01
waschen
to wash
To clean something, especially clothing or dishes, with water and usually soap or detergent.
example
Ich muss am Wochenende dringend meine Wäsche waschen.
I urgently need to wash my laundry this weekend.
waschen
to wash
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Irregular verb
'Waschen' (to wash) is an irregular verb. Pay attention to the vowel change from 'a' to 'ä' in the 2nd and 3rd person singular in the present tense. This is a common mistake among learners.
EXAMPLE
Du wäschst dir bitte vor dem Essen die Hände.
Please wash your hands before eating.
Transitive vs. reflexive
You need to distinguish between washing objects and washing your own body. When you wash an object, you need an accusative object. When you wash yourself, you use the verb reflexively.
EXAMPLE
Sie wäscht das schmutzige Geschirr.
She washes the dirty dishes.
Typical collocations
In everyday life, 'waschen' (to wash) is often combined with certain things. Typical collocations are 'Wäsche waschen' (to do the laundry), 'Geschirr waschen' (to wash the dishes), 'Auto waschen' (to wash the car), or 'sich die Haare waschen' (to wash one's hair).
EXAMPLE
Ich habe keine sauberen Socken mehr, ich muss Wäsche waschen.
I don't have any clean socks left; I need to do the laundry.
Reflexive with dative
When you wash a specific body part of your own, the reflexive pronoun is in the dative and the body part is in the accusative. This is a very typical construction in German.
EXAMPLE
Ich wasche mir die Hände.
I wash my hands.
Dative construction
In the idiom 'jemandem den Kopf waschen' (to give someone a scolding), the person being criticized is always in the dative. This is a fixed part of the expression.
EXAMPLE
Der Chef hat ihm heute Morgen ordentlich den Kopf gewaschen.
The boss gave him a proper scolding this morning.
Context clue
In the meaning 'illegal Geld legalisieren' (to legalize illegal money), 'waschen' (to launder) is used almost exclusively with the object 'Geld' (money). The context is always crime or financial crime.
EXAMPLE
Die Ermittler glauben, dass das Restaurant nur dazu diente, Geld zu waschen.
The investigators believe that the restaurant only served to launder money.
Compare with
waschen vs baden
to bathe / swim
'baden' and 'waschen' can both have to do with water and cleanliness. Use 'baden' when someone is lying in a bathtub and washing themselves, or when someone is in a lake, the sea, or a swimming pool for pleasure. 'waschen' means more generally to clean or wash, for example the body, hands, clothes, or dishes. Learners may confuse the words because when you bathe, you also wash yourself. But 'waschen' emphasizes cleaning, while 'baden' emphasizes being in the water or taking a bath in the tub.
waschen
Vor dem Essen waschen sich die Kinder gründlich die Hände.
Before eating, the children wash their hands thoroughly.
baden
Nach der Wanderung badet Tom eine halbe Stunde in der warmen Badewanne.
After the hike, Tom takes a bath in the warm bathtub for half an hour.
In real life
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