Meaning

Primary

To Touch Something

Alternative

To Touch

Word Type

intransitive verb, transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means touch so the verb vocab version is to touch something.

触る is used when someone does the touching. It's not used to describe objects touching each other.

Note that 触る can be used with either the particle or , like 手に触る or 手を触る (to touch a hand). Using simply marks the location you touch, while using highlights your action of touching that specific area or object. So the former is intransitive and the latter is transitive, though there's some debate about that.

Reading

さわる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you: You're an idiot. You try to touch a saw (さわ).

Context

Context Sentences

私のパソコンに触るな!

Hands off my computer!

これを手で触ってみると、温かい感じがします。

When I touch this with my hand, it feels warm.

あの男が、急に私の肩を触ったんです。

That man suddenly touched my shoulder.

わたしは猫を触るのが大好きですが、うちの猫は他人に触られるのが大嫌いです。

I love to pet cats, but our cat doesn't like it when strangers touch her.

私は、電話をしているとき、髪を触る癖があります。

When I'm on the phone, I have a habit of touching my hair.

Kanji Composition