TUHCH-uhz
/ˈtʌtʃəz/
touches is pronounced TUHCH-uhz (/ˈtʌtʃəz/). Touches is the third-person singular present tense of touch, referring to coming into contact or lightly brushing against something. In broader usage, it can describe adding a particular feel or quality to something, or brief, delicate physical contact. The word is typically stressed on the first syllable when isolated, and it functions as a verb in sentences such as 'She touches the fabric' or as a plural noun in contexts like 'gentle touches.'.
Touches is the third-person singular present tense of touch, referring to coming into contact or lightly brushing against something. In broader usage, it can describe adding a particular feel or quality to something, or brief, delicate physical contact. The word is typically stressed on the first syllable when isolated, and it functions as a verb in sentences such as 'She touches the fabric' or as a plural noun in contexts like 'gentle touches.'
"Her fingers gently touches the silk to test its texture."
"The curator touches on several key themes in the exhibit catalog."
"He touches the dial, preparing to adjust the settings."
Pronounce as /ˈtʌtʃɪz/. The first syllable has a stressed, short vowel /ʌ/ like 'cup', followed by /tʃ/ as in 'church', then a short, lax /ɪ/ in the second syllable and an voiced final /z/. Keep the /tʃ/ cluster tight, and avoid letting the second syllable drift into a separate vowel. Mouth position: lips relaxed, tip of tongue just behind the upper teeth for /t/, blade of tongue against the hard palate for /ʃ/, then slight voicing for /z/. Audio cue: think 'TUT-chiz' with emphasis on the first syllable.
Common mistakes: 1) Overlengthening the second syllable, making it /ˈtʌtʃiːz/—keep it short with /ɪ/. 2) Substituting /tʃ/ with /t/ or /dʒ/ (e.g., /ˈtutdz/ or /ˈdutʒɪz/); 3) Stress misplacement by weakening the first syllable. Correction: practice the sequence /ˈtʌtʃ/ as a tight unit, then attach /ɪz/ quickly. Drills: say 'touch' then immediately 'es' as a single quick syllable; record and compare to native benchmarks.
In US/UK/AU, the core /ˈtʌtʃɪz/ remains, but rhotics and vowel qualities subtly shift. US English often has a darker /ɹ/ in surrounding words but not in this word; primary difference is vowel length and flapping tendencies in fast speech around neighboring sounds. UK and AU accents share non-rhotic tendencies in careful speech, but AU may display slightly broader diphthongs in surrounding words. The /tʃ/ cluster remains a single affricate-like sound across regions; the final /ɪz/ can be realized as a quick /ɪz/ or a softer /əz/ in casual speech.
The difficulty lies in the /tɒtʃ/ vs /tʌtʃ/ transition and the final /ɪz/ cluster. Learners often slip to /tɒtʃɪz/ with a low back vowel, or they misarticulate the /tʃ/ as /t/ or /dʒ/. Mastery requires precise tongue placement: tip behind upper teeth for /t/, blade at the palate for /tʃ/, then a quick voiceless-to-voiced transition into /z/. Practicing the word in connected speech helps stabilize the accent timing.
The key unique aspect is preserving the /tʃ/ as a single unit within a closed syllable, not splitting it into /t/ and /ʃ/. Some learners insert a tiny vowel between /t/ and /ʃ/ when emphasizing; avoid this by maintaining a clean /tʃ/ release. Also, keep the final /ɪz/ brief and not drawn out; in rapid speech, this can sound like /ɪz/ or even /ɪz̩/ with a syllabic /z/ depending on tempo. Consistent practice with minimal pairs reinforces the tight /tʃ/ and brief ending.
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US: tends to preserve a crisp /t/ and clear /ˈtʌtʃɪz/ with moderate vowel quality; avoid flapping within this word. UK: may have a slightly shorter /ʌ/ and more clipped final /ɪz/; AU: often vowel quality closer to /ʌ/ but with crisp /t͡ʃ/ release; expect less aggressive rhotic influence in careful speech. IPA anchors: US /ˈtʌtʃɪz/, UK /ˈtʌtʃɪz/, AU /ˈtʌtʃɪz/. Focus on preserving the /t͡ʃ/ and brief final /ɪz/ in all accents.
Touches comes from the verb touch, which traces to the Old French toucher (to touch, to handle) and ultimately the Latin tongere (to touch). In Middle English, touch developed various forms such as touche, touchen, and touchen, with the sense of making contact or approaching. The -es ending marks its plural or third-person singular present tense form in English. The semantic evolution kept the core concept of physical contact but broadened to include figurative senses (as in ‘to touches on a topic,’ meaning to address or reference lightly) and nuances of sensitivity or influence. First known uses appear in the late medieval period as English borrowed from Norman French, with steady usage in early modern English to denote physical contact, touching as an act, and later, the abstract notion of touching on themes in discourse. Over centuries, the plural/singular morphology stabilized, and the word maintains strong cross-genre utility in literature, journalism, and everyday speech. Modern usage often differentiates plural noun senses (e.g., “gentle touches”) from verb forms in present tense (“she touches”).
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Words that rhyme with "touches"
-hes sounds
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