

The most common case where you will hear the expression used by French people is during a game of Battleship, a typical board game where two players face each other on a numbered board. “The first solution seems to be more suitable than the second.” “Touché!” Touché ! Coulé !Ĭontrary to what one might think, the interjection “touché” is actually used very little in everyday language in France.
TOUCHE MEANING FRENCH PLUS
➡️ “La première solution me semble plus adaptée que la seconde.” “ Touché !” “We say “if I had” and not “if I would have”!” “ Touché !”

➡️ “On dit “si j’avais” et non “si j’aurais” !” “ Touché !” “You don’t need to take the test since you’ve already validated that subject.” “Touché!” ➡️ “Tu n’as pas besoin de passer le test puisque tu as déjà validé cette matière.” “ Touché !” When used, it can be used to refer to an action, a sentence, or a consequence of any kind. It is then used by the person conceding the point. When the word is used alone, “touché” is an interjection that means that something has achieved its purpose. Reaching an object or a person through the shot of a projectile (La fléchette a touché le centre de la cible = The dart hit the center of the target).

The emotion we have towards someone, or the emotion we create in someone (Ses excuses m’ont touché…= His apology touched me…).Physical access to a place (Notre bateau a touché terre il y a de ça une heure = Our boat touched down an hour ago).Brief and important communication with one or more people (Le PDG lui en a touché deux mots hier = The CEO had a word with him yesterday).The receipt of a certain amount of money (Il a enfin touché son salaire = He finally received his salary).Hand contact with something or someone (Elle m’a touché l’épaule = She touched my shoulder ).Based on its definition, “touché” can be used to mean: However, the term has many meanings in French. “Touché” is the past participle of the verb “toucher”, which literally translates to “to touch” in English. Today, we’re going to show you the different meanings of the word “touché”, the expressions that derive from it, as well as the various ways in which it is used in France and abroad. Toucher la peau du singe (literally, "touch the monkey’s skin") is used for exactly the same reason, but you say it while touching a friend’s head.Like many French expressions, the word “touché” has been widely exported internationally, so much so that you will hear it used more often by English speakers than by French speakers. Note that une tête de bois = stubborn / hard-headed person. When there’s no wood around, the French say je touche du bois while touching their own heads. – I just got married, I have an interesting and well-paid job … my life is perfect.

– Je viens de me marier, j’ai un emploi intéressant et bien payé … ma vie est parfaite. Par exemple… Tout va bien pour le moment, je touche du bois.Įverything is going well at the moment, knock on wood. Wherever you’re from, there’s a good chance that when talking about how well something is going, you start to feel a little uneasy until you knock on or touch something made of wood. Usage notes: Are you superstitious – even just a little? If so, you’ll find the French expression toucher du bois very handy, as it’s the French equivalent of "knock on wood" for Americans and "touch wood" for Brits.
