Toucher Conjugation in French
toucher means “touch” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for describing something by touch, for pressing a button, and for warning a child not to touch. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of toucher — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je touche le mur.” — “I touch the wall.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: toucher
- English: touch
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en touchant
- Past participle: touché
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for toucher, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for toucher. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | touche |
| tu | touches |
| il/elle | touche |
| nous | touchons |
| vous | touchez |
| ils/elles | touchent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | touchai |
| tu | touchas |
| il/elle | toucha |
| nous | touchâmes |
| vous | touchâtes |
| ils/elles | touchèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | touchais |
| tu | touchais |
| il/elle | touchait |
| nous | touchions |
| vous | touchiez |
| ils/elles | touchaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | toucherai |
| tu | toucheras |
| il/elle | touchera |
| nous | toucherons |
| vous | toucherez |
| ils/elles | toucheront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | toucherais |
| tu | toucherais |
| il/elle | toucherait |
| nous | toucherions |
| vous | toucheriez |
| ils/elles | toucheraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | touche |
| tu | touches |
| il/elle | touche |
| nous | touchions |
| vous | touchiez |
| ils/elles | touchent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | touchasse |
| tu | touchasses |
| il/elle | touchât |
| nous | touchassions |
| vous | touchassiez |
| ils/elles | touchassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai touché |
| tu | as touché |
| il/elle | a touché |
| nous | avons touché |
| vous | avez touché |
| ils/elles | ont touché |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais touché |
| tu | avais touché |
| il/elle | avait touché |
| nous | avions touché |
| vous | aviez touché |
| ils/elles | avaient touché |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai touché |
| tu | auras touché |
| il/elle | aura touché |
| nous | aurons touché |
| vous | aurez touché |
| ils/elles | auront touché |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais touché |
| tu | aurais touché |
| il/elle | aurait touché |
| nous | aurions touché |
| vous | auriez touché |
| ils/elles | auraient touché |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | touche |
| nous | touchons |
| vous | touchez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | touche |
| nous | touchons |
| vous | touchez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en touchant |
| Past participle | touché |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je touche le bouton.” — “I touch the button.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je touchai le bouton hier.” — “I touched the button yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je touchais le bouton avant.” — “I used to touch the button before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je toucherai le bouton demain.” — “I will touch the button tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je toucherais le bouton un jour.” — “I would touch the button one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je touche le bouton” — “Although I touch the button.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je touchasse le bouton” — “Although I touch the button.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai touché le bouton cette semaine.” — “I have touched the button this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais touché le bouton avant la fête.” — “I had touched the button before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai touché le bouton pour demain.” — “I will have touched the button by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais touché le bouton hier.” — “I would have touched the button yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “touche le bouton !” — “Touch the button!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne touche pas le bouton !” — “Don't touch the button!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en touchant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle touché builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai touché du bois cette semaine.” — “I have touched wood this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with toucher, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je touche le mur.” — “I touch the wall.”
- “Tu touchas le bouton hier.” — “You touched the button yesterday.”
- “Il touchait du bois avant.” — “He used to touch wood before.”
- “Je toucherai la table demain.” — “I will touch the table tomorrow.”
- “Tu toucherais le mur un jour.” — “You would touch the wall one day.”
- “Il a touché le bouton cette semaine.” — “He has touched the button this week.”
- “J'avais touché du bois avant la fête.” — “I had touched wood before the party.”
- “Tu auras touché la table pour demain.” — “You will have touched the table by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il touche le mur” — “Although he touches the wall.”
- “touche le bouton !” — “Touch the button!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je toucher le mur.”
✓ Right: “Je touche le mur.”
The infinitive toucher never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form touche.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je touchons le bouton.”
✓ Right: “Je touche le bouton.”
touchons is the nous form. With je the present form is touche — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je touche le mur.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai touché le mur.”
The present touche describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai touché.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je touchai du bois.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai touché du bois.”
The passé simple touchai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai touché.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je touche le mur.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je touche le mur.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use touche here, not the indicative touche.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je touchais la table avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai touché la table avant.”
The imperfect touchais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai touché.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on toucher. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of toucher in the Present indicative?
- A) touche
- B) touchons
- C) touches
- D) touchez
What is the il/elle form of toucher in the Passé simple?
- A) touchèrent
- B) touchas
- C) touchâmes
- D) toucha
What is the nous form of toucher in the Imperfect?
- A) touchais
- B) touchions
- C) touchait
- D) touchaient
What is the tu form of toucher in the Future?
- A) toucherons
- B) touchera
- C) toucherez
- D) toucheras
What is the je form of toucher in the Conditional?
- A) toucherais
- B) toucherions
- C) toucheraient
- D) toucheriez
What is the il/elle form of toucher in the Present subjunctive?
- A) touchiez
- B) touchions
- C) touche
- D) touchent
What is the je form of toucher in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) touchassent
- B) touchasses
- C) touchasse
- D) touchât
What is the gerund of toucher?
- A) buvant
- B) dormant
- C) touchant
What is the past participle of toucher?
- A) dormi
- B) bu
- C) touché
What does toucher mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) touch
- C) sleep
- D) open
Answer key
- A) touche — The je form of toucher in the present indicative is touche.
- D) toucha — The il/elle form of toucher in the passé simple is toucha.
- B) touchions — The nous form of toucher in the imperfect is touchions.
- D) toucheras — The tu form of toucher in the future is toucheras.
- A) toucherais — The je form of toucher in the conditional is toucherais.
- C) touche — The il/elle form of toucher in the present subjunctive is touche.
- C) touchasse — The je form of toucher in the imperfect subjunctive is touchasse.
- C) touchant — The gerund of toucher is en touchant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) touché — The past participle of toucher is touché; perfect tenses use avoir + touché.
- B) touch — toucher means “touch” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does toucher mean in English?
toucher means “touch”. You use it for describing something by touch, for pressing a button, and for warning a child not to touch. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is toucher regular or irregular?
toucher is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en touchant and the past participle is touché.
What are the gerund and past participle of toucher?
The gerund is en touchant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is touché — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai touché.
How do I say “I touch” in French?
Say “Je touche le mur.” — “I touch the wall.” The je form of the present is touche, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between toucher and regarder?
toucher means “touch” while regarder means “look at” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for regarder and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Toucher Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Toucher Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Regarder conjugation
- Prendre conjugation
- Sentir conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise toucher with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise toucher with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise toucher with the interactive tool.