Song guide

Waka Waka (Esto es África)

Shakira

Waka Waka (Esto es África) by Shakira, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 19 expressions explained and 270 words translated with their grammar. Learn Spanish from the song, free.

66 lines translated 270 words explained 19 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. Oh-eh

    Oh-eh

  2. Oh-eh

    Oh-eh

  3. Uh, zangalewa (Otra, otra)

    Uh, zangalewa (Another one, another one)

    'Zangalewa' comes from a 1986 song by the Cameroonian group Golden Sounds, originally in Camfranglais (a Cameroonian creole mixing French, English, and local languages). 'Otra, otra' is the Spanish translation inserted by Shakira's production team, meaning 'another one' — referencing the idea of one more battle or one more opponent.

  4. Uh, zangalewa (Otra, otra)

    Uh, zangalewa (Another one, another one)

  5. Uh, zangalewa (Otra, otra)

    Uh, zangalewa (Another one, another one)

  6. Uh, zangalewa (Otra, otra)

    Uh, zangalewa (Another one, another one)

  7. Llegó el momento, caen las murallas

    The moment has arrived; the walls are falling

    'Las murallas' (the walls/ramparts) is a metaphor for the barriers and obstacles standing between a competitor and victory — a common image in Spanish-language motivational and sports contexts.

  8. Va a comenzar la única justa de las batallas

    The one true tournament of battles is about to begin

    'La justa' literally means a medieval jousting tournament. Its use here is deliberately archaic and poetic, framing the World Cup as a noble contest of honour rather than just a sporting event.

  9. No duele el golpe, no existe el miedo

    The blow doesn't hurt; fear doesn't exist

  10. Quítate el polvo, ponte de pie, y vuelves al ruedo

    Shake off the dust, get back on your feet, and return to the ring

    'El ruedo' is the circular sand arena inside a bullring where the bullfight takes place. Using this word frames the competition as a life-or-death struggle with deep roots in Spanish and Latin American cultural tradition.

  11. Y la presión se siente

    And the pressure is felt

  12. Espera en ti tu gente

    Your people are waiting for you

  13. Ahora vamos por todo

    Now we're going all out

  14. Y te acompaña la suerte

    And may luck be with you

  15. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  16. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

    'Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)' was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted in South Africa. The repeated phrase 'porque esto es África' (because this is Africa) celebrates the continent as the host and the source of the song's energy.

  17. Tsamina mina, eh-eh

    Tsamina mina, eh-eh

  18. Waka, waka, eh-eh

    Waka, waka, eh-eh

    'Waka waka' is a phrase from the Fang language of Cameroon/Equatorial Guinea, used in the original Golden Sounds song. It is generally understood to mean 'do it' or 'get up and do it' — a call to action.

  19. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  20. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  21. Oye a tu Dios y no estarás solo

    Listen to your God and you won't be alone

  22. Llegaste aquí para brillar, lo tienes todo

    You came here to shine — you have everything it takes

  23. La hora se acerca, es el momento

    The hour is drawing near; it's the moment

  24. Vas a ganar cada batalla, ya lo presiento

    You're going to win every battle — I can already feel it

  25. Hay que empezar de cero, para tocar el cielo

    You have to start from zero to touch the sky

  26. Ahora vamos por todo

    Now we're going all out

  27. Y todos vamos por ellos

    And we're all going after them

  28. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  29. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  30. Tsamina mina, eh-eh

    Tsamina mina, eh-eh

  31. Waka, waka, eh-eh

    Waka, waka, eh-eh

  32. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  33. Anawa, ah-ah

    Anawa, ah-ah

  34. Tsamina mina, eh-eh

    Tsamina mina, eh-eh

  35. Waka, waka, eh-eh

    Waka, waka, eh-eh

  36. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  37. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  38. Awabuye lamajoni ipikipiki mama wa A to Z

    Awabuye lamajoni ipikipiki mama wa A to Z

    Lines 37–40 are in Zulu (a Bantu language of South Africa), not Spanish. They are drawn from the original 1986 Golden Sounds song. The Zulu lyrics broadly call for all nations to come together, fitting the World Cup theme.

  39. Bathi susa lamajoni ipikipiki mama from East to West

    Bathi susa lamajoni ipikipiki mama from East to West

  40. Bathi waka, waka mah, eh, eh, waka, waka mah, eh, eh

    Bathi waka, waka mah, eh, eh, waka, waka mah, eh, eh

  41. Zonk' izizwe mazibuye, 'cause this is Africa

    Zonk' izizwe mazibuye, 'cause this is Africa

  42. Tsamina mina

    Tsamina mina

  43. Anawa, ah, ah

    Anawa, ah, ah

  44. Tsamina mina

    Tsamina mina

  45. Tsamina mina

    Tsamina mina

  46. Anawa, ah, ah

    Anawa, ah, ah

  47. Tsamina mina, eh-eh

    Tsamina mina, eh-eh

  48. Waka, waka, eh-eh

    Waka, waka, eh-eh

  49. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  50. Anawa, ah-ah

    Anawa, ah-ah

  51. Tsamina mina, eh-eh

    Tsamina mina, eh-eh

  52. Waka, waka, eh-eh

    Waka, waka, eh-eh

  53. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  54. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  55. Django, eh-eh

    Django, eh-eh

    'Django' in this context is a reference to the Zulu/Xhosa tradition of calling out a warrior's praise name. It is not related to the American film character. It functions as a rallying cry in the original African song tradition.

  56. Django, eh-eh

    Django, eh-eh

  57. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  58. Anawa, ah-ah

    Anawa, ah-ah

  59. Django, eh-eh

    Django, eh-eh

  60. Django, eh-eh

    Django, eh-eh

  61. Tsamina mina zangalewa

    Tsamina mina zangalewa

  62. Anawa, ah-ah

    Anawa, ah-ah

  63. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  64. Porque esto es África

    Because this is Africa

  65. Zama qhela

    Zama qhela

    'Zama qhela' and 'kwela kwela' (line 65) are Zulu phrases. 'Kwela' is also the name of a lively South African street music genre from the 1950s, adding another layer of African cultural reference to the song's closing.

  66. Kwela kwela

    Kwela kwela

Expressions and idioms in “Waka Waka (Esto es África)”

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

Va a comenzar is about to begin
ir a + infinitive is the standard Spanish periphrastic future, equivalent to English 'going to + verb'. Here va (3rd pers. sing. of ir) + a + comenzar signals that something is on the verge of happening.
vuelves al ruedo you return to the ring
volver al ruedo is an idiomatic expression drawn from bullfighting: el ruedo is the bullring arena. Used figuratively, it means 'to get back in the game / back in the fight'. The contraction al = a + el appears here.
Quítate el polvo Shake off the dust
quitarse is the reflexive form of quitar (to remove). With the clitic te attached to the imperative, it means 'remove from yourself'. The pattern quitarse + article + body-related noun is very common in Spanish where English uses a possessive ('shake off your dust').
ponte de pie get back on your feet / stand up
ponerse de pie is a fixed expression meaning 'to stand up / get to one's feet'. ponerse (reflexive of poner) + de pie literally means 'put yourself on foot'. This is the standard Spanish phrase for 'to stand up'.
se siente is felt / can be felt
se + 3rd pers. verb forms the passive-reflexive construction in Spanish, used to express that something 'is felt' or 'one feels' without naming a specific subject. This is extremely common in Spanish for impersonal or passive statements.
Espera en ti waits in/for you
esperar en is a verb + preposition construction. Here en ti (in you / within you) is the prepositional form of tú used after prepositions. Note that Spanish uses ti (not tú) after prepositions.
vamos por todo we're going all out / we're going for everything
ir por todo is a colloquial fixed expression meaning 'to go all out / to go for broke / to aim for everything'. Por here expresses pursuit or aim, not movement through space.
te acompaña la suerte luck goes with you / may luck be with you
In Spanish, indirect object pronouns like te (you) are placed before the verb even when the subject follows. The word order here is te (indirect object) + verb + subject (la suerte), which is a common inversion in Spanish that can feel unusual to English speakers.
Oye a tu Dios Listen to your God
oír (to hear/listen) uses the personal a before a specific person or personified being. This 'personal a' has no English equivalent — it is placed before direct objects that are people or treated as people, and must not be omitted.
no estarás solo you won't be alone
estar (not ser) is used here for the state of being alone, since it describes a temporary or changeable condition. estarás is the 2nd pers. sing. future of estar. The choice between ser and estar is one of the most important distinctions in Spanish.
lo tienes todo you have it all / you've got everything
lo tienes todo is a fixed emphatic construction. The pronoun lo anticipates todo (everything) as a direct object — a technique called 'clitic doubling' or 'anticipatory pronoun', very characteristic of spoken and lyrical Spanish.
Llegaste aquí para brillar You came here to shine
para + infinitive expresses purpose ('in order to'). This construction is the standard way to say why someone does something. Compare with por + infinitive, which expresses cause rather than purpose.
se acerca is drawing near / is approaching
acercarse is the reflexive form of acercar. While acercar means 'to bring closer', acercarse means 'to approach / to draw near'. The reflexive se changes the meaning from transitive to intransitive — a classic reflexive meaning-shift.
ya lo presiento I can already feel it / I already sense it
ya combined with a present-tense verb adds the nuance of 'already' or 'right now'. The pronoun lo (it) here refers forward to the whole idea of winning. presentir (to have a premonition/sense) is a stem-changing verb (e→ie).
Vas a ganar You're going to win
ir a + infinitive (periphrastic future): vas (2nd pers. sing. of ir) + a + ganar. This is the most common way to express future intention or near-future events in everyday Spanish, preferred over the simple future tense in speech.
Hay que empezar One has to start / You have to start
hay que + infinitive is an impersonal obligation construction meaning 'one must / it is necessary to'. Unlike tener que (which requires a subject), hay que has no subject and applies generally to anyone. It is one of the most useful fixed patterns in Spanish.
empezar de cero to start from scratch / to start from zero
empezar de cero is a fixed idiomatic expression equivalent to English 'to start from scratch'. de cero literally means 'from zero'. This phrase is widely used in everyday Spanish.
tocar el cielo to touch the sky / to reach the heights
tocar el cielo is a poetic/idiomatic expression meaning 'to reach the highest point / to achieve greatness'. tocar normally means 'to touch' or 'to play (an instrument)', but in this figurative context it means 'to reach'.
vamos por ellos we're going after them / let's go get them
ir por + person is a colloquial expression meaning 'to go after someone / to pursue them'. This is a different use of por from the spatial 'through' — here it signals pursuit or confrontation, common in sports and competitive contexts.

Vocabulary to learn from “Waka Waka (Esto es África)”

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 is

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

ir goes / is going

sung: va irregular
ir — present tense
yo voy
tú vas
él / ella / usted va
nosotros vamos
vosotros vais
ellos / ustedes van

llegar arrived / came

sung: llegó irregular
llegar — present tense
yo llego
tú llegas
él / ella / usted llega
nosotros llegamos
vosotros llegáis
ellos / ustedes llegan

caer fall / are falling

sung: caen irregular
caer — present tense
yo caigo
tú caes
él / ella / usted cae
nosotros caemos
vosotros caéis
ellos / ustedes caen

comenzar to begin / to start

irregular
comenzar — present tense
yo comienzo
tú comienzas
él / ella / usted comienza
nosotros comenzamos
vosotros comenzáis
ellos / ustedes comienzan

Grammar you'll meet in this song

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