To wash or clean the windows
Is there any difference between "to wash the windows" and "to clean the windows". Thank you beforehand.
20 Answers
Yo creo que wash se refiere a lavar y clean se refiere a limpiar.
Yes, in Spanish we say "limpiar las ventanas" (clean the windows). I want to know why they say: "wash the windows". Will there be any difference between the one and the other?
I think Mokay made a good point that generally washing something implies cleaning with some type of soap/cleaning solution; whereas, cleaning can be used more generally, and does not necessarily imply the application of any type of liquid cleaning agent.
Cleaning implies removing any of the following: impurities, clutter, dirt, etc., but washing implies the more specific action of cleaning with the use of soap and water or some other type of cleaning solution.
For example:
Arreglar el cuarto - straighten up your room: implies that there is clutter in the room, and that things need to be put back into their proper place. If I were to tell my children to perform this action on their room, I would most likely say "clean your room" or "straighten up your room" but never "wash your room."
Lava los platos - wash the dishes: implies that the dishes are dirty and need to be cleaned. The actual act requires that they be cleaned with soap and relatively copious amounts of water, so we normally would say "wash the dishes," but "clean the dishes" would be OK to use here as well. It would just not be as common.
Lava la ropa - wash the clothes: again like the dishes, you are using soap and large amounts of water to remove impurities/dirt from your clothing so "wash the clothes" would be the correct way to go. In this case, however, you would probably be hard-pressed to say clean the clothes in reference to the action of washing them in a washing machine. This is probably due to the advent of dry-cleaning because if you were to say to me, "I need to have my clothes cleaned" I would naturally assume that you meant that you needed to take them to the (dry) cleaners. I think that the word "clean" in reference to laundry is probably better usually only used as a modifier rather than as a verb. For example: "I like to have clean clothes/laundry."
You also said in reference to the interior of a car you would say:
limpiar el interior del coche
Upon giving this some thought, I think that it would be very similar in English as well. If I were to say this in English I would probably use the somewhat idiomatic expression that uses the word "out" to imply that I am doing something to the interior of the car. For example: "I have to clean my car out today" or "I am going to clean the inside of my car out today." I think that either of these would be how I would imply that I was going to remove any clutter/trash/misplaced items in my car and possibly that I was going to wipe off the dashboards etc with some type of spray on cleaning agent.
you also said:
And you can say: limpiar el coche (clean the car), lavar el coche (wash the car)
I believe this to be the same in English as well.
Earlier Qfreed said this:
I believe that in English there is no difference in meaning between wash the windows and clean the windows. There are products referred to as window (glass) cleaners and the product that you wash/clean your car's windshield with is called windshield washer fluid.
I think that what he is getting at is that it would be equally acceptable to say that you are going to "wash the windows" and that you are going to "clean the windows." I have heard the actual job (as in "employment") referred to as both a "window washer" and a "window cleaner."
The bottom line is that each one of these acts can be considered an act of "cleaning." Sometimes, however, there is a specific way of cleaning that is used for particular chores. For example, "Brush your teeth," "straighten up your room," **"wash the dishes," "scrub the pots and pans," "wash the windows," "wipe off/down the table/bench/counters." With each of these methods, the effect of your actions is that you are cleaning up some type of mess, so for many cases "clean" is interchangeable. I think that the distinction comes when one of the words becomes synonymous or is part of another distinct and commonly used phrase/idea (i.e a dentist's "teeth cleaning" procedure; a "washing machine" and a "washboard" for washing clothes, etc). When this is the case, the broader term "clean" and the narrower more descriptive term "wash/brush/scrub/wipe, etc" are no longer as readily interchangeable.
I think then that it boils down to specificity because if I needed to clean my mouth out, this could imply more than one specific action (flossing, brushing, rinsing with a mouthwash). Others, such as cleaning the windows (as Qfreed alluded to) do not have as many options (I think that most people will agree that the correct way to clean a window is to give it a good washing with some type of liquid and then wipe the liquid away along with the dirt, much the same as the correct way to clean the dishes is to give them a good washing)
I think that I am repeating myself here, so I will stop and pray that this was not to painful to read, as I know that I have a terrible habit of droning on and on, ad nauseum, regarding a single point. I do hope, though, that if you did read this that it was able to help you in at least some small way.
In the United States we understand if you say "wash your teeth" but it sounds odd. A few older people will say "I clean my teeth," however, it's still old-fashioned.
The most common way to say it is: "I brush my teeth."
You may get other answers from other parts of the world, but this is the typical way of speaking in the U.S.
Hi Nila
You asked:
"I wash my teeth", "I clean my teeth" and "I brush my teeth".
What do you think about "clean" in this example? Is it the same as in Spanish?
Yes I think that you are correct regarding this.
In English (at least in my experience), if you were going to the dentist you might say:
"I'm going to the dentist to get/have my teeth cleaned"
At home you would say:
I need to go brush my teeth
I need to rinse my mouth out (with mouthwash/water/salt water).
But you would not say:
"I need to wash my teeth"
This last sentence makes me think about someone taking a bar of soap and a washcloth and rubbing then rubbing the soapy washcloth across their teeth - a very strange thing to do and equally, a strange way to say that you are "brushing" your teeth.
I might say to my child who rushes through their routine of brushing their teeth, "your teeth are not clean, go back and brush them again." But I don't think that I would ever replace the word "brush" with the word "clean" and especially not with "wash."
I hope that this clears up some of the confusion.
In Spanish, "lavar" implies always the use of water or any other liquid to clean something.
If the window just has some dust on it, you can clean it with just a soft cloth, so I can say "yo limpié la ventana". I did not need to wash it.
Limpiar el coche could mean to wash the outside of the car, or to use a vacuum to clean the inside of it.
Lavar el coche generally means to wash the outside of the car, unless I say "lavar los interiores del coche*.
- Cepillarte los dientes, lavarte los dientes and limpiarte los dientes are all correct in Spanish. Limpiarte los dientes is used too to mean that I get a teeth cleaning by a Dentist.
And what do you think about "clean the floor"?.
It is strange but I have just found this in the list of housework vocabulary of the grammar book.
On the one hand, it is true that we the Spanish use to saying: "voy a limpiar el suelo" o "voy a fregar el suelo". On the other hand, using the logic I have learnt in this thread and I should use "I am going to wash the floor" instead of "I am going to clean the floor". The worst of all is that a drawing of a person with a mop and a bucket appears beside her.
When everything seemed to be understood. Is there any logic behind this?. As you can imagine, I am wishing to see your opinions after this.
Anyway, I have to say that I have seen "wash the floor" in the dictionary. At least, there is logic somewhere. But what do you think?
Well, to clean is the general action and it can apply to almost any type of cleaning activity. To wash is a specific type of cleaning so it only applies in certain situations. However, there are definitely nuances and exceptions that I never thought about until you started asking these questions.
So, for floors...
clean the floor = wash the floor = scrub the floor = mop the floor
But...
clean the floor ? sweep the floor
For some reason, when someone says "clean the floor" it brings to mind the idea of washing, scrubbing, or mopping (and they all seem to be equal phrases even if you used, for example, a sponge instead of a mop). Therefore, if you mean "sweep the floor" the phrase "clean the floor" does not call sweeping to mind and you should instead say "sweep the floor."
At least that is how it seems to me.
Concerning rules, what I'm learning from this is that each type of cleaning (windows, floors, teeth, cars, etc.) has its own associations with various phrases and they should probably each be learned separately.
Opinions seem to be all over the map, so I'll content myself with a few (mostly personal-experience-type observations).
I have heard "wash your teeth" (if memory serves, usually with an "intrusive "r", [so it sounds like "warsh your teeth) and is, in my experience a regional variation. When visiting the dentist, I would use use "prophylactic cleaning (or "scaling"). but what I do at home is "brush my teeth" (not wash, scrub, clean).
"Washing the interior of a car", to me, sounds very strange. Even though some water may be used on some surfaces (leather/plastic) upholstery, my sense is of using a "damp" sponge/rag but not of "soaking" the interior of the car.
In my experience, "window washer" is a job-title for a person and "window-cleaner" refers to some product that promises to make the job easier.
In general, to wash something means to clean something with a rag or sponge and lots of soapy water and then to rinse it off with lots of water
So, typically we say "clean the windows."
I agree with mortimer that to say "wash the windows" sort of gives the idea of using a bucket of soapy water and a sponge to clean the windows.
Washing is a form of cleaning. Not all forms of cleaning are washing, though.
Also, I've done some professional window cleaning for restaurants. I used a bucket of diluted window cleaner and other special window cleaning tools, and I would generally say, "I'm going to clean the windows." I think the thing missing was the rinsing part. Windows are not typically rinsed (though they can be). The cleaners used to clean windows usually don't require rinsing, though. You squeegee off the excess fluid and then buff out any stubborn streaks or spots. (But it probably would not seem wrong to say "wash" in this instance because I used a bucket full of diluted window cleaner, which appears to be a bucket of soapy water.
So, you definitely can say "wash the windows," but usually you will want to say "clean the windows," which, by the way, is right no matter how you clean them.
Never, never, never say, "wash my teeth." It just isn't said. I don't know why, but it isn't, and it sounds strange. So, you should translate "me lavo los dientes" as "I am brushing my teeth."
By the way, this reminds me of a scary story (it's not really scary, it's funny).
Unfortunately, I saw it in a grammar book for children.
Well, to be clear, "wash the windows" is not wrong. One can definitely wash the windows. It is only a bit unusual, at least where I live. And, regionally, it may vary quite a bit in usage. Also, I think (and I could be wrong) that 30 or 40 years ago, the phrase may have been more common as people were apt to do "spring cleaning" and would, in fact, wash the inside walls and, I assume, also the windows. Also, Windex did not always exist.
What was the lesson about, by the way?
Pues, por cierto, "wash the windows" no es incorrecta, pero es un poco inusual. Uno sí puede decir "wash the windows." Quizás sea más común en algunas zonas y más inusual en otras zonas. También, creo (y quizás estoy incorrecto) que, hace 30 o 40 años, la frase haya estado más común porque gente hizo "spring cleaning" (es una limpieza muy meticulosa) y en hecho lavó las paredes interiores y también, supongo, las ventanas. También, Windex no existió siempre.
¿Y, sobre qué era la lección?
For me, cleaning the windows means cleaning the actual glass. Washing the windows is when you get a bucket and wash the whole window including the frames. In other words, washing, like nila45 says, involves using a lot of water.
I believe that in English there is no difference in meaning between wash the windows and clean the windows. There are products referred to as window (glass) cleaners and the product that you wash/clean your car's windshield with is called windshield washer fluid.
For some reason, when someone says "clean the floor" it brings to mind the idea of washing, scrubbing, or mopping (and they all seem to be equal phrases even if you used, for example, a sponge instead of a mop). Therefore, if you mean "sweep the floor" the phrase "clean the floor" does not call sweeping to mind and you should instead say "sweep the floor."
It is curious but we use the same logic with that expression "clean the floor" because it is understood that you are washing the floor. Then, as I said before, we say: "fregar" o "limpiar" el suelo. And when you say, "limpiar" you are saying that you are using the bucket with the mop. You are not refering to sweep. It is not difficult for me to remember this case.
Anyway, I do think that there are some rules although there are some exceptions.
And what do you think about "clean the floor"?.
It is strange but I have just found this in the list of housework vocabulary of the grammar book.
On the one hand, it is true that we the Spanish use to saying: "voy a limpiar el suelo" o "voy a fregar el suelo". On the other hand, using the logic I have learnt in this thread and I should use "I am going to wash the floor" instead of "I am going to clean the floor". The worst of all is that a drawing of a person with a mop and a bucket appears beside her.
When everything seemed to be understood. Is there any logic behind this?. As you can imagine, I am wishing to see your opinions after this.
Anyway, I have to say that I have seen "wash the floor" in the dictionary. At least, there is logic somewhere. But what do you think?
Mokay, I agree with your translations into Spanish. But I would like to qualify one of them.
I would say: limpiar el interior del coche. It is the expression that we use because you do not usually need to use the water inside. You would be right if you said that you can use a wet cloth to do the cleaning. But, we have stablished that expression because you do not usually use too much water to do the cleaning inside the car.
And you can say: limpiar el coche (clean the car), lavar el coche (wash the car). But if it is the inside of the car, you have to use: "limpiar el interior del coche" (to clean the inside of the car).
We say: limpiador (de ventanas) to name the person. Then, the expression that sounds better for me is "cleaner". "Washer" sounds strange.
