tvätta
Swedish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Old Norse þváttr, from Proto-Germanic *þwahtuz, from the root of the verb þvá.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]tvätta (present tvättar, preterite tvättade, supine tvättat, imperative tvätta)
- (sometimes with av (“off”)) to wash, to clean (clean with water (or another solvent, and often soap or detergent) – normally not of washing dishes, see usage notes)
- Han tvättade kläderna
- He washed the clothes
- en tvättmaskin
- a washing machine [Could be seen as deriving from tvätt as well]
- Hon tvättade händerna
- She washed her hands
- tvätta altanen
- wash the deck
- kemtvätta mattan
- dry clean [chem-wash] the carpet
- to launder
- (sometimes with av (“off”), reflexive) to wash, to clean (oneself)
- Katter tvättar sig genom att slicka pälsen
- Cats clean themselves by licking their fur
- to launder (money)
- tvätta pengar
- launder money
Usage notes
[edit]Tvätta can be used whenever something is cleaned with water (or another solvent), with one exception: Diska is used for washing dishes.
Conjugation
[edit]| active | passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | tvätta | tvättas | ||
| supine | tvättat | tvättats | ||
| imperative | tvätta | — | ||
| imper. plural1 | tvätten | — | ||
| present | past | present | past | |
| indicative | tvättar | tvättade | tvättas | tvättades |
| ind. plural1 | tvätta | tvättade | tvättas | tvättades |
| subjunctive2 | tvätte | tvättade | tvättes | tvättades |
| present participle | tvättande | |||
| past participle | tvättad | |||
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
Derived terms
[edit]- kemtvätta (“dry clean”)
- handtvätta
- tvättmaskin (“washing machine”)
- tvättmedel (“detergent”)