Key Facts
- 빨래 (ppallae) means laundry.
- Part of speech: noun; origin: native.
- Register: Neutral everyday word.
- Level: A1.
Laundry in Korean: What Does 빨래 Mean?
빨래 covers both the act of washing clothes and the laundry itself. It is a neutral everyday word. It is a native word with no Chinese roots, so it feels homely rather than technical.
How Do You Pronounce 빨래?
The double ㅃ is a tense consonant: press the lips together and release with no puff of air. Then ㄹㄹ in the middle merges into a long l, so the word sounds like ppal-lae.
How Do You Use 빨래 in a Sentence?
빨래를 해요.
I do the laundry.
ppallaereul haeyo. With 를 and 해요, the noun becomes a chore: do the laundry. This is how most people state that they are washing clothes today.
빨래가 다 말랐어요.
The laundry is all dry.
ppallaega da mallasseoyo. The subject marker 가 goes on 빨래 and 다 means all. 말랐어요 is the past of drying, so this is what you say when the clothes are finished.
빨래를 널어요.
I hang up the laundry.
ppallaereul neoreoyo. 널어요 is the verb for hanging things out to dry. It pairs with 빨래 on a rack or a line.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 빨래를 하다 | to do the laundry |
| 빨래를 널다 | to hang the laundry |
| 빨래를 개다 | to fold the laundry |
| 빨래를 걷다 | to take down the laundry |
Each collocation is a step in the chore: do it, hang it, take it down, fold it. They all take the object marker 를 after 빨래, and the verbs change but 빨래 stays put.
Common Mistake
English has one verb, "wash", so learners reach for 씻다.
- Wrong: 씻다 for clothes
- Right: 빨다, or 빨래하다 (to do the laundry)
씻다 is for body parts and dishes. Wash your hands with 씻다, but wash a shirt with 빨다.
How Does 빨래 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 빨래 |
|---|---|---|
| 세탁 | laundering (formal) | More formal and technical. You will see it in the shop name 세탁소. |
| 빨다 | to wash (clothes) | The verb itself. 빨래 is the thing, 빨다 is the action. |
Sharing the Chores before It Rains
Two housemates have finished washing their clothes. They decide who will hang them up and check the weather.
Mina
빨래 다 했어요?
Ppallae da haesseoyo?
Have you finished doing the laundry?
Alex
네. 이제 널 거예요.
Ne. Ije neol geoyeyo.
Yes. I’m going to hang it up now.
Mina
오늘 비가 와요. 안에 널어요.
Oneul biga wayo. Ane neoreoyo.
It’s going to rain today. Let’s hang it indoors.
Alex
좋아요. 제가 널게요.
Joayo. Jega neolgeyo.
Good. I’ll hang it up.
빨래 다 했어요 leaves out 를 in a natural spoken question. The later lines omit 빨래 altogether because both housemates know what they are hanging up. 널 거예요 states a plan; 널게요 offers to take care of the task. The chore has moved from washing to drying.
Where Will You Hear 빨래 or See 세탁?
At home, 빨래 is the everyday word for the chore and the clothes involved. 빨래가 많다 means there is a lot of laundry. The pile may still need washing; the phrase does not tell you which stage the chore has reached. 빨래가 다 말랐어요, by contrast, specifically says the clothes are dry.
On washing-machine controls, clothing labels and service notices, 세탁 is common. 손세탁 means hand washing, and 드라이클리닝 means dry cleaning. These labels identify a washing method. The everyday word 빨래 remains natural when you talk about the chore afterward; you do not need to copy the label’s wording into every conversation.
A 세탁소 is a laundry or dry-cleaning shop. A 빨래방 is a laundromat, often with machines customers use themselves. If you need a service rather than a machine, check what the shop offers. The name alone does not identify every service or every garment it accepts.
Follow the Laundry from Basket to Cupboard
빨래를 하다 covers doing the washing. 빨래를 널다 means spreading or hanging the washed items so they can dry. It works for an indoor rack as well as an outdoor line. The verb describes the arrangement of the clothes, so hanging laundry does not require sunshine or a garden.
빨래를 걷다 means collecting the laundry from where it was drying. 걷다 here is the laundry verb, rather than the walking meaning you may have learned first. 빨래를 개다 means folding it. Taking clothes down and folding them are separate steps; saying one does not promise the other is finished.
빨래가 밀리다 means laundry has piled up because the chore has been put off. The phrase is about a backlog of washing. It does not describe clothes being physically pushed across the floor. This is a useful expression when explaining why a small everyday chore has become a large job.
Laundry Equipment and Supplies
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 세탁기 | washing machine | The appliance that washes the clothes. |
| 세제 | detergent | In a laundry context, the washing product. |
| 건조대 | drying rack | A place to hang laundry indoors or outside. |
| 건조기 | dryer | A machine for drying; different from a rack. |
The cleaning and laundry lesson teaches the equipment alongside other household chores. 건조대 and 건조기 are especially useful to distinguish when asking what an apartment provides.
A drying rack and a dryer also change which action you need to describe. 널다 suits arranging clothes on the rack. It does not mean loading clothes into the dryer. The equipment name helps the listener understand how the laundry will dry.
Quick Self-Test
- Which phrase means folding laundry: 빨래를 널다 or 빨래를 개다?
- Does 빨래를 걷다 mean walking with laundry?
- What is the difference between 건조대 and 건조기?
Show answers
- 빨래를 개다. 널다 means hanging it up to dry.
- No. It means taking the laundry down from where it was drying.
- 건조대 is a drying rack; 건조기 is a dryer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does 빨래 Mean?
Laundry or the washing of clothes.
How Do I Say I Do the Laundry?
Say 빨래를 해요.
Can I Use 씻다 for Clothes?
No. Use 빨다 for clothes and 씻다 for body parts and dishes.
What Is the Formal Word?
세탁, as in 세탁소.
Where to Go Next
Browse the full cleaning and laundry vocabulary list for the rest of the chores.