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tocar

to touch

verb toh-KAHR Less Common
Body & Health Senses

Also means

to play (music)

Usage Note

Tocar is the verb for touching a surface and for playing a musical instrument (toca el piano); English uses two verbs for this. The impersonal me toca means 'it's my turn' or 'it falls to me', and tocar la lotería means 'to win the lottery'. It has a spelling change c → qu before -e in the preterite: toqué.

Examples

"No toques el cuadro, por favor."

Natural Translation

Please don't touch the painting.

Literal Translation

Not touch the painting, by favor

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