Waka Waka (Esto es África)
by Shakira
Two structures here are worth more to a beginner than any quantity of vocabulary. va a comenzar and vas a ganar use ir plus an infinitive to talk about the future — the same move English makes with going to, and far easier than the proper future tense textbooks insist on teaching first. Use this one from day one. The other is hay que empezar, an impersonal way of saying something must be done without naming who must do it; Spanish reaches for it constantly and English has no tidy equivalent. There is an imperative with a pronoun attached in quítate. The nouns are a stadium: batallas, murallas, ruedo, suerte. A1 is accurate.
How to study this song
The card for “Waka Waka (Esto es África)” is built from 50 study entries at A1+: 27 Spanish words, 5 adjectives and 18 verb forms. The glossary is the place to begin — batallas, cero and cielo are the song’s keywords. This one leans on its verbs: 18 distinct forms against 5 adjectives, so conjugation is where the effort goes. At this level the goal is recognition: hear a word, place it, keep going.
The words of this song, in several languages
Every word below is taken from this song and translated by us. Nothing here is the lyric itself — these are the individual words you need in order to follow it.
Vocabulary
| ES | EN | IT | FR | PT | NL | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| batallas | battles | battaglie | batailles | batalhas |
What this song teaches you
Level · A1+
- Vocabulary words
- 27
- Adjectives
- 5
- Word combos
- 9
- Expressions
- 10
- Verb forms
- 18
- Quiz questions
- 35
Background
About the song
“Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” is the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, performed by the Colombian superstar Shakira with the South African group Freshlyground.
Built on an upbeat, African-flavoured guitar riff adapted from a Cameroonian soldiers’ song, it is a euphoric celebration of resilience and togetherness, released in both English and Spanish versions to reach audiences worldwide.
The riff comes from “Zamina mina (Zangaléwa)”, recorded in 1986 by the Cameroonian group Golden Sounds; its members confirmed an agreement with Shakira’s management and Sony and rejected talk of plagiarism, describing the result as a readaptation. Shakira wrote the new song with John Hill.
Did you know?
The song topped the charts in around fifteen countries and became the best-selling and most-streamed World Cup song of all time, with more than fifteen million copies sold. Its stadium-sized chorus and Shakira’s energetic performance at the tournament’s closing ceremony made it inseparable from the 2010 World Cup.
Charts & streaming
“Waka Waka” is one of the best-selling singles of all time and, by a wide margin, the most successful football anthem ever recorded. Its video is among the most-viewed on YouTube, and the song remains a global symbol of the World Cup and one of Shakira’s signature hits.
Released on 7 May 2010, it was number one in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland while reaching 38 on the American Hot 100, and it holds diamond awards in Brazil, France, Germany and Sweden.