Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhè jiàn yīfu xǐqǐlái hěn jiǎndān.

is not natural; you need something like 洗起来 (or a similar structure) between 衣服 and 很简单 to link the action of washing with the evaluation 很简单.

Why do we need 很 before 简单? Can we just say 洗起来简单?

In modern spoken Mandarin, when an adjective is used as the predicate (describing the subject), you usually need a degree adverb like 很, 非常, 挺, etc.

So:

这件衣服洗起来很简单。 ✔️ natural
这件衣服洗起来简单。 ❌ sounds unnatural / incomplete in ordinary, neutral speech

Here, 很 does not necessarily mean a strong “very.”
Often it works like a linking word, making the sentence sound grammatically complete:

今天很冷。
Literally “Today very cold,” but usually understood as simply “It’s cold today.”

You can drop 很 only in special contexts, such as:

in contrasts: 这件衣服洗起来简单，那件衣服洗起来麻烦。
in certain written, concise, or exclamatory styles.

For learners, it’s safer to include 很 with predicate adjectives like 简单 in neutral statements.

What’s the function of 起来 in grammar terms? Is it a result complement, aspect marker, or something else?

起来 (qǐlái) originally is a directional complement (“to rise up”), but in modern Mandarin it has taken on several grammaticalized uses. In 洗起来, it’s not literal “wash up”; instead, it’s used in a subjective evaluation pattern:

Verb + 起来 + (adjective / phrase)
= “when you V (this), it feels/seems/turns out (to be) …”

So in grammar terms, here 起来 is often classified as:

an aspectual / evaluative complement, or
a “viewpoint” complement, indicating “judged from the act of doing this…”

Examples:

穿起来很舒服。
“(When you) wear it, it’s very comfortable.”
看起来很贵。
“It looks very expensive.” (same pattern with 看)

So it’s related to complement structures, but it doesn’t show a concrete result like 洗干净 (“wash clean”), rather an evaluation when performing the action.

Could we say 洗这件衣服很简单 instead? What’s the difference from 这件衣服洗起来很简单?

Yes, 洗这件衣服很简单。 is also correct and natural.

Nuance:

洗这件衣服很简单。
Literally “Washing this item of clothing is very simple.”
The action “wash this piece of clothing” is being presented as the topic. It’s more neutral and slightly more “action-centered.”
这件衣服洗起来很简单。
Literally “This piece of clothing, (when you) wash (it), it is very simple.”
Here, 这件衣服 is clearly the topic, and 洗起来 focuses on the experience / process of washing it. It feels a bit more like you’re talking about the properties of the clothes (“This garment is easy to wash.”).

In everyday speech, both are fine; 洗起来 adds a slight sense of subjective experience.

Why is the measure word 件 used with 衣服? Could we use something like 个 or 条?

For clothing, 件 (jiàn) is the default measure word for most upper-body garments and many general items of clothing:

一件衣服 – a piece of clothing
一件衬衫 – a shirt
一件外套 – a coat

Other measure words exist, but they’re used in specific cases:

条 (tiáo) – for long, thin, flexible things:
- 一条裤子 – a pair of pants
- 一条裙子 – a skirt
双 (shuāng) – for pairs:
- 一双鞋 – a pair of shoes

个 is a very general classifier, but it is not normally used for clothing.
So in 这件衣服, 件 is exactly the right and most natural classifier.

What’s the difference between 简单 and 容易 here? Could the sentence be 洗起来很容易?

Yes, you can say:

这件衣服洗起来很容易。 ✔️

Both 简单 and 容易 can be translated as “easy,” but:

容易: emphasizes low difficulty (easy to do).
简单: emphasizes simplicity, meaning:
- not complicated,
- not many steps or special procedures.

In context:

洗起来很容易 – It doesn’t take much effort or skill to wash it.
洗起来很简单 – The process is simple (maybe no special detergents, no special care, just put it in the machine and go).

They overlap a lot; in many cases they’re interchangeable, but 简单 keeps more of the “simple / not complicated” flavor.

Is there any tense in this sentence? Does it mean “is easy to wash,” “was easy to wash,” or “will be easy to wash”?

Chinese does not mark tense the same way English does with verb endings.

这件衣服洗起来很简单。 by itself is time‑neutral. It states a general fact / property:

“This piece of clothing is (in general) easy to wash.”

The time reference comes from context, or from added words:

以前，这件衣服洗起来很简单。
“In the past, this piece of clothing was easy to wash.”
以后，这件衣服洗起来会很简单。
“In the future, this piece of clothing will be easy to wash.”

So without any time words, it’s usually understood as a general, atemporal statement similar to an English present tense (“is easy to wash”).

Is 衣服 pronounced yīfu or yīfú? I see different spellings—what’s going on?

The characters are 衣服:

衣 – yī (first tone)
服 – fú (second rising tone) in isolation

But in the common word 衣服:

衣服 is usually pronounced yīfu:
- 衣 stays first tone
- 服 becomes neutral tone (·fu)

This is a very common pattern in Mandarin: in many two-syllable words, the second syllable loses its original tone and becomes neutral, especially for high‑frequency everyday words.

So you should normally say yīfu (first tone + neutral tone).

Is 洗起来 similar to English “wash up” or “wash off”? Does it imply any direction?

Here, 洗起来 is not like “wash up/off” in English.

There is no directional meaning (nothing is literally moving “up”).
起来 has been grammaticalized and is functioning as an evaluative complement.

So:

洗起来很简单。
“(When you) wash it, it is very simple / it’s easy to wash.”

If you want a result like “wash clean,” you’d use a different complement:

洗干净 – to wash (something) clean
- 这件衣服很好洗，很容易洗干净。
  “This piece of clothing is easy to wash; it’s easy to wash it clean.”

Here 起来 doesn’t add result or direction, but rather how it feels / seems when doing the action.

Can we use 洗一洗 or 洗一下 instead of 洗起来? What’s the difference?

洗一洗 and 洗一下 use a reduplication / “一下” pattern, which usually:

makes the action sound short, casual, or polite:
- 我去洗一洗/洗一下衣服。
  “I’ll go (quickly) wash the clothes.”

But they don’t combine naturally with 很简单 in the same way:

这件衣服洗一洗很简单。 ❌ odd
这件衣服洗一下很简单。 ❌ odd

Why? Because:

洗一洗 / 洗一下 focuses on doing the action briefly,
while 洗起来很简单 is a pattern for evaluating the action.

If you want to talk about how easy it is, you need something like:

这件衣服洗起来很简单。 ✔️
洗这件衣服很简单。 ✔️
这件衣服很好洗。 ✔️ (“This piece of clothing is easy to wash.”)

Is there any difference between 这件衣服洗起来很简单 and 这件衣服很好洗?

Both mean it’s easy to wash, but there is a small nuance:

这件衣服很好洗。
Literally “This piece of clothing is very good to wash.”
This is a very common, compact way to say “It’s easy to wash.” It treats “being easy to wash” as a more stable property of the clothing.
这件衣服洗起来很简单。
Emphasizes the experience/process: “When you wash it, (you find) it’s very simple.”

In practice, both are natural and often interchangeable.
If you want to sound especially natural and concise in conversation, 这件衣服很好洗 is a very common and idiomatic choice.