German · A1 · Family moment
Little Bath Helpers in German
Practise washing and drying together with simple German phrases. Use du when speaking to one child, and encourage gentle washing while you stay close.
What you'll learn
- Say who is washing or drying themselves.
- Use mich, dich and uns with familiar actions.
- Ask your child a simple question and give a gentle instruction.
German phrases for little bath helpers
Ich wasche mich.
I wash myself.
Mich means “myself” here.
Du wäschst dich.
You wash yourself.
Use du for one child. Dich means “yourself” here.
Wir waschen uns.
We wash ourselves.
Uns means “ourselves” here.
Kannst du dich waschen?
Can you wash yourself?
After kannst, use the basic verb form waschen at the end.
Wasch dich sanft.
Wash yourself gently.
Wasch is the command form for one child. Say it in a warm, encouraging tone.
Ich trockne mich ab.
I dry myself.
Abtrocknen means to dry off, typically with a towel. Ab goes at the end here.
Du trocknest dich ab.
You dry yourself.
Pair du with dich.
Wir trocknen uns ab.
We dry ourselves.
Pair wir with uns.
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
sich waschen
to wash oneself
Change sich to match the person: ich wasche mich, du wäschst dich, wir waschen uns.
sich abtrocknen
to dry oneself off
Useful for drying off with a towel after a bath.
sanft
gently
Describes washing with a light, gentle touch.
Reflexive basics: myself, yourself, ourselves
A reflexive pronoun shows that the person doing an action also receives it. For these washing and drying phrases, use mich with ich, dich with du, and uns with wir.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I → myself | ich → mich | Ich wasche mich. |
| You → yourself | du → dich | Du wäschst dich. |
| We → ourselves | wir → uns | Wir waschen uns. |
Using waschen
Waschen changes to wäschst with du in a statement. In a question with kannst, use waschen at the end. For a command to one child, use Wasch dich.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | du wäschst | Du wäschst dich. |
| Question with “can” | Kannst du dich + waschen? | Kannst du dich waschen? |
| Gentle instruction | Wasch dich + sanft. | Wasch dich sanft. |
Abtrocknen: a separable verb
Abtrocknen splits in these simple statements. The main part changes to match the person, and ab goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | ich trockne … ab | Ich trockne mich ab. |
| You | du trocknest … ab | Du trocknest dich ab. |
| We | wir trocknen … ab | Wir trocknen uns ab. |
More examples
Ich wasche mich. Du wäschst dich.
I wash myself. You wash yourself.
Model the action while your child tries it too.
Kannst du dich waschen? Wasch dich sanft.
Can you wash yourself? Wash yourself gently.
Invite your child to try while you stay close.
Wir waschen uns. Wir trocknen uns ab.
We wash ourselves. We dry ourselves.
Describe the two steps of your shared routine.