How to say "laundry" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 洗濯せんたくnoun, suru verb, transitive verbCovers the act or task of washing clothes: doing the laundry. Use it when talking about washing itself, as in doing laundry on the weekend, rather than the pile of items.
- nounA loanword for a laundry as a place or business, such as a coin laundry, or for laundry services. It refers to the facility or service, not the household chore or the dirty clothes themselves.
- 洗い物あらいものnounMeans things to be washed, but in practice it most often refers to dirty dishes in the sink. It is a marginal choice for laundry; it really points to washing-up rather than clothes.
- 洗濯物せんたくものnounRefers to the laundry itself: the clothes that need washing, are being washed, or have been washed and hung out. Use it for the pile or load of washing, not the activity.
Use 洗濯 for the activity of washing clothes, 洗濯物 for the clothes awaiting or undergoing washing, 「ランドリー」 for a laundry business or facility, and 「洗い物」 mainly for dishes.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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