धोना बर्तन

You’ll mostly use this as a verb phrase. In Hindi, the object बर्तन usually comes before the verb धोना. For example, you would say मैं बर्तन धो रहा हूँ (I am washing dishes). You can change the tense easily. Use धोए for the past or धोऊँगा for the future. It’s a very flexible phrase for daily life.

Use this when you're dividing chores with your roommates. Use it when you're telling your mom you've finished your work. It’s perfect for casual settings like home or a shared kitchen. If you're at a friend's house and want to be polite, ask if you can help with the बर्तन. It shows you're a great guest!

Don't use this for laundry or washing your hands. For clothes, you’d say कपड़े धोना. For hands, it's हाथ धोना. Also, avoid using it in a very high-end professional restaurant setting unless you're actually talking about the cleaning staff's duties. It’s a bit too domestic for a formal business meeting about 'sanitation services'.

In many Indian households, the 'bartan' are a big deal. Traditionally, dishes were washed with ash or mud in rural areas. Today, most use soap, but the act remains a symbol of domestic life. In many middle-class homes, a 'kaamwali' (helper) might come to do the बर्तन. If you do them yourself, it’s often seen as being very grounded or helpful.

You might hear जूठे बर्तन (juthe bartan), which specifically means 'soiled/used dishes'. Another common one is बर्तन मांजना (bartan maanjna). मांजना implies scrubbing hard, usually with a scrub pad. If the dishes are really greasy, you're definitely मांजना-ing them, not just धोना-ing them! It’s a subtle but funny distinction.