Learn Italian: Perché ti pettini senza lo specchio? - Why do you comb your hair without the mirror?

The verb pettinare means "to comb". To say you comb your own hair, Italian uses a reflexive verb, pettinarsi (to comb oneself). Since the sentence is about "you", the reflexive pronoun changes to ti and goes right before the conjugated verb.

Where is the word for "hair" in this sentence?

There isn't one! In Italian, when you use a reflexive verb for a daily grooming routine like pettinarsi (to comb oneself), the body part is already implied. Saying ti pettini perfectly translates to "you comb your hair" without needing extra words.

Why is the definite article lo instead of il before specchio?

In Italian, singular masculine nouns normally use il for "the". But because specchio starts with an "s" followed by another consonant (the letter "p"), you must use lo instead. This is a special rule to make the words flow better when spoken together.

Can perché mean both "why" and "because"?

Yes! In Italian, perché does double duty. At the start of a question like this one, it means "why". If you were answering the question, you would also use perché to mean "because".