Infinitive (imperfective): мыть — "to wash (something)" Infinitive (perfective): помы́ть — "to wash (and finish), to give a wash" Type: first-conjugation verb with an ы → о stem change that surfaces only in the conjugation
мыть looks like the simplest verb in the world — one syllable, no prefix. The trap is that the infinitive stem (мы-) is not the conjugation stem (мо-). You never say "мыю"; the present is мо́ю, мо́ешь, мо́ют, with ы becoming о. This is the same -ой-/-о- pattern you'll meet in петь (пою́), выть (во́ю) and a small family of monosyllabic first-conjugation verbs, so it's worth meeting cleanly here. On top of that, мыть is a transitive verb that takes a direct object in the accusative, and it has an extremely common reflexive partner мы́ться ("to wash oneself"). Stress is marked on every form below, since this is a page you'll consult for pronunciation.
Present tense (мыть, imperfective) — the ы→о stem
A perfective verb has no present tense, so only мыть (imperfective) has a present. The перфективное помы́ть column shows the future, built with the same endings.
| Person | мыть — PRESENT | помы́ть — FUTURE (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| я | мо́ю | помо́ю |
| ты | мо́ешь | помо́ешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | мо́ет | помо́ет |
| мы | мо́ем | помо́ем |
| вы | мо́ете | помо́ете |
| они́ | мо́ют | помо́ют |
The endings are the textbook first-conjugation set (-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ют), exactly as in чита́ть. The only thing to remember is the stem: infinitive мы-, present мо́-. Stress sits on мо́- in every present form — there are no stress jumps.
Я ка́ждое у́тро мо́ю посу́ду.
I wash the dishes every morning. — present мо́ю; a habit, so imperfective. Note the о, not 'мыю'.
Ты мо́ешь ру́ки пе́ред едо́й?
Do you wash your hands before eating? — мо́ешь, a general habit.
Они́ мо́ют маши́ну во дворе́.
They're washing the car in the yard. — мо́ют, an action in progress.
Past tense
The past is built off the infinitive stem мы-, so the ы comes back. Stress stays on мы-; the only thing that shifts is the gender ending.
| Gender / number | мыть (impf) | помы́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | мыл | помы́л |
| feminine | мы́ла | помы́ла |
| neuter | мы́ло | помы́ло |
| plural | мы́ли | помы́ли |
The aspect contrast is the usual one: мыл views the washing as a process or habit ("I was washing / I used to wash"), while помы́л views it as a completed act with a result ("I washed it [and it's clean now]").
Кто мыл пол вчера́? Он всё ещё гря́зный.
Who washed the floor yesterday? It's still dirty. — мыл, focusing on the activity (and complaining the result is poor).
Я уже́ помы́ла всю посу́ду, мо́жешь отдыха́ть.
I've already washed all the dishes, you can relax. — помы́ла: a completed result. (Feminine speaker, hence помы́ла.)
Future tense
The two members form the future in the two standard ways — and this is the heart of the aspect system.
- мыть (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду мыть "I'll be washing / will wash (over time)."
- помы́ть (perfective) → simple future (the conjugated forms above): помо́ю "I'll wash it (and finish)."
| Person | мыть → бу́ду мыть | помы́ть → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду мыть | помо́ю |
| ты | бу́дешь мыть | помо́ешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет мыть | помо́ет |
| мы | бу́дем мыть | помо́ем |
| вы | бу́дете мыть | помо́ете |
| они́ | бу́дут мыть | помо́ют |
So помо́ю looks like a present-tense conjugation but is in fact the future, because помы́ть is perfective and a perfective cannot describe the present moment. The mechanics are on the perfective simple future page.
Сейча́с доем и помо́ю посу́ду.
I'll finish eating and then wash the dishes. — помо́ю: one complete future act (perfective).
Imperative
The imperative drops the ending and keeps the о-stem, giving the short form мой.
| Addressee | мыть (impf) | помы́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | мой | помо́й |
| вы (formal / plural) | мо́йте | помо́йте |
As always, the perfective помо́й asks for one specific thing washed to completion ("wash this"), while the imperfective мой is about the activity — and is the form used for negated commands (не мой "don't wash").
Помо́й ру́ки, обе́д на столе́.
Wash your hands, lunch is on the table. — perfective помо́й: do this one thing now, completely.
Не мой э́ту ча́шку, она́ чи́стая.
Don't wash this cup, it's clean. — negated command uses the imperfective мой.
The reflexive: мы́ться / помы́ться (wash oneself)
Add -ся and you turn "wash X" into "wash oneself." The reflexive is intransitive — there is no direct object, because the washing falls on the subject. The conjugation is the same о-stem plus the reflexive particle (-сь after a vowel, -ся after a consonant).
| Person | мы́ться (impf) — PRESENT | помы́ться (pf) — FUTURE |
|---|---|---|
| я | мо́юсь | помо́юсь |
| ты | мо́ешься | помо́ешься |
| он / она́ / оно́ | мо́ется | помо́ется |
| мы | мо́емся | помо́емся |
| вы | мо́етесь | помо́етесь |
| они́ | мо́ются | помо́ются |
Past: мы́лся / мы́лась / мы́лось / мы́лись (impf), помы́лся / помы́лась (pf). Imperative: мо́йся / мо́йтесь. In everyday speech, "to take a shower / have a wash" is often just мы́ться. The full machinery of -ся verbs is on the reflexive verbs page.
Я мо́юсь по утра́м, а муж — ве́чером.
I wash in the mornings, and my husband in the evenings. — мо́юсь, intransitive: no object, the washing is of oneself.
Key uses & collocations
1. мыть + accusative — washing a thing
The thing washed is a direct object in the accusative: мыть посу́ду / по́л / окно́ / ру́ки.
Помоги́ мне помы́ть окно́, оно́ снару́жи о́чень гря́зное.
Help me wash the window, it's really dirty on the outside. — accusative object окно́.
2. вы́мыть — the other perfective
Russian has a second common perfective, вы́мыть (future вы́мою, вы́моешь, вы́моют; past вы́мыл), formed with the prefix вы́-, which is always stressed. It overlaps with помы́ть and stresses thoroughness ("wash clean, scrub"). Both are correct; помы́ть is the more neutral, everyday choice.
Она́ вы́мыла весь дом пе́ред прие́здом госте́й.
She washed (cleaned) the whole house before the guests arrived. — вы́мыть: thorough, complete; note вы́- carries the stress.
3. умы́ться — washing one's face
Don't confuse мы́ться (wash one's whole self / body) with умы́ться (perfective; imperfective умыва́ться), which specifically means to wash one's face — splash water on the face, the morning routine. Different prefix, narrower meaning.
Умо́йся холо́дной водо́й, сра́зу проснёшься.
Wash your face with cold water, you'll wake right up. — умы́ться = wash the face, not the whole body.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я мы́ю посу́ду ка́ждый день.
Stem error — the present of мыть is мо́ю, not 'мыю'. The ы becomes о in the conjugation: я мо́ю.
✅ Я мо́ю посу́ду ка́ждый день.
I wash the dishes every day.
❌ Я мо́ю ка́ждое у́тро. (meaning 'I wash [myself]')
Incorrect — мыть is transitive and needs an object. For 'I wash myself' use the reflexive: я мо́юсь.
✅ Я мо́юсь ка́ждое у́тро.
I wash (myself) every morning.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду помы́ть маши́ну.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future takes an imperfective infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: помо́ю (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я помо́ю маши́ну.
Tomorrow I'll wash the car.
❌ Иди́ мо́йся — нет, помо́й лицо́. (for 'wash your face')
Wrong verb — 'wash one's face' is умы́ться/умыва́ться, a narrower word than мы́ться (wash one's body).
✅ Иди́ умо́йся пе́ред за́втраком.
Go wash your face before breakfast.
Key Takeaways
- мыть has an ы→о stem change in the conjugation: infinitive мы-, but present мо́ю / мо́ешь / мо́ет / мо́ем / мо́ете / мо́ют. Never "мыю".
- Past returns to the ы-stem: мыл / мы́ла / мы́ло / мы́ли; perfective помы́л / помы́ла.
- No perfective present. помо́ю looks like a present but is the future (perfective помы́ть).
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду мыть; perfective simple помо́ю.
- Imperative: мой / помо́й (negated commands take the imperfective мой).
- Reflexive мы́ться (мо́юсь) = wash oneself; умы́ться/умыва́ться = wash one's face specifically.
- Second perfective вы́мыть (вы́мою), with stress fixed on the prefix вы́-, stresses thoroughness.
- мыть is transitive: the thing washed goes in the accusative (мыть посу́ду).
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- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first-conjugation present paradigm: чита́ть → чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ет, чита́ем, чита́ете, чита́ют, with endings on the theme vowel -е-. Covers the -ать stem class (де́лать, рабо́тать), the stressed consonant-stem variant (жить → живу́, живёшь), and the -овать/-евать contraction (рисова́ть → рису́ю).
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- Reflexive Verbs (-ся / -сь)A2 — The particle -ся (after a consonant) / -сь (after a vowel) attaches AFTER the personal ending — умыва́ю → умыва́юсь, у́чится, учи́лся / учи́лась / учи́лись. It rarely means 'oneself': most -ся verbs are intransitive (открыва́ться), reciprocal (встреча́ться), or emotional (боя́ться, смея́ться, нра́виться). The key pattern is the transitive/intransitive pair открыва́ть / открыва́ться.
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Accusative: The Direct ObjectA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — the thing a transitive verb acts on directly. Verbs like чита́ть, смотре́ть, люби́ть, ви́деть, знать all take an accusative object (чита́ть кни́гу, люби́ть му́зыку). Because Russian word order is free, the case ending — not position — tells you which noun is being acted upon, so every direct object must be marked. Object pronouns (меня́, тебя́, его́, её, нас, вас, их) are accusative too.
- Читать / Прочитать (to read)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the model aspect pair чита́ть / прочита́ть 'to read': a perfectly regular first-conjugation verb (чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ют) paired with its prefixed perfective прочита́ть. The cleanest pair to anchor the whole aspect system — imperfective чита́ю = present, perfective прочита́ю = future — plus the past, imperative, participle прочи́танный, and the alternant проче́сть.