धोना (dhonaa)
verb
A basic everyday verb meaning 'to wash'; also has a figurative sense of 'washing away' guilt, sin, or a debt.
Sense
1
:
to wash (clothes, dishes, hands, etc.)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: साफ़ करना (saaf karnaa, general cleaning, not just with water)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word you will hear constantly around the house: कपड़े धोना (kapde dhonaa, 'to wash clothes'), बर्तन धोना (bartan dhonaa, 'to wash dishes'), हाथ धोना (haath dhonaa, 'to wash hands'). In many Indian homes hand-washing before and after meals is routine, so हाथ धो लो (haath dho lo, 'go wash your hands') is a very common thing to hear from parents.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for साफ़ करना (saaf karnaa) when they specifically mean washing with water -- धोना (dhonaa) is the word for that, while साफ़ करना (saaf karnaa) covers cleaning more broadly (wiping, dusting, etc.).
Sample Sentences:
खाने से पहले अपने हाथ धो लो।
Wash your hands before eating.
(khaane se pahle apne haath dho lo।)
माँ रोज़ सुबह बर्तन धोती है।
Mom washes the dishes every morning.
(maan roz subah bartan dhotii hai।)
वह अभी अपने कपड़े धो रही है।
She is washing her clothes right now.
(vah abhii apne kapde dho rahii hai।)
मैंने कल रात सारे बर्तन धो दिए।
I washed all the dishes last night.
(mainne kal raat saare bartan dho die।)
कपड़े धुल गए हैं, उन्हें बाहर सुखा दो।
The clothes have been washed, hang them outside to dry.
(kapde dhul gae hain, unhen baahar sukhaa do।)
अगर पानी होता तो मैं गाड़ी धो देता।
If there had been water, I would have washed the car.
(agar paanii hotaa to main gaadii dho detaa।)
क्या तुम कल तक ये कपड़े धो दोगे?
Will you get these clothes washed by tomorrow?
(kyaa tum kal tak ye kapde dho doge?)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि घाव को साफ पानी से धोना चाहिए।
The doctor said that the wound should be washed with clean water.
(doktar ne kahaa ki ghaav ko saaph paanii se dhonaa chaahie।)
इस साड़ी को हाथ से धोना, मशीन में मत डालना।
Wash this sari by hand, don't put it in the machine.
(is saadii ko haath se dhonaa, mashiin men mat daalnaa।)
बचपन में मैं अपनी माँ के साथ बर्तन धोता था।
As a child, I used to wash dishes with my mother.
(bachpan men main apnii maan ke saath bartan dhotaa thaa।)
बर्तन इतनी अच्छी तरह धोए गए थे कि चमक रहे थे।
The dishes had been washed so well that they were shining.
(bartan itnii achchhii tarah dhoe gae the ki chamak rahe the।)
बाहर से आकर पहले हाथ-मुँह धो लिया करो।
After coming in from outside, make it a habit to wash your hands and face first.
(baahar se aakar pahle haath-munh dho liyaa karo।)
Sense
2
:
to wash away, cleanse (figuratively: guilt, sin, shame, debt)
verb, transitive Often used with abstract nouns like पाप (paap, 'sin') or बदनामी (badnaamii, 'disgrace') as the object, treating the abstract thing as something physically washable.
Synonyms: मिटाना (mitaanaa, to erase/wipe out)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will hear this in phrases like गंगा में पाप धोना (gangaa men paap dhonaa, 'to wash away sins in the Ganges') -- the idea of water physically cleansing something as intangible as sin or guilt is deeply embedded in Hindi, much more so than in everyday English usage.
Sample Sentences:
लोग गंगा में डुबकी लगाकर अपने पाप धोते हैं।
People take a dip in the Ganges to wash away their sins.
(log gangaa men dubkii lagaakar apne paap dhote hain।)
क्या तीर्थयात्रा से सचमुच सारे पाप धुल जाते हैं?
Does a pilgrimage really wash away all sins?
(kyaa tiirthyaatraa se sachmuch saare paap dhul jaate hain?)
उसने बरसों की शर्मिंदगी को अपने त्याग से धो दिया।
He washed away years of shame through his sacrifice.
(usne barson kii sharmindgii ko apne tyaag se dho diyaa।)
अगर माफी माँगने से गुनाह धुल जाता, तो दुनिया कितनी आसान होती।
If sins could be washed away just by apologizing, the world would be so much simpler.
(agar maaphii maangne se gunaah dhul jaataa, to duniyaa kitnii aasaan hotii।)
काश कोई नदी हमारे सारे गम धो सके।
If only some river could wash away all our sorrows.
(kaash koii nadii hamaare saare gam dho sake।)
यह प्रायश्चित उसके मन का बोझ धो देगा।
This penance will wash away the burden weighing on his mind.
(yah praayashchit uske man kaa bojh dho degaa।)
अपने कर्ज का दाग धोने के लिए उसने दिन-रात मेहनत की।
To wipe out the stain of his debt, he toiled day and night.
(apne karj kaa daag dhone ke lie usne din-raat mehnat kii।)
पंडित जी कहते हैं कि सच्चा पश्चाताप ही आत्मा को धो सकता है।
The priest says that only true repentance can cleanse the soul.
(pandit jii kahte hain ki sachchaa pashchaataap hii aatmaa ko dho saktaa hai।)
समय के साथ उसकी बदनामी धुल गई और लोग उसे फिर से इज़्जत देने लगे।
Over time his disgrace was washed away, and people began to respect him again.
(samay ke saath uskii badnaamii dhul gaii aur log use phir se izjat dene lage।)
Sense
3
:
to squander, ruin (money, name, reputation) -- used idiomatically
verb, transitive Appears in the fixed idiom हाथ धोना (haath dhonaa, 'to lose/be deprived of something', literally 'to wash one's hands of'), used with से (se) marking what was lost, e.g. नौकरी से हाथ धोना (naukrii se haath dhonaa, 'to lose one's job').
Synonyms: बर्बाद करना (barbaad karnaa, to ruin/waste)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: हाथ धो बैठना (haath dho baithnaa) or नौकरी से हाथ धोना (naukrii se haath dhonaa) are common in news and everyday complaints about lost jobs, money, or opportunities -- a nice parallel to the English 'to wash one's hands of' but with an opposite emotional flavor: in English it is about disowning responsibility, in Hindi it is about being the one who suffers a loss.
Common Mistakes: 1) हाथ धोना (haath dhonaa) here does not mean the literal 'wash hands' sense -- with से (se) marking the lost thing, it flips to meaning 'to lose/be deprived of,' which surprises learners who only know the literal sense.
Sample Sentences:
इस बार की मंदी में उसने अपनी नौकरी से हाथ धो लिया।
In this recession, he ended up losing his job.
(is baar kii mandii men usne apnii naukrii se haath dho liyaa।)
शेयर बाज़ार में उसने अपनी सारी जमा-पूँजी धो दी।
He squandered all his savings in the stock market.
(sheyar baazaar men usne apnii saarii jamaa-poonjii dho dii।)
अगर तुमने ऐसे ही जुआ खेलना जारी रखा, तो एक दिन घर से भी हाथ धो बैठोगे।
If you keep gambling like this, one day you'll lose even your house.
(agar tumne aise hii juaa khelnaa jaarii rakhaa, to ek din ghar se bhii haath dho baithoge।)
गलत सलाह मानकर उसने अपनी सारी इज़्ज़त धो डाली।
By following bad advice, he ruined his entire reputation.
(galat salaah maankar usne apnii saarii izzat dho daalii।)
कंपनी घोटाले की वजह से कई निवेशक अपना पैसा धो बैठे।
Because of the company scandal, many investors ended up losing their money.
(kampnii ghotaale kii vajah se kaii niveshak apnaa paisaa dho baithe।)
अखबार में लिखा था कि हज़ारों किसान बाढ़ में अपनी सारी फ़सल धो बैठे।
The newspaper reported that thousands of farmers lost their entire crop in the flood.
(akhbaar men likhaa thaa ki hazaaron kisaan baadh men apnii saarii fasal dho baithe।)
यह मत सोचो कि तुम सिर्फ पैसा धो रहे हो -- तुम अपना भविष्य भी धो रहे हो।
Don't think you're only squandering money -- you're squandering your future too.
(yah mat socho ki tum sirph paisaa dho rahe ho -- tum apnaa bhavishy bhii dho rahe ho।)
काश उसने वह सौदा न किया होता, वरना वह अपनी पूरी दुकान धो बैठता।
If only he hadn't made that deal, otherwise he would have lost his entire shop.
(kaash usne vah saudaa n kiyaa hotaa, varnaa vah apnii poorii dukaan dho baithtaa।)
सट्टेबाज़ी में उसका सारा नाम-दाम धुल गया।
His entire name and fortune were ruined in betting.
(sattebaazii men uskaa saaraa naam-daam dhul gayaa।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
धोना
(dhonaa)
infinitive oblique:
धोने
(dhone)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
धोता
(dhotaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
धोते
(dhote)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
धोती
(dhotii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
धोतीं
(dhotiin)
continuous (sg.m):
धो रहा
(dho rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
धो रहे
(dho rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
धो रही
(dho rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
धो रहीं
(dho rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
धोया
(dhoyaa)
perfective (pl.m):
धोए
(dhoe)
perfective (sg.f):
धोई
(dhoii)
perfective (pl.f):
धोईं
(dhoiin)
imperative (informal):
धो
(dho)
imperative (neutral):
धोओ
(dhoo)
imperative (formal):
धोइए
(dhoie)
future (1sg.m):
धोऊँगा
(dhooongaa)
future (1sg.f):
धोऊँगी
(dhooongii)
future (1pl.m):
धोएँगे
(dhoenge)
future (1pl.f):
धोएँगी
(dhoengii)
future (2sg.m):
धोएगा
(dhoegaa)
future (2sg.f):
धोएगी
(dhoegii)
future (2pl.m):
धोओगे
(dhooge)
future (2pl.f):
धोओगी
(dhoogii)
future (3sg.m):
धोएगा
(dhoegaa)
future (3sg.f):
धोएगी
(dhoegii)
future (3pl.m):
धोएँगे
(dhoenge)
future (3pl.f):
धोएँगी
(dhoengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
धोऊँ
(dhooon)
subjunctive (1pl):
धोएँ
(dhoen)
subjunctive (2sg):
धोए
(dhoe)
subjunctive (2pl):
धोओ
(dhoo)
subjunctive (3sg):
धोए
(dhoe)
subjunctive (3pl):
धोएँ
(dhoen)