wash your hands

Meaning

This phrase means to clean your hands using water and soap. It is a fundamental instruction and daily routine used for hygiene, especially before eating, after using the restroom, or after coming home.

Examples

• Please wash your hands before you sit down at the dinner table.

  Please wash your hands before you sit down at the dinner table.

• You should always wash your hands after playing outside.

  You should always wash your hands after playing outside.

• Don't forget to wash your hands with soap and warm water.

  Don't forget to wash your hands with soap and warm water.

• Make sure you wash your hands after touching the dog.

  Make sure you wash your hands after touching the dog.

• You need to wash your hands because they are dirty.

  You need to wash your hands because they are dirty.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Please wash the hands before eating.

  ✓ Please wash your hands before eating.

  In English, we use possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, their) with body parts rather than the definite article 'the'.

• ✗ Go to clean your hands in the bathroom.

  ✓ Go to wash your hands in the bathroom.

  While 'clean your hands' is understandable, 'wash your hands' is the standard, natural collocation when using water and soap.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Before you touch the baby, please ___.

  💡 Clean your fingers and palms with soap and water.

  Show answer

  wash your hands

• You should ___ for at least twenty seconds to get rid of germs.

  💡 Clean your hands thoroughly.

  Show answer

  wash your hands