Spanish Songs, Translated

What does “Criminal” mean? Learn Spanish through one of reggaeton’s biggest romantic anthems.

Some love songs compare romance to fireworks. Others compare it to destiny. Criminal takes a much more playful route – it compares falling in love to committing the perfect crime.

At first glance, the title sounds dramatic, but the song isn’t about breaking the law. Instead, Natti Natasha and Ozuna use crime as an extended metaphor for irresistible attraction. Someone has “stolen” a heart, feelings feel “illegal,” and charisma becomes dangerously addictive. It’s flirtatious, catchy, and full of clever wordplay that makes it a fantastic song for learning conversational Spanish.

If you’re learning Spanish through music, this track is packed with useful everyday verbs, urban Latin slang, metaphors you’ll hear in real conversations, and one of the most common structures in romantic Spanish songs. By the end of this lesson, you’ll not only understand what makes Criminal so memorable, but you’ll also pick up vocabulary and grammar you can actually use.

About the Song

Released in 2017, Criminal marked the first collaboration between Dominican singer Natti Natasha and Puerto Rican superstar Ozuna. The song quickly became an international hit, introducing millions of listeners to Natti Natasha while further cementing Ozuna’s place as one of reggaeton’s defining voices.

Musically, Criminal blends reggaeton with Latin pop, but what really makes it stand out is its central metaphor. Rather than describing love directly, the lyrics repeatedly compare attraction to crime, turning words like criminal, delito, and robar el corazón into playful romantic imagery. It’s a great reminder that Spanish songs often rely on metaphors rather than literal meanings, making them an excellent resource for learners who want to understand how native speakers express emotion creatively.

Listen to the Song

🎵 Official Music Video:

https://youtu.be/VqEbCxg2bNI

Reading Comprehension Level

Estimated CEFR Level: B1 (Intermediate)

This song is ideal for learners around the B1 level because it combines straightforward sentence structures with informal urban vocabulary and figurative language.

You’ll practice:

• Everyday present-tense Spanish.
• Common romantic expressions and metaphors.
• Useful verbs like mentir, robar, extrañar, and negar.
• Idiomatic expressions such as robar el corazón and dejarse llevar.
• Modern Latin American slang, including the widely used borrowing flow.

While the grammar itself is mostly accessible, the metaphors and informal wording make this a great exercise in moving beyond literal translation and understanding Spanish the way native speakers naturally use it.

Criminal line-by-line lyric translation

Uh, oh, oh, oh
Uh, oh, oh, oh

El negrito ojos claros
The dark-skinned guy with light eyes

Ozuna
Ozuna

Miento
I’m lying

Si te digo que en ti no ando pensando
If I tell you I’m not thinking about you

Quisiera saber lo que estás haciendo
I wish I knew what you’re doing

Te llamo pero me sale ocupado, oh-oh
I call you, but it says you’re busy, oh-oh

Tú me robaste el corazón como un criminal
You stole my heart like a criminal

Bebé yo no puedo negarlo
Baby, I can’t deny it

Esto que siento por ti no puede ser legal, ah
What I feel for you can’t be legal, ah

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, baby muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby, so criminal

Criminal, uh, criminal, ah (criminal, ah)
Criminal, uh, criminal, ah (criminal, ah)

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, mami muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby girl, so criminal

Criminal, cri-criminal, ah (criminal, ah)
Criminal, cri-criminal, ah (criminal, ah)

Ya tú me miras como que te pongo mal
Now you look at me like I make you lose control

De lejos yo puedo observar
From afar I can see

Lo que tu mente puede pensar
What your mind is thinking

Tú me dices que yo me dejo llevar
You tell me that I get carried away

Será porque tienes un flow
Maybe it’s because you’ve got a flow

Demasio’ de cri-criminal, baby
Way too criminal, baby

Similar yo la he visto por ahí
I’ve never seen anyone like you around

Que solo la mire de lejitos
Just by looking at her from a distance

Y se ponga así, salvaje
She gets like that, wild

Báilame pero con coraje
Dance for me, but with confidence

Y deja que esta pista haga te suba el traje
And let this beat make your outfit rise

Miento
I’m lying

Si te digo que en ti no ando pensando
If I tell you I’m not thinking about you

Quisiera saber lo que estás haciendo
I wish I knew what you’re doing

Te llamo pero me sale ocupado, oh-oh
I call you, but it says you’re busy, oh-oh

Tú me robaste el corazón como un criminal
You stole my heart like a criminal

Bebé yo no puedo negarlo
Baby, I can’t deny it

Esto que siento por ti no puede ser legal, ah
What I feel for you can’t be legal, ah

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, baby muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby, so criminal

Criminal, uh, criminal, ah (criminal, ah)
Criminal, uh, criminal, ah (criminal, ah)

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, mami muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby girl, so criminal

Criminal, cri-criminal, ah
Criminal, cri-criminal, ah

Como tú no hace, rompe la ley
No one does it like you – you break the law

Tú eres un delito que yo quiero cometer
You’re a crime I want to commit

Si por eso dieran tiempo, perpetuar debieras ver
If they gave time for that, you’d deserve a life sentence

Para mis problemas que no quiero resolver, no
For the problems I don’t want to solve, no

Tú me encantas, yo no te quiero mentir
I’m crazy about you, I don’t want to lie to you

Tú, tú eres para mí, no te quiero compartir
You, you’re for me, I don’t want to share you

Si mala maña, la cosa se nos daña
If bad habits get involved, things will fall apart

Tú, no te has ido y mi cuerpo a ti te extraña
You haven’t left, yet my body already misses you

Tú me miras, como que te pongo mal
You look at me like I make you lose control

De lejos yo puedo observar
From afar I can see

Lo que tu mente puede pensar
What your mind is thinking

Tú me dices que yo me dejo llevar
You tell me that I get carried away

Será porque tienes un flow
Maybe it’s because you’ve got a flow

Demasio’ de cri-criminal, baby
Way too criminal, baby

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, baby muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby, so criminal

Criminal, uh criminal, ah, (criminal, ah)
Criminal, uh criminal, ah (criminal, ah)

Criminal, cri-criminal
Criminal, cri-criminal

Tu estilo, tu flow, mami muy criminal
Your style, your flow, baby girl, so criminal

Criminal, cri-criminal, ah
Criminal, cri-criminal, ah

Learn Spanish Vocabulary Through Criminal

Spanish	English	Notes / Usage
mentir	to lie	An essential everyday verb.
robar	to steal	Often used metaphorically in love songs.
el corazón	heart	One of the most common romantic words in Spanish.
negar	to deny	Frequently appears in conversations and songs.
el delito	crime	Used literally and metaphorically throughout the song.
el flow	style, swagger	Borrowed from English and common in urban Latin music.
dejarse llevar	to let oneself go	A common idiomatic expression.
vengarse	to get revenge	Reflexive verb meaning “to take revenge.”
el coraje	courage / intensity	Can mean bravery or strong emotion depending on context.
extrañar	to miss someone	One of the first emotional verbs every Spanish learner should know.
perpetua	life imprisonment	Short for cadena perpetua.
la maña	habit, tendency	Often appears in expressions like mala maña.

Learn Spanish Grammar Through Criminal

Grammar Point	Example	Explanation
Mentir si…	Miento si te digo…	A common way to emphasize honesty by expressing the opposite.
Quisiera + infinitive	Quisiera saber…	A polite or softer way to express a wish.
No puede ser…	No puede ser legal.	Means “It can’t possibly be…”
Como + comparison	Como un criminal.	Used to make comparisons or metaphors.
Dejarse + infinitive/adjective	Me dejo llevar.	Means “to let oneself be carried away.”
Si + imperfect subjunctive + conditional	Si por eso dieran tiempo…	A hypothetical structure used to imagine unreal situations.

Spanish Expressions & Slang You Learned from Criminal

• Robar el corazón – Literally “to steal someone’s heart.” Just like in English, it means to make someone fall deeply in love.
• Me sale ocupado – Literally “it comes out busy.” This is how Spanish speakers commonly say that someone’s phone line is busy.
• Dejarse llevar – To let yourself go or follow your emotions without overthinking.
• No puede ser legal – A playful expression meaning “this is too good to be true” or “it should be illegal to be this attractive.”
• Flow – Although borrowed from English, flow has become a permanent part of urban Spanish and refers to someone’s style, confidence, charisma, or vibe.
• Mala maña – Literally “bad habit.” It can describe unhealthy patterns in relationships or someone’s troublesome tendencies.

📝 Reading Comprehension Quiz

Level: B1

Read the lyrics above and choose the best answer.

1. Why does the singer compare the other person to a criminal?

A. Because they committed an actual crime.
B. Because they stole the singer’s heart and emotions.
C. Because they work for the police.
D. Because they are running away.

2. What can we infer from the line

“Te llamo pero me sale ocupado”

?

A. The singer dialed the wrong number.
B. The other person isn’t answering because they’re asleep.
C. The singer is unable to reach the other person by phone.
D. The phone has been disconnected.

3. In the song, the word

flow

refers to…

A. The rhythm of the music only.
B. Someone’s personal style and charisma.
C. The weather.
D. A dance competition.

4. Why does the singer say

“Esto que siento por ti no puede ser legal”

?

A. Because the relationship is against the law.
B. Because the attraction feels overwhelmingly intense.
C. Because they are hiding from the police.
D. Because they signed a contract.

5. Which statement best summarizes the song?

A. Two people are arguing about trust.
B. The singers describe an irresistible attraction using crime-related metaphors.
C. A detective investigates a robbery.
D. Someone regrets ending a relationship.

Answer Key

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. B

Final Thoughts – Learn Spanish Through Music

Criminal is a perfect example of how Latin pop often turns everyday words into vivid metaphors. Throughout the song, love is described using the language of crime, turning expressions like robar el corazón, delito, and criminal into playful ways of describing irresistible attraction. It’s dramatic, catchy, and full of conversational Spanish you’ll hear far beyond this song.

If you want to learn Spanish through music, films, books, and authentic conversations instead of memorizing endless grammar rules, I’d love to help. I’m a certified C1-level Spanish teacher, and I help learners build confidence by learning the language the way native speakers actually use it.

Have a song you’d like translated or are you ready to start your Spanish journey? Drop a ”¡Hola!” at 📩 effietrumpet19@gmail.com. Let’s learn Spanish together, one song at a time.