ellos / ustedes sienten

saber knew

sung: sabía irregular
saber — present tense
yo sé
tú sabes
él / ella / usted sabe
nosotros sabemos
vosotros sabéis
ellos / ustedes saben

Grammar you'll meet in this song

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