German · A2 · Family moment
Care After Training in German
Use these everyday German phrases to help your child take care of themselves after training. Practise mir and dir with body parts, such as hair, hands and teeth.
What you'll learn
- Give friendly reminders about personal care.
- Describe your own care routine using mir.
- Use dir when talking to your child about caring for their own body.
- Ask whether your child has finished a care task.
German phrases for care after training
Bürste dir bitte nach dem Training die Haare.
Please brush your hair after training.
Bürste is a command for one child. Dir shows that the child is brushing their own hair.
Ich bürste mir auch die Haare.
I am brushing my hair too.
Use mir with ich. Auch means “too.”
Trockne dir das Gesicht mit diesem Handtuch ab.
Dry your face with this towel.
Abtrocknen is separable: ab goes at the end. Mit diesem Handtuch means “with this towel.”
Ich trockne mir das Gesicht ab.
I am drying my face.
Mir refers back to ich; das Gesicht is the body part being dried.
Wasch dir vor dem Abendessen die Hände.
Wash your hands before dinner.
Wasch is a common command form of waschen. Vor dem Abendessen means “before dinner.”
Ich wasche mir auch die Hände.
I am washing my hands too.
German uses mir and die Hände where English uses “my hands.”
Putz dir vor dem Schlafengehen die Zähne.
Brush your teeth before bed.
German uses die Zähne putzen for “brush your teeth.” Putz is a common command form.
Hast du dir die Haare gekämmt?
Have you combed your hair?
Hast du … gekämmt? asks about a completed action. Dir refers back to du.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
das Training
training; practice
Nach dem Training means “after training.”
die Haare
hair
German normally uses the plural when talking about brushing or combing hair.
bürsten / kämmen
to brush / to comb
Use bürsten for a brush and kämmen for a comb.
das Gesicht
face
Use das Gesicht with mir or dir to say whose face is being cared for.
abtrocknen
to dry; to towel dry
A separable verb: ich trockne … ab.
das Handtuch
towel
Mit takes the dative: mit diesem Handtuch.
die Hände
hands
The singular is die Hand.
die Zähne
teeth
The singular is der Zahn. “Brush your teeth” uses putzen, not bürsten.
vor dem Schlafengehen
before bed; before going to sleep
A useful expression for bedtime routines.
Dative reflexive pronouns: mir and dir
For these care actions, the body part is the accusative object: it is what you brush, wash or dry. The reflexive pronoun is dative: mir with ich and dir with du. It shows that the person is caring for their own body.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I care for my own body | ich + verb + mir + body part | Ich bürste mir die Haare. |
| You care for your own body | du + verb + dir + body part | Du wäschst dir die Hände. |
| A command to your child | command + dir + body part | Bürste dir die Haare. |
Use the definite article with body parts
In this pattern, German normally uses der, die or das rather than “my” or “your.” Mir or dir already makes clear whose body part it is. The body-part objects used here have the accusative forms die or das.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| My hair | mir + die Haare | Ich kämme mir die Haare. |
| Your face | dir + das Gesicht | Trockne dir das Gesicht ab. |
| Your teeth | dir + die Zähne | Putz dir die Zähne. |
Present actions and completed actions
German uses the simple present for both “I brush” and “I am brushing.” To ask whether a task is complete, use the conversational past tense with haben and a past participle.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| An action happening now | ich + present-tense verb | Ich wasche mir die Hände. |
| A completed-action question | Hast du + dir + body part + past participle? | Hast du dir die Haare gekämmt? |
Separable verb: abtrocknen
In present-tense statements and commands, ab separates from abtrocknen and goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | ich trockne … ab | Ich trockne mir das Gesicht ab. |
| Command | Trockne … ab. | Trockne dir die Hände ab. |
More examples
Du bürstest dir die Haare, und ich bürste mir die Haare.
You brush your hair, and I brush mine.
Compare dir with du and mir with ich.
Ich trockne mir die Hände mit diesem Handtuch ab.
I am drying my hands with this towel.
The same pattern works with a different body part.
Hast du dir die Hände gewaschen?
Have you washed your hands?
Gewaschen is the past participle of waschen.