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June 15, 2021 by Luis F. Dominguez Spanish Grammar 0 comments

Tocar vs Jugar: What’s the Difference Between these Spanish Verbs?

Have you ever wondered what’s the difference between tocar and jugar? I ask because these two Spanish verbs can get tricky for native English speakers sometimes, and the reason for that is the double meaning of the English verb “to play.”

You can play a game, but also a piano. In Spanish, you have two verbs to express those two different actions. And that’s why we have a tocar vs jugar argument. 

What does tocar and jugar mean? What are their different meanings and variances? When to use one or the other? Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions, get examples set in real-life situations, and learn the main conjugations of both tocar and jugar. 

Tocar vs Jugar: to Play vs to Play

In Spanish, when you want to say that someone is “playing” a musical instrument you have to use the verb tocar: 

Pedro toca la guitarra. 
Pedro plays the guitar.  

But then, when you want to express that someone is “playing” a game you have to use the verb jugar: 

María juega con la pelota. 
María plays with the ball. 

This is another case of an English verb that has two different translations in Spanish, just as the verb “to ask” which I discussed in Ordenar vs Pedir: What’s the Difference Between these Spanish Verbs. 

These types of verbs can become a headache for Spanish learners, as they struggle to differentiate when to use each of the Spanish translations. To avoid this, let’s dig deep into the definition, meaning, and subtleties of both verbs: tocar vs jugar in Spanish.  

tocar jugar

Tocar: Meanings and Variances

In the example above about “playing the guitar,” I used the verb tocar correctly. However, that’s just one of the many uses and meanings that tocar has. Let’s learn all of them!

To Touch

Tocar comes from the Latin verb “toccare,” which signals the verb original meaning: “to touch,” which also derives from the same Latin word. In this context, tocar refers to physical contact between persons or things. You can tocar your mom’s hand with your fingers, but also a car’s tire can tocar the street pavement.  

Me tocó con sus manos frías. 
He touched me with his cold hands. 

La pelota tocó el suelo. 
The ball touched the floor. 

¿Ya tocaste el agua para ver si está caliente?
Have you touched the water to see if it’s already hot?

To Play (an instrument)

For some obscure reason lost in centuries past, when someone plays a musical instrument you have to use the verb tocar. If you think about it, you can find a certain logic in saying that someone is “touching” the piano with his fingers, however, this logic doesn’t consider the fact that I can “touch” the piano without actually “playing” it. 

Anyway, when referring to musical instruments use the verb tocar in Spanish. 

Miguel toca el saxofón. 
Miguel plays the sax.

Ayer toqué la batería en la escuela. 
Yesterday, I played the drums at school.

To Ring

In Spanish, the bells of a church or a doorbell are considered the same as a guitar or a piano, as you also have to use the verb tocar for them.

¿Quién tocó las campanas de la iglesia?
Who rang the bells of the church? 

Yo toqué el timbre. 
I rang the doorbell. 

tocar jugar

To Knock (the door)

Keeping with the logic of “touching something to make noise,” in Spanish you use tocar when someone “knocks the door.”

Toca la puerta para ver si están en casa. 
Knock on the door to see if they’re at home. 

¿Quién toca la puerta?
Who’s knocking at the door?

To Touch On

Although not physically, you can also “touch on” a subject when speaking or writing. For this situation, in Spanish, you also use the verb tocar.

El profesor tocó el tema del cambio climático. 
The teacher touched on the subject of climate change.  

Gabriel García Márquez tocó muchos géneros literarios. 
Gabriel García Márquez touched on many literary genres.

Your Turn! 

This meaning is the hardest to explain as it implies several different English verbs. You can also use tocar to say that it’s someone’s turn at something, or that someone received something, a task, a present, etc. It’ll get clearer once you read the next couple of examples: 

¿Qué turno te tocó? 
What number did you get? 

Te toca lavar los platos. 
It’s your turn to wash the dishes.

¿Qué te tocó en la rifa de la oficina?
What did you get in the office raffle? 

tocar jugar

Tocar Conjugation Set

Tocar behaves like a regular verb, however, you have to change the c of the stem to qu when before a letter e. 

Present

yo tocoI touch
tú tocasyou touch
él/ella tocahe/she touches
nosotros tocamoswe touch
ustedes tocanyou touch
ellos/ellas tocanthey touch

Past

yo toquéI touched
tú tocasteyou touched
él/ella tocóhe/she touched
nosotros tocamoswe touched
ustedes tocaronyou touched
ellos/ellas tocaronthey touched

Future

yo tocaréI will touch
tú tocarásyou will touch
él/ella tocaráhe/she will touch
nosotros tocaremoswe will touch
ustedes tocarányou will touch
ellos/ellas tocaránthey will touch

Jugar: Meanings and Variances

Jugar, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward verb than tocar. The confusion that jugar produces comes more from the double meaning of the English verb “to play,” than from different connotations or meanings conveyed by jugar itself. 

Jugar means to play games or juegos, or sports; to play with toys, to play with other kids, and basically, to play to have fun. Take off your mind the English meaning of the verb “to play” which implies “playing a musical instrument” and you have understood what jugar means. 

Carlos juega fútbol por la tarde. 
Carlos plays football in the afternoon. 

Ayer jugamos a las escondidas con tus primos. 
Yesterday we played hide and seek with your cousins. 

¿Dónde jugarán los niños?
Where will the children play?

¿Quieres jugar con mis muñecas?
Do you want to play with my dolls?

tocar jugar

Jugar Conjugation Set

Jugar is a unique irregular verb as it’s the only verb in Spanish that changes the u in the stem for ue. It also changes from g to gu in some forms to keep with the guttural sound of g before a letter e. 

Present

yo juegoI play
tú juegasyou play
él/ella juegahe/she plays
nosotros jugamoswe play
ustedes jueganyou play
ellos/ellas jueganthey play

Past

yo juguéI played
tú jugasteyou played
él/ella jugóhe/she played
nosotros jugamoswe played
ustedes jugaronyou played
ellos/ellas jugaronthey played

Future

yo jugaréI will play
tú jugarásyou will play
él/ella jugaráhe/she will play
nosotros jugaremoswe will play
ustedes jugarányou will play
ellos/ellas jugaránthey will play

If you want to learn more about the verb jugar and check out its complete conjugation set, you can read Jugar Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF. 

Advanced Spanish Verbs Quiz

Quiz CTA

Test your new advanced Spanish verbs skills with this free interactive quiz!

Fill in the blank:

1. ¿Cuándo _____ el piano por última vez?

Correct! Wrong!

2. Ayer Erika me _____ la mano.

Correct! Wrong!

3. Mañana _____ videojuegos en mi casa.

Correct! Wrong!

4. ¿Ya _____ la puerta?

Correct! Wrong!

5. El presidente no _____ el tema del desempleo.

Correct! Wrong!

6. El próximo año ______ béisbol en el estadio de la ciudad.

Correct! Wrong!

7. El sacerdote _______ las campanas de la iglesia.

Correct! Wrong!

8. ¿Quieres _____ ajedrez?

Correct! Wrong!

9. Ayer me _____ levantarme temprano.

Correct! Wrong!

10. _____ el agua con la punta del pie.

Correct! Wrong!

Tocar vs Jugar Quiz
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As you keep up your hard work and practice, you're starting to understand better the use of jugar and tocar in Spanish. For more study materials, keep up-to-date with our newest published blog posts at Homeschool Spanish Academy. *YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! You can do it!* Do you prefer learning with videos? Check out our YouTube channel Spanish Academy TV for the best Spanish learning content on the web!
Practice makes perfect! Keep on studying!

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Your motivation to learn Spanish is an essential ingredient to success! If you're ready to take your Spanish to the next level and master the usage of jugar and tocar in Spanish, then join us for a free Spanish class with one of our friendly, certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. Sign up today!

Tocar, Jugar, Aprender

“To touch, to play, to learn.” With these two verbs on the fold now, you keep growing your mystery of tricky Spanish verbs that can be used in different ways and with more than one meaning. Just remember that tocar is more like “to touch,” and that jugar is an almost literal translation of “to play,” except when it refers to playing a musical instrument.

Sign up for a free class to practice these and many other verbs with one of our certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. They provide one-on-one Spanish instructions in real-time and teach over 24,000 different students each month. The schedules are flexible and the lessons can be tailored to your needs. 

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Luis F. Dominguez
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.
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