tocarme los dedos de los pies
/tokaɾme los dedos de los pjes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "touch my toes" is translated into Spanish as tocarme los dedos de los pies.
This phrase describes the physical action of bending forward from the waist to reach one's toes with the hands.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from tocar (to touch), me (myself), los dedos (the fingers) and de los pies (of the feet).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, body parts are typically referred to using the definite article los rather than a possessive adjective when the possessive is already implied by the reflexive pronoun me.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the possessive adjective mis (my) instead of the definite article los (the) when referring to body parts. Avoid saying tocar mis dedos de los pies.
Did you know?
- Using the possessive mis instead of the article los when referring to body parts can imply that the toes are detached from your body.
- The verb tocar is used for both physical contact and playing a musical instrument, meaning the same word used to touch your toes is used to play the guitar.
- In Spanish, the word dedos is used for both 'fingers' and 'toes'. To specify the feet, you must add de los pies, otherwise a listener might think you are touching your fingers.
Examples in context
- No puedo tocarme los dedos de los pies.I can't touch my toes.This sentence is useful for expressing an inability to perform the action with tocarme los dedos de los pies.Tatoeba #8637422 by NFWord, translation #6272889 by CK
- Puedo tocarme los dedos de los pies con facilidad.I can easily touch my toes.This sentence is useful for expressing the ability to perform the action with ease using tocarme los dedos de los pies.Tatoeba #1054409 by Shishir, translation #33492 by CK
Example conversation
María and Alejandro are exercising at the gym.
- MaríaMira, Alejandro, ya puedo tocarme los dedos de los pies.Look, Alejandro, I can touch my toes now.
- Alejandro¡Qué bien! Estás muy flexible, María.That's great! You are very flexible, María.
- María¿Tú puedes hacerlo también?Can you do it too?
- AlejandroNo, yo no llego ni cerca.No, I can't get anywhere close.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
