Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο. - Tonight I am running the washing machine in the bathroom.

Literally, βάζω means “I put” and πλυντήριο means “washing machine”.
So word‑for‑word, βάζω πλυντήριο is “I put (on) the washing machine”.

Idiomatically, it means:

“I’m doing a load of laundry”
or “I’m running the washing machine.”

Greek uses βάζω with several appliances or devices, often with the sense “to start / switch on / run”:

βάζω πλυντήριο – run the washing machine / do laundry
βάζω πλυντήριο πιάτων – run the dishwasher
βάζω καφέ – make coffee (literally “put coffee on”)
βάζω το φαγητό στο φούρνο – put the food in the oven (start baking)

So in this sentence, βάζω πλυντήριο is a very natural, idiomatic way to say you will do laundry.

Why is the present tense βάζω used if the action is in the future (today in the evening / tonight)?

In Greek, the present tense is often used for planned or scheduled future actions, especially when there’s a clear time expression like σήμερα το βράδυ (“this evening / tonight”).

Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο
= “Tonight I’m doing laundry” (literally “Tonight I put the washing machine on”).

This is similar to English present continuous for the future:

“Tonight I’m cooking.”
“Tomorrow I’m flying to London.”

You can also say:

Σήμερα το βράδυ θα βάλω πλυντήριο.

This is also correct and means the same. The version with simple present (βάζω) sounds like a fixed plan / arrangement, just like English “I’m doing laundry tonight.”

What is the difference between σήμερα το βράδυ and απόψε?

Both can usually be translated as “tonight” or “this evening”, and in many contexts they are interchangeable.

σήμερα το βράδυ – literally “today in the evening”
απόψε – “tonight / this evening” (one word)

Some nuances:

απόψε is a bit shorter and more colloquial.
σήμερα το βράδυ can feel a bit more explicit or slightly more formal, but it’s also used in everyday speech.

Examples:

Απόψε βάζω πλυντήριο.
Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο.

Both: “I’m doing laundry tonight.”

In your sentence, you could replace σήμερα το βράδυ with απόψε without changing the meaning in any important way.

Why do we say το βράδυ and not just σήμερα βράδυ?

In Greek, βράδυ is a noun (“evening / night”), not an adverb. Nouns normally take an article.

So:

το βράδυ = “the evening / the night”

The combination σήμερα το βράδυ is literally:

σήμερα – today
το βράδυ – the evening

Together: “today, in the evening” → “this evening / tonight”.

Without the article, σήμερα βράδυ sounds wrong to native speakers.
The article is part of the usual time expression: το πρωί, το μεσημέρι, το απόγευμα, το βράδυ (in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening).

What is the difference between βράδυ and νύχτα?

Both relate to night, but they are used slightly differently:

βράδυ: evening / night, typically from early evening until late night. It’s flexible and often used for social / everyday contexts.
- Πάμε για φαγητό το βράδυ. – Let’s go for food tonight.
- Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο. – I’m doing laundry tonight.
νύχτα: more literally night, often with a sense of late night, darkness, sleep time, or more “poetic” / dramatic contexts.
- Οδηγούσα όλη τη νύχτα. – I was driving all night.
- Φοβάμαι τη νύχτα. – I’m afraid of the night.

In many casual contexts, if you mean “tonight” in the sense of your evening plans, βράδυ is more common than νύχτα.

Why is there no article before πλυντήριο, but there is one before μπάνιο (στο μπάνιο)?

Good observation:

στο μπάνιο = σε + το μπάνιο → “in the bathroom”
Here το μπάνιο is a specific place/room (the bathroom in the house), so it uses the definite article.
βάζω πλυντήριο has no article before πλυντήριο.

This is because in this expression, πλυντήριο is used in a generic / activity sense: “I run the washing machine / I do a load of laundry”, not “I put the washing machine (object) somewhere”.

Compare:

Έχω το πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο. – I have the washing machine in the bathroom. (Here it’s a physical object → το πλυντήριο.)
Βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο. – I’m doing laundry in the bathroom. (Here it’s the activity → no article.)

So:

το μπάνιο = the specific room → needs article.
πλυντήριο (here) = “a wash / a load of laundry” as an activity → article is normally omitted.

What exactly does στο μπάνιο mean here? Is it “in the bathroom” or “in the bath”?

Στο μπάνιο is σε + το μπάνιο and means “in the bathroom”.

In modern Greek:

το μπάνιο usually means “the bathroom” (the room),
although it can also mean “the bath” (as an act: taking a bath), depending on context.

In your sentence, βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο means:

“I run the washing machine in the bathroom.”

This matches the common situation in Greek homes where the washing machine is placed in the bathroom.

If you wanted to say you’re taking a bath, you’d say something like:

Κάνω μπάνιο. – I’m having a bath.
Πάω για μπάνιο. – I’m going to take a bath / go for a swim (depending on context).

Could I move the words around, for example say Στο μπάνιο σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο? How flexible is the word order?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, but changes in order can affect emphasis.

Your original sentence:

Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο.
Neutral: “Tonight I’m doing laundry in the bathroom.”

Other possible orders (all grammatical):

Σήμερα το βράδυ στο μπάνιο βάζω πλυντήριο.
– Slightly more focus on “in the bathroom”.
Βάζω πλυντήριο σήμερα το βράδυ στο μπάνιο.
– Focus first on the action “I’m doing laundry”.
Στο μπάνιο σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο.
– Stronger emphasis on “in the bathroom” (as opposed to somewhere else).

All are understandable; the differences are subtle and mainly about which information is foregrounded.
The original order (Σήμερα το βράδυ …) is a very natural choice for everyday speech.

Could I say θα βάλω πλυντήριο instead of βάζω πλυντήριο? Is there a difference in meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Σήμερα το βράδυ θα βάλω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο.

This uses the future tense (θα βάλω = “I will put/run”), and it is completely correct.

The difference is more about style / nuance than meaning:

βάζω πλυντήριο (present) with a time expression → sounds like a fixed plan or arrangement, similar to English “I’m doing laundry tonight.”
θα βάλω πλυντήριο (future) → neutral future, closer to English “I’ll do laundry tonight / I’m going to do laundry tonight.”

Both communicate the same basic idea. In everyday conversation, both forms are common.

Could I say κάνω πλυντήριο or πλένω ρούχα instead of βάζω πλυντήριο?

Yes, but they’re not always equally natural.

βάζω πλυντήριο – the most common, idiomatic way to say “I’m running the washing machine / doing a load of laundry.”
πλένω ρούχα – literally “I wash clothes.”
Perfectly correct and common, but a bit more general; it doesn’t specify how (by hand or machine).
- Σήμερα το βράδυ πλένω ρούχα. – “Tonight I’m washing clothes.”
κάνω πλυντήριο – you may hear it sometimes, but it is less standard and often sounds a bit off to native speakers in comparison with βάζω πλυντήριο.
It’s safer to avoid this and prefer βάζω πλυντήριο or πλένω ρούχα.

So, the most natural equivalents:

Using the machine: βάζω πλυντήριο
More general “wash clothes”: πλένω ρούχα

Does πλυντήριο only mean “washing machine for clothes,” or can it also mean other types of washing machines?

πλυντήριο by itself is somewhat general: it literally means “washing machine”.

In everyday use, if nothing else is said:

το πλυντήριο usually means “the clothes washing machine”, because that’s the most common one at home.

For other machines, Greek typically specifies:

πλυντήριο ρούχων – clothes washer / washing machine
πλυντήριο πιάτων – dishwasher
πλυντήριο αυτοκινήτων – car wash (machine)

In your sentence, βάζω πλυντήριο without any extra word is naturally understood as doing a load of laundry in the clothes washer.

Why is σήμερα το βράδυ at the beginning of the sentence? Could it go at the end?

Time expressions often appear at the beginning of Greek sentences, but they are not required to.

Your sentence:

Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο.

You could also say:

Βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο σήμερα το βράδυ.

Both are correct.
Putting σήμερα το βράδυ at the beginning sets the time frame first, which is a very common pattern in Greek (and also in English: “Tonight, I’m doing laundry…”).

At the end, the sentence feels slightly more like you’re adding the time as additional information, but the meaning is the same.

How is Σήμερα το βράδυ βάζω πλυντήριο στο μπάνιο pronounced? Any tricky sounds?

Rough guide, with stress in capitals:

ΣΗ-με-ρα το ΒΡΑ-δυ ΒΑ-ζω πλυ-ΝΤΗ-ρι-ο στο ΜΠΑ-νιο

Tricky points for English speakers:

β is like English v, not b.
μπ in μπάνιο is pronounced like a b sound at the start of the word.
ντ in πλυντήριο sounds like d.
γ before ι or ε (not in this sentence, but generally) is like a soft “y”/“gh” sound, not a hard “g” as in “go”.

Stress:

ΣήμεΡΑ
ΒΡΑδυ
ΒΑζω
πλυΝΤΗριο
ΜΠΑνιο

Rhythm and stress are important in Greek, so making sure you hit the stressed syllables clearly will make you sound much more natural.