Pendejo by Enrique Iglesias

Published by Lyrical Language on November 7, 2021November 7, 2021

“Pendejo” is a single by Spanish singer/songwriter Enrique Iglesias. It was released in September of 2021 and appears on Volume 1 of his two-volume album Final, sadly intended to be his last.

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Activities

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

‘por un ratico’ – The term ‘por’ is used with a duration of time to note that an event happened ‘during’ that amount of time.

‘pendejo’ – This is a pejorative term meaning ‘idiot’, ‘fool’, or ‘coward’. It is often translated as ‘asshole’ as this more closely matches the vulgarity of the original. It can mean ‘kid’ in Argentina and Uruguay.

‘lo que’ – Literally translating as ‘it that’, this phrase better translates as ‘what’, ‘whatever’, or ‘which’.

‘dar vueltas’ – Literally translating as ‘to give revolutions’, this phrase means ‘to go around in circles’, or to go around and around’.

‘irse’ – The verb ‘ir’ means ‘to go’, however the pronominal ‘irse’ means ‘to leave’.

‘poner’ + adj’ – The veb ‘poner’ means ‘to put’ ‘to place’ or ‘to put on’. When used before an adjective however, it means to make someone whatever the adjective is (make someone mad, sad, etc).

‘de nuevo’ – Literally translating as ‘of new’, this phrase means ‘again’ or ‘once again’.

‘ratico’ – This is a diminutive form of the noun ‘rato’, meaning ‘a little while’ or ‘a short time’. It is most commonly used in Colombia.

‘quitarse’ – The verb ‘quitar’ means ‘to take off’, ‘to take from’, ‘to snatch’, ‘to steal’, ‘to remove’ or ‘to get rid of’. The pronominal ‘quitarse’ means ‘to move over’, ‘to get out of the way’ or ‘to take (something) off’

‘ir a’ – The verb ‘ir’ means ‘to go’. As in English, when this verb is used with a place, it implies movement towards that place. But when it is used with another verb, it implies that that action will be performed in the future. For example ‘I am going to the store’ ‘(voy a la tienda’) vs ‘I am going to eat’ (‘voy a comer’).

‘explicarse’ – The verb ‘explicar’ means ‘to explain’. The pronominal ‘explicarse’ means ‘to explain oneself’, or ‘to make sense to’ or ‘to explain to oneself’.

‘te va bien’ – Literally translating as ‘it is going well for you’, this phrase means ‘you’re doing well’ or ‘you’re good’.

‘¿para qué?’ vs ‘¿por qué?’ – While both these phrases are usually translated as ‘why?’, there is a subtle difference in meaning between the two. ‘Por qué’ looks back to inquire about the cause of something or the reason or motivation for the action. ‘Para qué’ looks forward to inquire about the purpose, objective, goal or intention of something. It might help to think of ‘¿por qué?’ as ‘¿why?’ and ‘para qué?’ as ‘what for?’.

‘acercarse’ – The verb ‘acercar’ means ‘to move closer’, ‘to get closer’, or ‘to bring closer. The pronominal ‘acercarse’ means ‘to approach’.

‘acostumbrarse’ – The verb ‘acostumbrar’ means ‘to get used to’, ‘to familiarize with’, ‘to accustom to’, or ‘to be in the habit of’. The pronominal ‘acostumbrarse’ means ‘to get used to’ or ‘to become accustomed to’.

‘mami’ – While this term can mean ‘mommy’, it is very often used as a slang term to refer to an attractive woman, a female romantic partner, or a close female friend. I have chosen to leave this term untranslated.

‘hacer falta’ – Literally translating as ‘to make shortage’, this phrase means ‘to be needed’ or ‘to be necessary’.

‘hacer falta que’ – This phrase is an impersonal construction that shows a need to do something, so it requires the subjunctive.

‘sentir’ vs ‘sentirse’ – While both are translated as ‘to feel’, they are used in different contexts. ‘Sentir’ discusses what one feels, and is usually followed by a noun. ‘Sentirse’ discusses how one feels, and will generally be followed by an adjective or an adverb.

‘igual que’ – Literally translating as ‘equal than’, this phrase means ‘the same as’ or ‘just like’.

‘al revés’ – Literally translating as ‘to the reverse’, this phrase means ‘backwards’, ‘inside out’, ‘upside down’, or ‘reversed’.

Activities

We’ve created flashcards, games, and exercises to practice vocabulary and grammatical concepts found in this song. Check out our Activities Page to take your learning further!

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Mouse over a term for grammatical information. A chart of the terms and grammatical information can be found here.

Pendejo

[Intro]

[Chorus]

[Verse]

[Chorus]

Lyrics with Translation

Songs in any language often leave room for multiple interpretations. Following is my interpretation of the song lyrics.

Pendejo
Fool

[Intro]
No sé lo que piensas
I don’t know what you think
Me tienes dando vuelta
You’ve got me going around and around
Te vas y regresas, me daña la cabeza
You leave and come back, it hurts my head
Y yo no sé que me da’ que me pone tan mal
And I don’t know what you’re giving me that makes me so sad
Yo te quiero probar de nuevo
I want to taste you again

[Chorus]
Y por un ratico me quito el corazón y te lo dejo
And for a little while I remove my heart and leave it with you
Pa’ ver si así te hago sentir lo mismo
To see if that way I make you feel the same
Esta vaina que al verte me da
This husk that seeing you gives me
Que me da, que me da, que me da
That gives me, that gives me, that gives me
Y por un ratico te vi, voy a caer como un pendejo
And for a moment I saw you, I’m going to fall down like a fool
Si ya te había olvidado, no mе explico
If I had already forgotten you, makes no sense to me
Esta locura que al vertе me da
This madness that seeing you gives me
Que me da, que me da, que me da
That gives me, that gives me, that gives me

[Verse]
Si ya te va bien, ma’, ¿pa’ qué te acercaste?
If you’re doing well, mami, why did you come close?
Me había acostumbrado a la vida sin ti
I had gotten used to life without you
Ahora si suena el cel pienso que llamaste
Now if the cell rings I think you called
Y yo aquí pensando, no puedo ni dormir
And me here thinking, I can’t even sleep
No sé que me da, que me da, que me da
I dont’ know what it gives me, what it gives me, what it gives me
Tú estás en otra liga
You’re in another league
Mami, no hace falta que lo diga’
Mami, you don’t need to say it
Y esto se siente igual que la primera ve’
And this feels just like the first time
Tú estaba’ loca por mí y ahora es al revé’
You were crazy about me and now it’s reversed
No sé que me da, que me da, que me da
I dont’ know what it gives me, what it gives me, what it gives me
Tú estás en otra liga
You’re in another league
Mami, no hace falta que lo diga’
Mami, you don’t need to say it

Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song

Object Pronouns:
- No sé lo que piensas
- Me tienes dando vuelta
- Te vas y regresas, me daña la cabeza
- Y yo no sé que me da’ que me pone tan mal
- Yo te quiero probar de nuevo
- Y por un ratico me quito el corazón y te lo dejo
- Pa’ ver si así te hago sentir lo mismo
- Esta vaina que al verte me da
- Que me da, que me da, que me da
- Y por un ratico te vi, voy a caer como un pendejo
- Si ya te había olvidado, no mе explico
- Esta locura que al vertе me da
- Si ya te va bien, ma’, ¿pa’ qué te acercaste?
- No sé que me da, que me da, que me da
- Mami, no hace falta que lo diga’

Disjunctive Pronouns:
- Me había acostumbrado a la vida sin ti

Reflexive:
- Te vas y regresas, me daña la cabeza
- Y por un ratico me quito el corazón y te lo dejo
- Si ya te había olvidado, no mе explico
- Si ya te va bien, ma’, ¿pa’ qué te acercaste?
- Me había acostumbrado a la vida sin ti
- Y esto se siente igual que la primera ve’

Irregular Verbs:
- saber:
  - No sé lo que piensas
  - Y yo no sé que me da’ que me pone tan mal
  - No sé que me da, que me da, que me da
- ir:
  - Te vas y regresas, me daña la cabeza
  - Y por un ratico te vi, voy a caer como un pendejo
  - Si ya te va bien, ma’, ¿pa’ qué te acercaste?
- dar:
  - Y yo no sé que me da’ (das) que me pone tan mal
  - Esta vaina que al verte me da
  - Que me da, que me da, que me da
  - Esta locura que al vertе me da
  - No sé que me da, que me da, que me da
- poner:
  - Y yo no sé que me da’ que me pone tan mal
- hacer:
  - Pa’ ver si así te hago sentir lo mismo
  - Mami, no hace falta que lo diga’
- estar:
  - Tú estás en otra liga
Spelling-Change Verbs:
- explicar:
  - Si ya te había olvidado, no mе explico
Stem-Changing Verbs:
- tener:
  - Me tienes dando vuelta
- poder:
  - Y yo aquí pensando, no puedo ni dormir
- pensar:
  - No sé lo que piensas
  - Ahora si suena el cel pienso que llamaste
- querer:
  - Yo te quiero probar de nuevo
- sonar:
  - Ahora si suena el cel pienso que llamaste
- sentir:
  - Y esto se siente igual que la primera ve’

Near Future (ir a + infinitive):
- Y por un ratico te vi, voy a caer como un pendejo

Gerund:
- Me tienes dando vuelta
- Y yo aquí pensando, no puedo ni dormir

Imperfect:
- Si ya te había olvidado, no mе explico
- Me había acostumbrado a la vida sin ti
- Tú estaba’ (estabas) loca por mí y ahora es al revé’

Preterite:
- Ahora si suena el cel pienso que llamaste
- Si ya te va bien, ma’, ¿pa’ qué te acercaste?
- Y por un ratico te vi, voy a caer como un pendejo