Després de caminar, em rento les mans al bany.

In Catalan, after després de you normally use an infinitive, not an -ing form.

So:

• després de caminar = after walking
• literally: after to walk / after walking

This is very natural in Catalan. English often uses after + -ing, but Catalan uses després de + infinitive.

Examples:

• Després de menjar = after eating
• Després de treballar = after working
• Després d’estudiar = after studying

Notice that de can become d’ before a vowel:

• després d’arribar

Em is a reflexive pronoun. It means that the action comes back to the subject: I wash myself.

The verb here is rentar-se = to wash oneself.

So:

• em rento = I wash myself
• et rentes = you wash yourself
• es renta = he/she washes himself/herself

In this sentence, em rento les mans literally means I wash myself the hands, but in natural English that becomes I wash my hands.

Catalan usually uses the definite article with body parts when it is already clear whose body part is meant, especially with reflexive verbs.

So:

• em rento les mans = I wash my hands
• em raspallo les dents = I brush my teeth
• es va trencar la cama = he/she broke his/her leg

Using les meves mans is possible, but it sounds more emphatic or contrastive, like my hands specifically.

Also, if you do use a possessive, it normally goes with the article:

• les meves mans not
• meves mans

Al is a contraction of a + el.

So:

• a + el = al

In this sentence:

• al bany = in the bathroom / to the bathroom, depending on context

Here it usually means the place where the action happens: in the bathroom.

Other common contractions:

• del = de + el
• pel = per + el

Examples:

• Vaig al mercat = I go to the market
• Vinc del parc = I come from the park

Yes. The present tense in Catalan can describe:

1. a habitual action
2. a general fact
3. something happening now, depending on context

So Després de caminar, em rento les mans al bany can mean:

• After walking, I wash my hands in the bathroom
• or After I go for a walk, I wash my hands in the bathroom

Without more context, it often sounds like a normal routine or habitual action.

The basic verb is rentar = to wash.

Its reflexive form is rentar-se = to wash oneself.

For jo in the present:

• rento = I wash
• em rento = I wash myself

Breakdown:

• em = myself
• rento = wash

Full present tense of rentar-se:

• em rento
• et rentes
• es renta
• ens rentem
• us renteu
• es renten

Yes, you often can. The comma after Després de caminar helps mark the introductory phrase and makes the sentence easier to read, but in everyday writing people may omit it.

So both are understandable:

• Després de caminar, em rento les mans al bany.
• Després de caminar em rento les mans al bany.

The version with the comma is clearer and more carefully punctuated.

In Catalan, unstressed object and reflexive pronouns usually come before the conjugated verb.

So:

• em rento
• not rento em

This is normal with most simple tenses:

• em llevo = I get up
• et truco = I call you
• se’n va = he/she leaves

With infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives, pronouns are often attached to the end:

• rentar-me = to wash myself
• renta’t! = wash yourself!

But in this sentence, because the verb is conjugated (rento), the pronoun goes before it: em rento.

Sometimes a can suggest movement toward a place, and sometimes it simply marks location. So al bany can sometimes be interpreted as to the bathroom or in the bathroom, depending on the verb and context.

Here, because the action is washing hands, the most natural interpretation is:

• in the bathroom

If you wanted to make the location very explicit, you could also hear:

• al lavabo
• al bany de casa
• dins del bany = inside the bathroom

Caminar specifically means to walk. So després de caminar means after walking.

But depending on what you mean in English, Catalan could use other verbs:

• després de passejar = after taking a walk / after strolling
• després d’anar a caminar = after going for a walk
• després de fer una caminada = after taking a walk / hike

So caminar is correct, but it is the most direct and literal option.

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

deh-SPRES deh kuh-mee-NAR, em REN-too lez MANS uhl BANY

A few useful notes:

• després has stress on the last syllable: -prés
• caminar has stress on the last syllable: -nar
• rento has stress on ren-
• bany sounds roughly like bany with the ny like Spanish ñ in señor

That ny sound appears in many Catalan words:

• bany = bathroom / bath
• Catalunya
• any = year

Yes. Both are common, but they are not always exactly the same.

• bany = bathroom
• lavabo can mean bathroom, toilet, or sometimes specifically the sink/washbasin, depending on context and region

So:

• em rento les mans al bany = I wash my hands in the bathroom
• em rento les mans al lavabo = I wash my hands in the bathroom / at the sink

Both are very natural. In many everyday situations, lavabo is especially common when talking about washing hands.