Al toque
Right away, immediately — the Peruvian promise of speed, kept more often than Mexico's "ahorita".
Related lesson: Peruvian Spanish: A Survival Guide.
Hear it in context
Espérame en la esquina, salgo al toque.
Wait for me on the corner, I'll be out right away.
El ceviche te lo preparan al toque, todo fresco.
They make the ceviche for you on the spot, everything fresh.
Dile pe, al toque, antes de que se vaya.
Tell him then, right now, before he leaves.
What It Actually Means
Al toque is right away — this minute, on the spot, without an intervening excuse. It is the standard Peruvian answer to “when?”, and, unusually for the genre, it is broadly sincere: where Mexico’s ahorita famously stretches to infinity, al toque still mostly means what it says.
Where It Comes From
From toque — a touch, a tap, the single contact of a bell or a ball. Something done al toque happens at the first touch, no wind-up. Argentina uses the same phrase (alongside al tiro’s cousin ya mismo), and Chile holds the parallel slot with al tiro — three countries, three idioms for the same urgency.
How Natives Use It
For promises, orders and reassurance: voy al toque (I’m coming right now), te lo mando al toque (I’ll send it straight away), al toque nomás (in no time at all — the nomás softens it). In service Peru it is the counter’s favourite word: the juice, the taxi and the photocopy are all al toque.
Common Pitfall
Mind the border: say al tiro in Lima or al toque in Santiago and you will be understood but instantly placed. And don’t confuse it with un toque (a moment: espérate un toque = hang on a second) — with the article it asks for time, with al it promises none.