Nadie Sabe Lo Que Tiene – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Efecto Elegante

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the rhythmic world of urban Latin music with 'Nadie Sabe Lo Que Tiene.' This song is a perfect tool for Spanish learners to practice common idiomatic expressions and reflective vocabulary, offering a melodic way to understand deep cultural sentiments regarding gratitude and life's unpredictability.

[English]

I had a great love yesterday

She was so lovely and beautiful

Like a white butterfly

And as beautiful as a flower

But time has already passed

And I didn't think I was hurting her

Even when she said she loved me

I just laughed it off

And it happened, that well-known saying came true

No one knows what they have until they lose it

Until they see it's gone

And it happened, that well-known saying came true

No one knows what they have until they lose it

Until they see it's gone

...

But time has already passed

And I didn't think I was hurting her

Even when she said she loved me

I just laughed it off

And it happened, that well-known saying came true

No one knows what they have until they lose it

Until they see it's gone

And it happened, that well-known saying came true

No one knows what they have until they lose it

Until they see it's gone

...

[Spanish]

Un gran amor tuve ayer

Era tan linda y hermosa

Como mariposa blanca

Y tan bella como una flor

Pero el tiempo ya pasó

Y no creí lastimarla

Si decía que me quería

Yo reía por pura

Y sucedió, sucedió el dicho tan conocido

Nadie sabe lo que tiene, nadie sabe lo que tiene

Hasta que lo ve perdido

Y sucedió, sucedió el dicho tan conocido

Nadie sabe lo que tiene, nadie sabe lo que tiene

Hasta que lo ve perdido

Pero el tiempo ya pasó

Y no creí lastimarla

Si decía que me quería

Yo reía por pura

Y sucedió, sucedió el dicho tan conocido

Nadie sabe lo que tiene, nadie sabe lo que tiene

Hasta que lo ve perdido

Y sucedió, sucedió el dicho tan conocido

Nadie sabe lo que tiene, nadie sabe lo que tiene

Hasta que lo ve perdido

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
amor a-mor A1	noun - love
linda lin-da A1	adjective - pretty
hermosa er-mo-sa A1	adjective - beautiful
mariposa ma-ri-po-sa A2	noun - butterfly
bella be-ya A1	adjective - beautiful
flor flor A1	noun - flower
tiempo tyem-po A1	noun - time
lastimarla las-ti-mar-la B1	verb - to hurt her
quería ke-ri-a A2	verb - wanted / loved
reía re-i-a A2	verb - was laughing
sucedió su-se-dyo B1	verb - happened
dicho di-cho B2	noun - saying
conocido ko-no-si-do A2	adjective - known
perdido per-di-do A2	adjective - lost

Key Grammar Structures

• Un gran amor tuve ayer

  ➔ Preterite tense of 'tener'

  ➔ "Tuve" is the first-person singular irregular preterite form of 'tener', used to describe a completed action in the past.

• Y no creí lastimarla

  ➔ Negative Preterite + Infinitive

  ➔ The pronoun "la" is attached to the infinitive "lastimar" to refer back to the object (the girl/amor).

• Si decía que me quería

  ➔ Imperfect Indicative

  ➔ "Decía" and "quería" use the imperfect to describe habitual actions or states in the past.

• Nadie sabe lo que tiene

  ➔ Relative pronoun 'lo que'

  ➔ "Lo que" functions as a neutral relative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'that which'.

• Hasta que lo ve perdido

  ➔ Temporal clause with 'hasta que'

  ➔ "Hasta que" + indicative (ve) indicates a specific moment in time when something is realized.

• Y sucedió, sucedió el dicho

  ➔ Preterite of 'suceder'

  ➔ "Sucedió" is the third-person singular preterite, used for an event that happened at a specific point in time.

• Era tan linda y hermosa

  ➔ Imperfect description

  ➔ "Era" (from 'ser') is used to describe qualities of a person in the past.

• Y no creí lastimarla

  ➔ Direct Object Pronoun

  ➔ The "la" at the end of "lastimarla" is the direct object pronoun representing the person being hurt.