Learn Hardcore Greek: Πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι στο μπάνιο. - I wash my hands with soap in the bathroom.

Πλένω – I wash (1st person singular, present tense of πλένω = to wash)
τα – the (neuter plural definite article, accusative case)
χέρια – hands (plural of το χέρι = hand)
μου – my (unstressed possessive pronoun = my hands)
με – with or using
σαπούνι – soap (neuter noun, here without an article, so: with soap)
στο – in the / at the (σε
- το = in/at + the → contracted to στο)
μπάνιο – bathroom or bath (neuter noun)

So the literal structure is:
I wash the hands my with soap in-the bathroom.
Natural English: I wash my hands with soap in the bathroom.

Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns (like I, you, he) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Πλένω can only mean I wash (1st person singular).
If it were πλένεις, it would mean you wash;
πλένει = he/she/it washes, etc.

So “I” is understood from the verb ending, and εγώ (I) is only used for emphasis or contrast:

Εγώ πλένω τα χέρια μου. – I wash my hands (as opposed to someone else).

Why is it τα χέρια μου and not just χέρια μου or μου τα χέρια?

Three points here:

Definite article is normal with body parts in Greek
Greek typically uses the definite article (το, η, ο, τα, etc.) with body parts, especially when they’re already clearly “owned” by a possessive pronoun:
- τα χέρια μου – literally the hands my → my hands
- το κεφάλι μου – my head
  Omitting the article (χέρια μου) is possible in some contexts but sounds less standard and more marked.
Word order of noun + possessive
The possessive pronoun (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally comes after the noun:
- τα χέρια μου – my hands
- το σπίτι σου – your house
  Saying μου τα χέρια is only used in special emphatic or poetic contexts, not as the normal form.
It’s also in the accusative plural because it’s the direct object of πλένω:
- Πλένω τι; – τα χέρια μου. – I wash what? – my hands.

Why is it τα χέρια and not οι χέρια or something else?

Because:

The noun το χέρι (hand) is neuter in Greek.
Its plural is τα χέρια (also neuter).

So its articles are:

Singular: το χέρι – the hand
Plural: τα χέρια – the hands

Ο and οι are masculine articles, so they don’t match χέρι, which is neuter.

Why does μου come after χέρια? In English we say “my hands,” not “hands my.”

In Greek the unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally follow the noun:

το βιβλίο μου – my book
η μητέρα μου – my mother
τα χέρια μου – my hands

This is just the standard Greek pattern.

If you want to emphasize the possessor strongly, you might use a stressed form, often separately:

τα χέρια τα δικά μου – my hands (as opposed to someone else’s).

But for normal, neutral possession, it’s noun + article + possessive after the noun.

What does με mean here? Is it “with” or “using”?

The preposition με usually translates to “with”, but depending on context it can also feel like “using” in English.

Here:

με σαπούνι – literally with soap → naturally with soap / using soap.

A few more examples:

Γράφω με μολύβι. – I write with a pencil / using a pencil.
Κόβω το ψωμί με μαχαίρι. – I cut the bread with a knife.

So your sentence is: I wash my hands with soap / using soap.

Why is it με σαπούνι and not με το σαπούνι? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

με σαπούνι – with soap in general, without focusing on a specific piece or bar of soap.
με το σαπούνι – with the soap (a particular soap already known from context).

In your sentence, the general idea “I wash my hands with soap (as a substance)” is intended, so με σαπούνι is natural.

If you were referring to one specific bar of soap already known (e.g. that special soap), you might say:

Πλένω τα χέρια μου με το σαπούνι που αγόρασες. – I wash my hands with the soap you bought.

What exactly is στο? Why not just say σε το μπάνιο?

Στο is a contraction:

σε (in / at / to)
το (the – neuter singular)

σε + το → στο

Greek very often contracts σε + article:

σε + το → στο
σε + τα → στα
σε + την → στη(ν)
σε + τον → στον

So:

στο μπάνιο – in the / at the bathroom
στο σπίτι – at home / in the house
στη δουλειά – at work

Writing σε το μπάνιο is grammatically wrong in standard modern Greek; you must use the contracted στο μπάνιο.

Does στο μπάνιο mean “in the bath” or “in the bathroom”?

το μπάνιο can mean both, depending on context:

Bathroom / washroom (the room)
- Πλένω τα χέρια μου στο μπάνιο. – I wash my hands in the bathroom.
Bath (the act of taking a bath)
- Κάνω μπάνιο. – I have/take a bath.

In your sentence, στο μπάνιο is understood as “in the bathroom” (the room where the sink is).

If you wanted to emphasize the actual bathtub, you might say something like:

Πλένω το παιδί στην μπανιέρα. – I wash the child in the bathtub.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Στο μπάνιο πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible, and the meaning stays almost the same, but emphasis shifts.

Some possible variants:

Πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι στο μπάνιο.
(Neutral, common order.)
Στο μπάνιο πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι.
Emphasizes “in the bathroom” (e.g. not in the kitchen).
Με σαπούνι πλένω τα χέρια μου στο μπάνιο.
Emphasizes using soap (as opposed to just water).

All are grammatically acceptable. Greek tends to keep the verb early and the subject often dropped, but beyond that, position is used to highlight what is important in the sentence.

Is there a reflexive form like “I wash myself,” and how is it different from πλένω τα χέρια μου?

Yes. Greek uses a middle/reflexive form of the verb:

πλένω – I wash (something)
πλένομαι – I wash myself / I am being washed

Difference:

Πλένω τα χέρια μου. – I wash my hands. (focus on the action of washing my hands, direct object τα χέρια μου.)
Πλένομαι. – I wash myself / I’m having a wash. (no direct object stated; it’s about my whole body or myself generally.)

It’s not natural to say πλένομαι τα χέρια – that would sound wrong to a native speaker. You either:

Use πλένω + body part:
Πλένω τα χέρια μου.
Or use πλένομαι for yourself in general.

What tense is πλένω, and does it mean “I wash” or “I am washing”?

Πλένω is in the present tense of the verb πλένω.

In modern Greek, the present tense normally covers both:

I wash (regularly / in general)
I am washing (right now)

Context tells you which is meant. Your sentence can be:

I wash my hands with soap in the bathroom (habitually), or
I’m washing my hands with soap in the bathroom (right now).

Greek doesn’t normally distinguish those two forms the way English does.

Is there anything unusual about the plural χέρια from χέρι?

It’s a regular-looking neuter plural form for this type of noun, but it may feel irregular to an English speaker because:

Singular: το χέρι – hand
Plural: τα χέρια – hands

Many neuter nouns in Greek form the plural with -ια:

το παιδί → τα παιδιά – child → children
το δάχτυλο → τα δάχτυλα – finger → fingers
το χέρι → τα χέρια – hand → hands

So χέρια is the normal plural; there is no form like χέριες or χέροι.

How would I turn this into a yes–no question in Greek, like “Do I wash my hands with soap in the bathroom?”

For a simple yes/no question, Greek usually just uses question intonation and/or a question mark, without changing the word order:

Πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι στο μπάνιο;
(spoken with rising intonation)

You can optionally add Μήπως at the start for “by any chance” / “Is it maybe that…”:

Μήπως πλένω τα χέρια μου με σαπούνι στο μπάνιο;

But fundamentally, to make a yes/no question here, you just keep the same words and change the intonation.