mullo soneul ssiseoyo.

I wash my hands with water.

Breakdown of mullo soneul ssiseoyo.

• ~을: object particle
• 물: water
• 손: hand
• 씻다: to wash

Questions & Answers about mullo soneul ssiseoyo.

Why isn't 물 marked as the direct object in this sentence? Why is 손을 the object instead?

You wash your hands, not the water. The verb 씻다 (“to wash”) takes 손 as its direct object, so you attach the object marker -을: 손을. Here, 물 indicates the means (“with water”) and is therefore not treated as the direct object.

What does the particle -로 do in 물로? When should I use -로 versus -으로?

The particle -로 marks the instrument or means (“with/by”).
• Attach -으로 after a noun ending in a consonant (except ㄹ).
• Attach -로 after a noun ending in a vowel or the consonant ㄹ.
Since 물 ends in the vowel ㅡ, it takes -로 → 물로 (“with water”).

Why is the verb 씻다 conjugated as 씻어요 and not 씻아요?

Korean verbs use either -아요 or -어요 based on the final vowel of the stem:
• If the stem ends in ㅏ or ㅗ, add -아요.
• Otherwise, add -어요.
The stem 씻- contains ㅣ, so you attach -어요 → 씻어요.