German · A1 · Family moment
Ready For Sleepovers in German
Practise simple washing and dressing routines to help your child feel ready for a sleepover. These phrases use the informal singular command form for speaking to one child.
What you'll learn
- Give familiar washing, drying and dressing instructions.
- Use dich for actions your child does to themselves.
- Use dir with body parts, such as hands and hair.
- Recognise verbs whose prefixes move to the end of a command.
German phrases for ready for sleepovers
Wasch dich.
Wash yourself.
Dich means “yourself” here.
Wasch dir die Hände.
Wash your hands.
German commonly uses dir plus die Hände rather than “your hands” in this pattern.
Wasch dir das Gesicht.
Wash your face.
Use dir with the body part das Gesicht.
Wasch dir die Haare.
Wash your hair.
German normally uses the plural die Haare for the hair on your head.
Trockne dich ab.
Dry yourself.
Abtrocknen means “to dry off.” Its prefix ab goes at the end.
Trockne dir die Hände ab.
Dry your hands.
Use dir with die Hände. Keep ab at the end.
Kämm dir die Haare.
Comb your hair.
Kämm is the command form of kämmen, “to comb.”
Zieh dich an.
Get dressed.
Sich anziehen means “to get dressed.” The prefix an goes at the end.
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
waschen
to wash
The short command for one child is Wasch.
die Hand / die Hände
the hand / the hands
The plural changes a to ä and adds -e.
das Gesicht
the face
Use das Gesicht in the washing instruction.
die Haare
hair
This is plural in German. One individual hair is das Haar.
abtrocknen
to dry off
A separable verb: Trockne dich ab.
kämmen
to comb
Keep the ä in the command Kämm.
sich anziehen
to get dressed
Use dich when telling one child to get dressed.
Simple commands for one child
Use the informal singular command when speaking to your child. Start with the verb and normally leave out du (“you”). Add bitte to make an instruction more polite.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wash | waschen → Wasch | Wasch dich. — Wash yourself. |
| Comb | kämmen → Kämm | Kämm dir die Haare. — Comb your hair. |
| Add please | command + bitte | Wasch bitte deine Hände. — Please wash your hands. |
Dich or dir?
In these routines, use dich (“yourself,” accusative) when no body part is named. When a body part is the thing being washed, dried or combed, use dir (dative) with its definite article, such as die or das. This is a common German way to express “your hands,” “your face” or “your hair.”
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yourself | verb + dich | Wasch dich. — Wash yourself. |
| Your hands | verb + dir + die Hände | Wasch dir die Hände. — Wash your hands. |
| Your face | verb + dir + das Gesicht | Wasch dir das Gesicht. — Wash your face. |
Prefixes at the end
Abtrocknen and anziehen are separable verbs. In these commands, the main verb comes first and the prefix goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dry yourself | abtrocknen → Trockne … ab | Trockne dich ab. — Dry yourself. |
| Get dressed | anziehen → Zieh … an | Zieh dich an. — Get dressed. |
More examples
Ich wasche mich.
I wash myself.
Your child can describe the routine. With ich, use mich instead of dich.
Ich wasche mir die Hände.
I wash my hands.
With ich and a body part, use mir instead of dir.
Ich ziehe mich an.
I'm getting dressed.
Use mich with ich, and put an at the end.