Waschen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Waschen means “to wash”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for waschen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with waschen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich wasche meine Hände jeden Tag.” — “I wash my hands every day.”
  2. “Du wäschst das Auto jeden Tag.” — “You wash the car every day.”
  3. “Ich habe die Wäsche gewaschen gestern.” — “I have washed the laundry yesterday.”
  4. “Er wusch meine Hände gestern.” — “He washed my hands yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden das Auto waschen morgen.” — “We will wash the car tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast die Wäsche gewaschen gestern.” — “You have washed the laundry yesterday.”
  7. “Ich wüsche meine Hände eines Tages.” — “I would wash my hands one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er wasche das Auto.” — “It is important that he wash the car.”
  9. “Wir hatten die Wäsche gewaschen vor der Party.” — “We had washed the laundry before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meine Hände waschen morgen.” — “He will wash my hands tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie waschen das Auto jeden Tag.” — “They wash the car every day.”
  12. “Wasch die Wäsche!” — “Wash the laundry!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about my hands. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how waschen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of waschen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Du wäschst meine Hände jeden Tag.” — “You wash my hands every day.” Jonas: “Ich wasche meine Hände jeden Tag.” — “I wash my hands every day.” Lena: “Du wirst das Auto waschen morgen.” — “You will wash the car tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde das Auto waschen morgen.” — “I will wash the car tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast die Wäsche gewaschen gestern.” — “You have washed the laundry yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe die Wäsche gewaschen gestern.” — “I have washed the laundry yesterday.” Lena: “Du wüschest meine Hände eines Tages.” — “You would wash my hands one day.” Jonas: “Ich wüsche meine Hände eines Tages.” — “I would wash my hands one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Waschen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of waschen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, waschen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is wasche: “Ich wasche meine Hände jeden Tag.” — “I wash my hands every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, waschen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is wusch: “Er wusch das Auto gestern.” — “He washed the car yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, waschen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gewaschen. The ich form is habe gewaschen: “Ich habe die Wäsche gewaschen gestern.” — “I have washed the laundry yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, waschen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden waschen: “Wir werden meine Hände waschen morgen.” — “We will wash my hands tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, waschen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is wüschest: “Du wüschest das Auto eines Tages.” — “You would wash the car one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, waschen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is wasche, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich wasche die Wäsche.” — “It is important that I wash the laundry.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich waschen meine Hände.”

✓ Right: “Ich wasche meine Hände.”

The infinitive waschen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form wasche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du wasche meine Hände.”

✓ Right: “Du wäschst meine Hände.”

wasche is the ich form. With du you need wäschst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich wasche meine Hände gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Hände gewaschen gestern.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gewaschen, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du wäschst das Auto.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du waschest das Auto.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: waschest, not the indicative wäschst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewaschen meine Hände.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Hände gewaschen.”

The Perfekt of waschen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gewaschen: the full ich form is habe gewaschen.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on waschen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of waschen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) waschen
    • B) wasche
    • C) wäschst
    • D) wäscht

  2. What is the du form of waschen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) wäschst
    • B) wasche
    • C) wäscht
    • D) waschen

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of waschen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) hast gewaschen
    • B) haben gewaschen
    • C) hat gewaschen
    • D) habe gewaschen

  4. What is the wir form of waschen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) wusch
    • B) wuschst
    • C) wuscht
    • D) wuschen

  5. What is the du form of waschen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) wird waschen
    • B) werden waschen
    • C) wirst waschen
    • D) werde waschen

  6. What is the ich form of waschen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) wüschen
    • B) wüschet
    • C) wüsche
    • D) wüschest

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of waschen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) waschet
    • B) wasche
    • C) waschest
    • D) waschen

  8. What is the ich form of waschen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet gewaschen
    • B) hatte gewaschen
    • C) hattest gewaschen
    • D) hatten gewaschen

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of waschen?

    • A) geduscht
    • B) gebadet
    • C) angezogen
    • D) gewaschen

  10. What does waschen mean in English?

  • A) to bathe
  • B) to put on
  • C) to wash
  • D) to shower

Answer key

  1. B) wasche — the ich form of waschen in the Present (Präsens) is wasche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) wäschst — the du form of waschen in the Present (Präsens) is wäschst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) hat gewaschen — the er/sie/es form of waschen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gewaschen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) wuschen — the wir form of waschen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is wuschen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) wirst waschen — the du form of waschen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst waschen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) wüsche — the ich form of waschen in the Konjunktiv II is wüsche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) wasche — the er/sie/es form of waschen in the Konjunktiv I is wasche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) hatte gewaschen — the ich form of waschen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gewaschen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) gewaschen — the past participle of waschen is gewaschen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to wash — waschen means “to wash” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does waschen mean in English?

waschen means “to wash”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is waschen regular or irregular?

waschen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is waschend and Partizip II is gewaschen.

How do I practise waschen every day?

Say one sentence with waschen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich wasche meine Hände jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meine Hände gewaschen gestern.” and “Ich werde meine Hände waschen morgen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for waschen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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