Maghugas ka ng kamay bago kumain.

Hugas is the root word meaning wash or washing.

Maghugas is the verb form built from that root. Here it means wash in the sense of a command: Wash your hands before eating.

The prefix mag- is very common in Filipino and often marks an action done by the person in focus. In this sentence, the focus is on you doing the washing.

So:

• hugas = wash / washing
• maghugas = to wash / wash

Ka means you when talking to one person casually.

In Filipino, short pronouns often come after the verb, so:

• Maghugas ka = Wash / You wash

That word order is normal in Filipino. English puts you before the verb, but Filipino often puts the verb first.

Because the verb maghugas is an actor-focus verb. With this kind of verb, the thing affected by the action is commonly marked with ng.

So in:

• Maghugas ka ng kamay

the doer is ka and the thing being washed is kamay, marked by ng.

If you changed the verb to an object-focus form, then ang would be possible. For example:

• Hugasan mo ang kamay mo

That also means Wash your hands, but the grammar is organized differently.

Filipino often leaves possession unstated when it is obvious from context, especially with body parts.

Here, if someone tells you:

• Maghugas ka ng kamay

it is naturally understood as Wash your hands, not someone else’s.

So Filipino does not always need an explicit your in places where English usually does.

You could make it explicit, but it often sounds less natural in a simple everyday reminder.

Literally, kamay is singular: hand.

But in everyday Filipino, body-part words are often used in a more general or idiomatic way, so maghugas ng kamay is the normal expression for wash your hands.

If you really wanted to make it clearly plural, you could say:

• mga kamay = hands

But in this common expression, kamay by itself is the usual choice.

Bago means before.

Kumain here means to eat or eating, so:

• bago kumain = before eating / before you eat

This is a very common Filipino pattern:

• bago
  • verb

So the sentence structure is basically:

• Wash your hands
  • before eating

Yes. That is something learners often notice.

Kumain can mean:

• ate in a full sentence, as in Kumain siya = He/She ate
• but after words like bago, gusto, puwede, and similar words, it can also function like to eat

So in:

• bago kumain

it does not mean before ate it means before eating or before you eat

This is normal Filipino usage.

Because Filipino often leaves out pronouns when the subject is already clear.

In this sentence, the command is directed at you, so bago kumain is naturally understood as before you eat.

You could also say:

• bago ka kumain

That is also correct, but it sounds a little more explicit. The version without ka is very natural in reminders and instructions.

It is a normal, direct instruction. It sounds natural in everyday speech, especially to someone younger, a friend, or in a casual context.

If you want to make it polite or respectful, you can use po and the respectful pronoun kayo:

• Maghugas po kayo ng kamay bago kumain.

That is more polite and is what you might say to an elder, a customer, or in a formal situation.

Yes. That is also grammatical and natural.

The difference is mainly in the verb pattern:

• Maghugas ka ng kamay
  actor-focus; the object is marked with ng

• Hugasan mo ang kamay mo
  object-focus; the object is marked with ang

Both can be translated as Wash your hands before eating, but the grammar shifts:

• ka becomes mo
• ng kamay becomes ang kamay mo

So both are correct, but they use different Filipino verb-focus patterns.

Yes, to some extent.

For example, you could say:

• Bago kumain, maghugas ka ng kamay.

That still means the same thing: Before eating, wash your hands.

The original version is very natural, but Filipino is somewhat flexible with word order, especially when moving time expressions like bago kumain.