Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado.

Here it means to wait.

The verb esperar can mean both to wait and to hope, so context matters:

• Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado = I wait until the wash cycle finishes
• Espero que termine el ciclo de lavado = I hope the wash cycle finishes

The key difference is the structure:

• esperar + hasta que... = to wait until...
• esperar que... = to hope that...

Because hasta que is used before a conjugated verb.

Here, termine is a conjugated verb, so you need que:

• hasta que termine el ciclo = until the cycle finishes

If what follows is just a noun or time expression, then que is not used:

• hasta el final
• hasta mañana
• hasta el ciclo final

So a simple way to remember it is:

• hasta + noun/time
• hasta que + verb

Termine is the present subjunctive form of terminar.

In this sentence, it is the third-person singular form, because the subject is el ciclo de lavado:

• que termine el ciclo de lavado = that the wash cycle finish / finishes

Even though termine can also look like the usted command form of terminar, that is not what it is here. In this sentence, it is clearly a subjunctive form inside a clause introduced by hasta que.

Because the action after hasta que is still pending, not completed yet, or in the future from the speaker’s point of view.

The speaker is waiting now, and the cycle has not finished yet. Spanish usually uses the subjunctive after hasta que in that situation.

So:

• Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado = I am waiting up to the point when it finishes

The important idea is not doubt in the English sense. It is more about the event being anticipated rather than already completed.

Not in this sentence as it stands.

Espero hasta que termina el ciclo de lavado sounds wrong or at least nonstandard for the intended meaning, because the cycle has not finished yet.

With hasta que, Spanish normally uses:

• subjunctive for a future or pending action
• indicative for a completed or factual action

So compare:

• Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado.
  The cycle has not finished yet.

• Esperé hasta que terminó el ciclo de lavado.
  I waited until the cycle finished.

That second sentence uses the indicative because the event is presented as completed.

Because Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

• Espero already means I wait
• You do not need yo unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity

So both are possible:

• Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado
• Yo espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado

The version without yo is the more neutral and natural one.

Both word orders are possible.

• hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado
• hasta que el ciclo de lavado termine

The first one often sounds more natural in everyday Spanish, especially with an inanimate subject like el ciclo de lavado.

Spanish word order is more flexible than English. Putting the verb before the subject in subordinate clauses is very common and does not change the basic meaning.

So this is mostly a matter of normal Spanish style, not a different translation.

There are two useful things to notice here:

1. ciclo is a masculine noun, so it takes el

   • el ciclo

2. de lavado describes what kind of cycle it is

   • ciclo de lavado = wash cycle / washing cycle

Spanish often uses noun + de + noun where English might use a noun as an adjective:

• ciclo de lavado
• máquina de café
• taza de té

So de lavado is a very normal way to say washing / wash as a type or category.

Because lavado here works as a noun meaning something like washing or wash.

• ciclo de lavado = wash cycle

Spanish often uses a noun after de to label a type of thing. In this expression, lavado is the standard choice.

Other forms would not fit as naturally here:

• de lavar would sound like for washing or would suggest purpose in a different structure
• lavando is a gerund, like washing, and does not normally work in this kind of fixed label

So ciclo de lavado is the standard expression.

Not if you want the same idea.

• hasta que termine = until it finishes
• cuando termine = when it finishes

With esperar, the idea is that you continue waiting up to that point, so hasta que is the natural choice.

• Espero hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado = I wait until the wash cycle finishes

Using cuando would change the structure and meaning. It would not express the full idea of waiting up to a certain endpoint in the same way.

It can work for either, depending on context.

It may mean:

• I’m waiting until the wash cycle finishes
  a current situation

or

• I wait until the wash cycle finishes
  a habitual action

The present tense espero can cover both ideas in Spanish, just as the English present sometimes can. Context usually tells you which one is meant.

If you wanted to make the ongoing action more explicit, Spanish could also use:

• Estoy esperando hasta que termine el ciclo de lavado

But in many everyday situations, simple espero is perfectly natural.