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"to touch" in seven languages

Meaningto touch

Spanish

tocar

/toˈkaɾ/

inherited

Also 'to play' an instrument: tocar la guitarra.

French

toucher

/tuʃe/

inherited

Italian

toccare

/tokˈkare/

inherited

Tocca a te: it's your turn.

Portuguese

tocar

/toˈkah/

inherited

Romanian

atinge

/aˈtindʒe/

other source · Latin ATTINGERE 'to touch'

Catalan

tocar

/tuˈka/

inherited

English

touch

/tʌtʃ/

from Latin/French · Old French tochier

English → Italianto touchtoccareCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*TOCCĀRE‘to knock, strike (imitative)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A spoken-Latin 'toc!' verb, first 'to knock', then 'to touch'. French turned ca into cha (toucher); Spanish and Italian also use it for whose turn it is: te toca, tocca a te.

English relatives: toccata

Sound laws at work

French CA becomes cha

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esNo toques los cuadros.
  • frNe touche pas aux tableaux.
  • itNon toccare i quadri.
  • ptNão toque nos quadros.
  • roNu atingeți tablourile.
  • caNo toqueu els quadres.
  • enDon't touch the paintings.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words