sara ha suponzi de aratte, hukin de sugu hukimasu.

は marks 皿 as the topic of the sentence. It tells you what the sentence is about: as for the dishes/plates...

It does not necessarily mean the dishes are the grammatical subject in the same way as in English. Japanese often organizes sentences by topic rather than by subject.

So 皿は is like:

• As for the dishes, ...
• When it comes to the dishes, ...

This is very natural in Japanese instructions or descriptions.

Japanese nouns usually do not change form for singular or plural. So 皿 can mean:

• a plate
• plates
• the dishes

You understand the number from context. In this kind of sentence, English often uses the dishes or plates, but Japanese just leaves 皿 as it is.

In this sentence, で marks the means/tool/material used to do something.

So:

• スポンジで = with a sponge
• ふきんで = with a dishcloth

This is a very common use of で: it tells you what you use to perform the action.

Compare:

• 箸で食べます = I eat with chopsticks
• ペンで書きます = I write with a pen

Japanese uses different writing systems, and this sentence shows two of them:

• スポンジ is in katakana because it is a loanword from a foreign language, like sponge
• ふきん is in hiragana, which is common for native Japanese words, especially everyday ones that are often written without kanji

You could also see ふきん written as 布巾, but in daily writing hiragana is very common.

洗って is the て-form of 洗う. Here it is used to connect actions.

So the sentence structure is:

• wash ... and
• wipe ...

That is why the first verb is not in polite final form. Only the final verb, ふきます, carries the sentence-ending politeness.

A simple way to think of it:

• 洗って = wash and then...
• ふきます = wipe

Here, the て-form links two actions in sequence.

洗って、ふきます means:

1. wash
2. then wipe

In many cases, the て-form can mean:

• and
• and then
• after doing ...

In this sentence, the most natural interpretation is a sequence: you wash the dishes with a sponge, then immediately wipe them with a cloth.

In Japanese, when verbs are linked in one sentence, the earlier verbs are often put in て-form, and the final verb shows the tense and politeness for the whole sentence.

So:

• 洗って = linked form
• ふきます = final polite form

This is normal and natural. You do not say 洗います、ふきます to connect actions in one smooth sentence.

すぐ means immediately / right away / soon. It modifies the verb ふきます.

So:

• ふきんですぐふきます = wipe them right away with a dishcloth

Its placement is flexible, but it is commonly put before the verb it modifies:

• すぐふきます
• すぐ洗います
• すぐ行きます

In this sentence, it most naturally applies to the wiping action.

Japanese often omits the subject when it is obvious from context.

So the sentence does not explicitly say:

• I wash...
• you wash...
• one washes...

Depending on context, it could mean any of these:

• I wash the dishes with a sponge and wipe them right away with a dishcloth
• You should wash the dishes with a sponge and wipe them right away
• a general instruction: Dishes are washed with a sponge and wiped immediately with a dishcloth

This omission is very normal in Japanese.

Yes. ふきん is related to ふく, the verb to wipe.

• ふく = to wipe
• ふきん = a wiping cloth, usually a dishcloth

So the vocabulary is connected in a way that can help memory:

• ふく = wipe
• ふきん = cloth used for wiping

The comma is mainly there to make the sentence easier to read and to show a pause between the two actions.

Japanese punctuation is often more flexible than English punctuation. The comma here helps separate:

• スポンジで洗って
• ふきんですぐふきます

It is useful, but not always absolutely required. You may sometimes see similar sentences written without a comma.

Yes, but the nuance would change.

• 皿はスポンジで洗って、ふきんですぐふきます。

  • As for the dishes, wash them with a sponge and wipe them right away.
  • This feels more like setting dishes as the topic.

• 皿をスポンジで洗って、ふきんですぐふきます。

  • This focuses more directly on dishes as the object of the verbs.
  • It sounds more like a straightforward description of the action.

Both are possible depending on context, but は gives a more topical, general, or contrastive feeling.

Japanese writing normally mixes scripts:

• 皿: kanji for a common noun
• は / で / って / ふきん / すぐ / ふきます: hiragana for particles, endings, and commonly hiragana-written words
• スポンジ: katakana for a loanword

This mixture is completely normal in Japanese. A single sentence often contains all three script types:

• kanji for core word meanings
• hiragana for grammar and some native words
• katakana for foreign-origin words and some special emphasis