🎶 When Spanish Speeds Up: The World of Un Poquito
There is a big difference between clear Spanish and real Spanish.
Un Poquito by Diego Torres and Carlos Vives sits firmly in the second category. It is warm, playful, romantic, and fast. And that speed comes with a cost for learners.
Native speakers, especially when singing or speaking casually, tend to:
- swallow syllables
- soften or drop final “s” sounds
- merge words together
- repeat phrases quickly for rhythm
This song does all of that. There is even a section where words tumble over each other rapidly. That makes Un Poquito not A1 friendly, but an excellent B1 listening challenge.
What makes it worth the effort is the reward. The song is full of affection, humor, exaggeration, and Latin American charm. It moves between Argentina and Colombia, between spoken Spanish and poetic Spanish, between clarity and chaos.
Below you will find a line by line Spanish to English translation, followed by a vocabulary builder and a Quiz Yourself section to test what you caught.
- 🎶 When Spanish Speeds Up: The World of Un Poquito
- ▶️ Listen to the Song
- 🎵 Un Poquito – Diego Torres & Carlos Vives (Spanish → English Translation)
- 📘 Vocabulary Builder
- 🧠 Quiz Yourself: Did You Catch These?
- ✨ Final Thoughts: When Spanish Stops Being Neat
▶️ Listen to the Song
🎧 Diego Torres & Carlos Vives – Un Poquito (Official Video)
(This one is meant to feel fast. Let it wash over you first, then come back to the lyrics.)
🎵 Un Poquito – Diego Torres & Carlos Vives (Spanish → English Translation)
No está de moda enamorarse
Falling in love is not in fashion
Ya nadie quiere ser sincero
No one wants to be sincere anymore
Pero en ti yo encuentro
But in you I find
Todo, todo, todo lo que quiero
Everything, everything, everything I want
De febrero hasta febrero
From February to February
Medellín o Buenos Aires
Medellín or Buenos Aires
Cierro los ojos y pensarte
I close my eyes and thinking of you
Se me ha vuelto inevitable
Has become inevitable for me
No quiero ser todo en tu vida
I do not want to be everything in your life
Tampoco lastimar tu orgullo
Nor hurt your pride
Y tengo alguna que otra deuda
And I have one debt or another
Por hacerme un poco
To become a little
Tuyo, un poquito tuyo
Yours, a little bit yours
Aunque digan que no soy tu tipo
Even if they say I am not your type
Este amor yo lo acredito ante un juez
This love I would prove before a judge
Tuyo, un poquito tuyo
Yours, a little bit yours
Aunque pienses que yo estoy rayado
Even if you think I am crazy
Solo estoy enamorado y no lo ves
I am just in love and you do not see it
Y no me ves
And you do not see me
Que en la noche ando yo buscando
That at night I go around searching
Y tú pensando en otra cosa
And you thinking about something else
Y no me ves
And you do not see me
Y aunque digan que lo nuestro es un fracaso
And even if they say that what we have is a failure
Prefiero comprobarlo yo en tus brazos
I prefer to find out in your arms
Qué fácil es decir porque no saben
How easy it is to talk when they do not know
Que del amor nadie tiene la clave
That no one has the key to love
Hay gente que le gusta hablar de afuera
There are people who like to talk from the outside
Y para quererte no hay escuela
And there is no school for loving you
Si tengo que aprender, que sea contigo
If I have to learn, let it be with you
Y si quieres hablar, que sea conmigo
And if you want to talk, let it be with me
No ha escrito la historia
History has not written
De amor más bonito
A more beautiful love
Poquito a poquito
Little by little
Me lo voy comiendo todito
I am devouring it all
Quiero ser el héroe de tu cuento favorito
I want to be the hero of your favorite story
Aunque venga un oso
Even if a bear comes
Yo lo asusto en un ratito
I will scare it away in a moment
Yo por ti me cruzo
For you I would cross
Hasta el desierto de Sahara
Even the Sahara desert
Haces que yo sea el hombre más rico
You make me the richest man
Aunque no tenga nada
Even if I have nothing
Yo un poquito tuyo
Me, a little bit yours
Tú un poquito mía
You, a little bit mine
Para que tú sepas por qué esta vida
So that you know why this life
Es la más bonita
Is the most beautiful
📘 Vocabulary Builder
Recommended level: B1
💬 Key Words and Expressions
| Spanish | English | Notes |
| no está de moda | is not in fashion | Common expression |
| sincero | sincere | Emotional adjective |
| inevitable | inevitable | High frequency |
| orgullo | pride | Emotional noun |
| rayado | crazy | Informal Latin usage |
🧠 Spoken Spanish and Fast Phrases
| Spanish | Meaning | Why it is tricky |
| un poquito | a little bit | Repeated very fast |
| ando buscando | I go around looking | Informal structure |
| no lo ves | you do not see it | Dropped sounds when sung |
| poquito a poquito | little by little | Rhythm over clarity |
| me lo voy comiendo | I am devouring it | Pronouns stack up |
🎧 Listening Notes for Learners
- Final “s” sounds are often softened or dropped
- Words blend together at speed
- Repetition helps meaning even when clarity drops
- Focus on chunks, not individual words
🧠 Quiz Yourself: Did You Catch These?
Try answering without rereading the lyrics first.
Scroll only when you are ready to check.
1️⃣ What does “no está de moda enamorarse” mean?
A. Love is forbidden
B. Falling in love is not popular anymore
C. Love is dangerous
D. Love is expensive
Answer
B. Falling in love is not popular anymore2️⃣ In “ando yo buscando”, what does “ando” express?
A. Past action
B. Future plan
C. Habitual or ongoing action
D. Obligation
Answer
C. Habitual or ongoing action3️⃣ What does “rayado” mean in this song?
A. Angry
B. Confused
C. Crazy
D. Sad
Answer
C. Crazy4️⃣ “Un poquito tuyo” expresses which idea?
A. Ownership
B. Total commitment
C. Partial emotional belonging
D. Distance
Answer
C. Partial emotional belonging5️⃣ Why is this song difficult for early learners?
A. Advanced grammar
B. Rare vocabulary
C. Fast pace and dropped sounds
D. Old Spanish
Answer
C. Fast pace and dropped sounds✨ Final Thoughts: When Spanish Stops Being Neat
Un Poquito is a reminder that real Spanish is not always tidy. It runs. It blurs. It repeats itself. It chooses rhythm over clarity.
And that is exactly why it matters at B1 level. This is the stage where listening stops being comfortable and starts becoming real.
If you want help navigating fast Spanish, connected speech, and songs like this with confidence, or if you want to learn Spanish with a teacher who explains what native speakers actually do:
📩 Write to me at
Because fluency does not arrive all at once.
It comes poquito a poquito.
Spanish Songs, Translated 
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