🧺 Laundry - Ropa y lavado
Beginner Spanish · Laundry and clothing care
Laundry in Spanish
Laundry vocabulary is easier to remember when you learn it as a sequence. Start with dirty clothes, wash them, dry them, fold them, and put them away. Then add useful phrases for stains, wet clothes, ironing, and going to a laundromat.
Your next small win: describe a basic laundry routine, say what you still have to do, talk about stains or wet clothes, and handle a simple laundromat situation.
Start with the essentials
Laundry Basics
These words cover the clothes, products, and machines you need for a basic laundry routine.
Clothes / laundry, depending on context
Dirty clothes / laundry
Detergent
Washing machine
Dryer
Laundry basket
Iron
More laundry supplies
Fabric softener
Stain remover
Clothesline / drying rack
Start the laundry
Say that you need to wash the clothes.
Necesito lavar la ropa.
Follow the laundry process
Doing the Laundry
Think of these actions as a sequence from sorting dirty clothes to putting clean clothes away.
To separate the clothes
To wash clothes / do the laundry
To dry clothes
To hang clothes out to dry
To fold clothes
To hang up clothes
To iron
To put clothes away
Useful distinction: secar la ropa is the general idea of drying clothes. tender la ropa specifically focuses on hanging clothes up to dry.
Finish the laundry
Say that you are going to fold the clothes and put them away.
Voy a doblar la ropa y guardarla.
Describe the condition of the clothes
Clean, Wet, Stained, or Wrinkled
These words help you explain what the clothes need next.
Clean
Dirty
Wet
Dry
Stain
Wrinkled
This shirt has a stain.
The clothes are still wet.
The clothes are already clean and dry.
This shirt is wrinkled and I need to iron it.
Agreement: ropa and camisa are feminine, so the examples use forms such as mojada, seca, and arrugada.
Choose how to wash it
Sorting and Washing Options
Separating clothes by color or care needs is a practical reason to learn this vocabulary.
White clothes / whites
Colored clothes
Delicate clothes
Cold water
Hot water
I'm going to separate the whites from the colored clothes.
I'm going to hang the clothes outside to dry.
More washing-machine vocabulary
Wash cycle
To rinse
To spin
Talk about chores you have to do
Tengo Que and Necesito
Laundry is a natural context for two very useful beginner patterns.
Tener que + infinitive
Use tener que + infinitive when you have to do something.
I have to do the laundry.
I have to fold the shirts.
Necesitar + infinitive
Use necesitar + infinitive when you need to do something.
I need to wash this shirt.
I need to remove this stain before washing the shirt.
Say what remains to be done
The clothes are washed, but you still have to fold them.
Todavía tengo que doblar la ropa.
Put the laundry into conversation
Everyday Conversations
Doing the laundry
Did you do the laundry already?
Yes, but I still have to fold it.
Sorting clothes
Can I wash this shirt with the white clothes?
No, it's better to wash it with the colored clothes.
Finding a laundromat
Where is the laundromat?
It's at the end of the street.
Vocabulary note: English “laundry” does not always map to one single Spanish noun. Depending on the situation, this lesson uses la ropa, la ropa sucia, or an expression such as lavar la ropa. A laundromat or laundry service can be called lavandería.
Describe your laundry plan
Say that you need to do the laundry this afternoon, separate the clothes, and hang them outside to dry.
Necesito lavar la ropa esta tarde.
Voy a separar la ropa.
Después voy a tenderla afuera.
More laundry in context
I prefer to dry clothes outside.
I'm going to fold the clothes and put them away in the closet.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Laundry
Choose the phrase that fits each situation. Focus on laundry actions, sorting clothes, stains, wet and wrinkled clothes, and useful chore patterns.
Practice complete
You can talk through a basic laundry routine.
A few laundry phrases to revisit
One last step: do the laundry without choices.
Describe a short laundry routine. Include at least three actions and one sentence about the condition of the clothes.
Primero separo la ropa.
Después lavo la ropa.
La ropa todavía está mojada, así que voy a tenderla afuera.
Cuando esté seca, voy a doblarla y guardarla.
The clothes are washed, but you still have to fold them. What do you say?
- Sí, pero todavía tengo que doblarla.
- Sí, pero todavía tengo que tenderla.
- Sí, pero todavía tengo que lavarla.
- Sí, pero todavía tengo que separarla.
Doblar means “to fold.” Todavía tengo que doblarla means that folding is the remaining task.
Todavía tengo que doblarla. = I still have to fold it.
You want to separate the whites from the colored clothes. Which sentence fits?
- Voy a separar la ropa blanca de la ropa de color.
- Voy a guardar la ropa blanca con la ropa de color.
- Voy a tender la ropa blanca con la ropa de color.
- Voy a planchar la ropa blanca y la ropa de color.
Separar A de B means “to separate A from B.”
Voy a separar la ropa blanca de la ropa de color.
A shirt has a stain. Which sentence matches?
- Esta camisa tiene una mancha.
- Esta camisa está limpia y seca.
- Esta camisa está mojada.
- Esta camisa está arrugada.
Mancha means “stain.”
Esta camisa tiene una mancha.
The clothes have not dried yet. What do you say?
- La ropa todavía está mojada.
- La ropa ya está limpia y seca.
- La ropa está arrugada.
- La ropa tiene una mancha.
Mojada means “wet,” and todavía means “still.”
La ropa todavía está mojada.
The shirt is wrinkled, so you need to iron it. Which sentence fits?
- Esta camisa está arrugada y necesito plancharla.
- Esta camisa está mojada y necesito tenderla.
- Esta camisa está sucia y necesito lavarla.
- Esta camisa está seca y necesito guardarla.
Arrugada means “wrinkled,” and planchar means “to iron.”
Esta camisa está arrugada y necesito plancharla.
You need to find a laundromat. What do you ask?
- ¿Dónde está la lavandería?
- ¿Dónde está la lavadora?
- ¿Dónde está la ropa limpia?
- ¿Dónde está el tendedero?
Lavandería can refer to a laundromat or laundry service depending on context.
¿Dónde está la lavandería?
Which sentence means that doing the laundry is something you have to do?
- Tengo que lavar la ropa.
- Prefiero lavar la ropa.
- Voy a lavar la ropa.
- Puedo lavar la ropa.
Tener que + infinitive expresses something you have to do.
Tengo que lavar la ropa. = I have to do the laundry.
You want to hang the clothes outside to dry. Which sentence fits?
- Voy a tender la ropa afuera.
- Voy a doblar la ropa afuera.
- Voy a guardar la ropa afuera.
- Voy a planchar la ropa afuera.
Tender la ropa means to hang clothes up to dry.
Voy a tender la ropa afuera.