Japanese verbs: washing with 洗う

The idea

洗あらう is a transitive godan verb: を marks what is washed. It can describe hands, dishes or clothes. Its て form is 洗あらって, with a small っ.

Examples

• 食事しょくじの前まえに手てを洗あらいます。I wash my hands before a meal.
• 手てを洗あらって、料理りょうりを作つくりました。I washed my hands and cooked.
• 食後しょくごに皿さらを洗あらいます。I wash the dishes after eating.
• 昨日きのう、シャツを洗あらいました。Yesterday I washed a shirt.
• 今日きょうは車くるまを洗あらいません。I will not wash the car today.
• 野菜やさいをよく洗あらってください。Please wash the vegetables well.

Watch out

Use 掃除そうじする for cleaning a room; 洗あらう is washing an object, often with water. Do not form its て form by simply adding て to う.

Try it yourself

1. Write the polite non-past form: ＿。（洗あらう→ます）

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   洗います

   洗あらいます is the polite non-past of 洗あらう; context tells whether it refers to the present or future.

2. Write the て form: ＿。（洗あらう→て）

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   洗って

   洗あらって is the て form of 洗あらう. It can connect this action to another clause.

3. Choose the option in brackets to complete the sentence: 皿さら＿洗あらいます。（を／に）

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   を

   を marks the dishes, the object being washed.

Use it today

Make a sentence with 洗あらう, change it to the polite past and check its particles against the examples.