The verbs jugar and tocar can be confusing for English speakers because of the variety of meanings these verbs have in both languages.
Tocar
These are the meanings of tocar in Spanish:
1. expressing "to touch" literally: to touch something/someone
2. expressing "to play an instrument"
As jugar is also used for other meanings of "to play", it's a common mistake to use jugar in this context but it is incorrect.
Do not use "jugar" for playing an instrument:
- Yo juego el violín.
- Yo toco el violín.
3. expressing "to play [a certain type of music]"
Mi hermano y sus amigos tienen una banda y tocan pop.My brother and his friends have a band and they play pop.
4. expressing "to win [a prize, the lottery]"
Note that in this case, we use it with indirect object pronouns (me, te, le...) and the verb agrees with what one wins (similar to the construction of verbs like gustar).
Jugar
These are the meanings of jugar in Spanish:
1. expressing "to play [a game, a sport]"
Los sábados juego al fútbol y los domingos juego al tenis.On Saturdays, I play football and on Sundays I play tennis.
Remember to always use al/a la/a los/a las with jugar in this context.
These are the most common uses of tocar and jugar. There are also set expressions or phrases using these verbs with specific meanings. Have a look at these lists:
- Games and sports used with the verb "jugar" in Spanish
- Spanish expressions with "jugar"
- Spanish expressions with "tocar"
See also Conjugate jugar in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)
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