Jeg tørker hendene mine med håndkleet før jeg går ut.

hendene is definite plural: the hands.

• en hånd = a hand
• hender = hands (indefinite plural)
• hendene = the hands (definite plural)

Norwegian often prefers the definite form where English might still use a possessive: I dry my hands → Jeg tørker hendene mine (literally I dry the hands my).

Both can mean my hands, but they have different typical uses:

• hendene mine (definite noun + possessive) is very common in everyday Norwegian, especially for body parts and familiar things.
• mine hender (possessive + indefinite noun) sounds more emphatic/contrastive or stylistically marked: my hands (not yours), or more formal/poetic.

So Jeg tørker hendene mine is the natural choice here.

Norwegian allows possessives both before and after the noun:

• After: hendene mine (very common, neutral)
• Before: mine hender (more emphasis/contrast)

When the possessive comes after the noun, the noun usually appears in the definite form: hendene.

Possessives agree with the noun’s gender and number:

• min = common gender singular (min hånd)
• mitt = neuter singular (mitt hus)
• mine = plural (mine hender / hendene mine)

Since hender/hendene is plural, you use mine.

med means with. med håndkleet is with the towel.
håndkleet is definite singular (the towel):

• et håndkle = a towel
• håndkleet = the towel

In context, you often mean a specific towel (the one you’re using), so the definite form is natural.

før can introduce either:

• a clause: før jeg går ut = before I go out
• a noun phrase: før avreise = before departure

Here you’re expressing a full action (I go out), so a clause is used.

After subordinating conjunctions like før, Norwegian uses subordinate clause word order, which keeps the normal subject–verb order:

• før jeg går ut (correct)
  Not: før går jeg ut.

In main clauses, Norwegian often uses V2 word order (the verb in the second position), but subordinate clauses do not follow V2 in the same way.

Yes. Norwegian present tense covers both:

• a current action: I am drying
• a habitual/general action: I dry / I usually dry

Context decides which meaning is intended. Here, it often reads like a routine or a present-time description.

Yes, and it’s very common. For body parts, Norwegian often omits the possessive when it’s obvious whose body it is:

• Jeg tørker hendene = I dry my hands

Adding mine is still correct; it can sound slightly more explicit.

Because when the possessive comes after the noun, Norwegian normally uses the definite form of the noun:

• hendene mine (definite + possessive) ✅
• hender mine (indefinite + possessive) usually sounds wrong/unnatural in standard Norwegian.

If you want indefinite, put the possessive first: mine hender.

• en hånd (common gender) = hand
• et håndkle (neuter) = towel

That’s why you get:

• hendene (plural definite of hånd)
• håndkleet (singular definite of håndkle)