Nettoyer is the most common way to say “to clean” in French. But there are several other options. As you learn French, you'll inevitably encounter situations where you need to talk about tidying up, doing chores, or simply making something spotless. You might want to know what to say! Let’s look at some common ways to say “to clean” (and, sometimes, more than “to clean”) in French!

The general 'to clean' – nettoyer

The general 'to clean' – nettoyer

Nettoyer is the most common and versatile French verb for 'to clean'. It implies making something tidy, spotless, or free from dirt and impurities.

While nettoyer is a regular -er verb, it has a slight spelling change in its conjugation. The 'y' changes to an 'i' before a silent 'e' in the stem, such as in je nettoie, tu nettoies, il/elle nettoie, and ils/elles nettoient. However, it remains 'y' for nous nettoyons and vous nettoyez.

Its primary use is for cleaning objects, surfaces, or places. You can nettoyer a house, a car, dishes, or a room. It's a transitive verb, meaning it generally takes a direct object.

When used reflexively as se nettoyer, it means 'to clean oneself' or 'to wash up'. For example, se nettoyer les mains means 'to wash one's hands'.

While often interchangeable in some contexts, nettoyer is a broader term than laver. Laver specifically implies cleaning with water or liquid (like washing clothes or hair), whereas nettoyer can involve various methods, including dusting, wiping, or scrubbing without necessarily using water.

You'll encounter nettoyer in various expressions, such as nettoyer à sec (to dry clean) or nettoyer le frigo (to clean out the fridge).

💡 * Je dois nettoyer ma chambre ce week-end. (I need to clean my room this weekend.)

• Elle nettoie toujours la cuisine après avoir cuisiné. (She always cleans the kitchen after cooking.)
• N'oubliez pas de vous nettoyer les dents avant de dormir. (Don't forget to brush your teeth before sleeping.)
• Le pressing nettoie les vêtements à sec. (The dry cleaner cleans clothes dry.)
• Nous allons nettoyer la voiture demain. (We are going to clean the car tomorrow.)

To wash (with water) – laver

The verb for washing (with water): laver

Laver is the fundamental French verb for “to wash.” Its core meaning always implies the use of water to clean something or someone. This makes it distinct from other cleaning verbs.

Most commonly, you'll use laver to talk about washing inanimate objects. This includes everything from clothes (laver le linge), dishes (laver la vaisselle), or a car (laver la voiture). It's a regular -er verb, making its conjugation straightforward.

When you want to say you're washing yourself or a part of your body, you'll use the reflexive form: se laver. For example, Je me lave les mains (I wash my hands) or Elle se lave (She washes herself). Remember to use the correct reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se).

Beyond basic washing, laver appears in several useful expressions. Laver le sol means 'to wash the floor,' and faire laver means 'to have something washed' (e.g., faire laver sa voiture - to have one's car washed). You might also hear laver la tête à quelqu'un (literally 'to wash someone's head') which means to tell someone off.

While laver specifically implies washing with water, another common verb, nettoyer, means 'to clean' more broadly. You might nettoyer a window with a cloth and spray, but you would laver your clothes in a washing machine. The distinction lies in the method of cleaning.

💡 *Je lave la voiture tous les samedis. (I wash the car every Saturday.)
*Il faut laver le linge sale. (One must wash the dirty laundry.)
*Nous nous lavons les mains avant de manger. (We wash our hands before eating.)
*Elle se lave les cheveux deux fois par semaine. (She washes her hair twice a week.)
*Peux-tu laver la vaisselle s'il te plaît ? (Can you wash the dishes, please?)

To scrub, to rub – frotter

The French verb frotter directly translates to 'to rub' or 'to scrub' in English. It's a regular -ER verb, making its conjugations straightforward once you know the pattern.

It's used when there's an action involving friction, whether it's cleaning a surface vigorously, applying pressure with a rubbing motion, or physically rubbing two things together.

As a transitive verb, frotter typically requires a direct object. You 'rub something' (frotter quelque chose) or 'scrub something' (frotter quelque chose).

The reflexive form, se frotter, means 'to rub oneself' or 'to rub against something/someone'. This form is very common when talking about body parts or actions like pets rubbing against a leg.

A common expression is se frotter les mains, which means 'to rub one's hands together', often in anticipation, satisfaction, or cold. Another is se frotter à quelque chose/quelqu'un, meaning 'to come up against' or 'to face' a challenge or person.

The intensity implied by frotter can vary greatly depending on the context, from a gentle rub (e.g., frotter l'épaule - to rub someone's shoulder) to a vigorous scrub (e.g., frotter le sol - to scrub the floor).

💡 * Je dois frotter le sol de la cuisine. (I need to scrub the kitchen floor.)* Elle se frotte les yeux parce qu'elle est fatiguée. (She rubs her eyes because she's tired.)* Tu peux frotter cette tache avec un chiffon humide. (You can rub this stain with a damp cloth.)* Les chats aiment se frotter contre nos jambes. (Cats like to rub against our legs.)* Il s'est frotté les mains en voyant le gâteau. (He rubbed his hands together when he saw the cake.)

To scour, to scrub thoroughly – récurer

The French verb récurer translates to "to scour" or "to scrub thoroughly" in English. It implies a vigorous and deep cleaning action.

Unlike simply laver (to wash), récurer suggests a more intensive effort to remove stubborn dirt, grime, or residue, often using an abrasive material or strong cleaning product.

You'll typically use récurer when referring to cleaning kitchen items like pots, pans, sinks, or bathroom surfaces that require a deep, restorative scrub.

💡 * Il faut récurer la casserole après avoir cuisiné. (You have to scour the pan after cooking.)

• Elle a passé la matinée à récurer la salle de bain. (She spent the morning scrubbing the bathroom thoroughly.)
• Ces vieilles poêles ont besoin d'être récurées. (These old frying pans need to be scoured.)
• Le chef a demandé de récurer toutes les surfaces de la cuisine. (The chef asked to scrub thoroughly all kitchen surfaces.)

To wipe – essuyer

The French verb essuyer primarily means 'to wipe,' 'to dry,' or 'to clean by wiping.' It's a highly practical verb for many daily actions.

Essuyer is a transitive verb, meaning it always requires a direct object. You always 'wipe something' or 'wipe yourself'.

One of its most common uses is to describe wiping or drying various surfaces, such as a table, a window, or dishes after washing them.

It's also frequently used for wiping parts of the body, like essuyer ses larmes (to wipe one's tears) or essuyer ses mains (to dry one's hands), and for cleaning objects like glasses.

When the action of wiping is performed on oneself or a part of one's own body, the reflexive form s'essuyer is used. For example, Je m'essuie les cheveux (I dry my hair).

Essuyer is an -er verb that undergoes a stem change: the 'y' becomes an 'i' before a silent 'e' in most singular and the third-person plural conjugations (e.g., j'essuie, tu essuies, il/elle essuie, ils/elles essuient), but remains 'y' for nous essuyons and vous essuyez.

💡 * Essuie la table, s'il te plaît. (Wipe the table, please.)

• Elle s'essuie les larmes avec un mouchoir. (She wipes her tears with a tissue.)
• J'ai essuyé la vaisselle après le dîner. (I dried the dishes after dinner.)
• N'oublie pas de t'essuyer les pieds avant d'entrer. (Don't forget to wipe your feet before coming in.)
• Il essuie la sueur de son front. (He wipes the sweat from his forehead.)

1. The Verb for Dusting: Dépoussiérer

The French verb dépoussiérer literally means 'to dust' or 'to remove dust from something.' It's a common and straightforward verb used for household chores or cleaning objects.

Understanding its construction helps: dé- is a prefix indicating removal or reversal, poussière means 'dust,' and -er is the common ending for first-group regular verbs. So, literally, 'to de-dust'.

Beyond its literal sense, dépoussiérer is also widely used figuratively to mean 'to refresh,' 'to update,' 'to modernize,' or 'to give a new lease of life to something old or outdated.' This is a very common and useful expression.

You'll often hear it when talking about concepts, projects, old traditions, or even a person's image. It implies making something more relevant, appealing, or efficient for the current times.

Whether you're physically cleaning a dusty shelf or metaphorically revitalizing an old idea, dépoussiérer is the perfect French verb to express the act of removing the old to make way for the new.

💡 * Il faut dépoussiérer les meubles avant l'arrivée des invités. (We need to dust the furniture before the guests arrive.)

• Cette vieille théorie a besoin d'être dépoussiérée. (This old theory needs to be dusted off / updated.)
• Nous allons dépoussiérer notre logo pour le rendre plus moderne. (We are going to update our logo to make it more modern.)
• Le nouveau directeur a dépoussiéré les méthodes de travail de l'entreprise. (The new director modernized the company's working methods.)

1. To sweep – balayer

The French verb for 'to sweep' is balayer.

It is a regular -ER verb, commonly used for sweeping floors, dust, or even metaphorically to 'sweep away' something.

When conjugating balayer, the 'y' often changes to an 'i' before a silent 'e' or 'es' ending (e.g., je balaie, tu balaies), though balaye is also acceptable in modern French.

💡 * Il faut balayer le sol. (We need to sweep the floor.)

• Elle balaie la poussière sous le tapis. (She sweeps the dust under the rug.)
• Nous balayons le garage chaque semaine. (We sweep the garage every week.)
• Le vent a balayé les feuilles mortes. (The wind swept away the dead leaves.)
• Je balaie la cuisine tous les jours. (I sweep the kitchen every day.)

To vacuum – passer l'aspirateur

The most common and direct way to say "to vacuum" in French is passer l'aspirateur.

Literally, passer l'aspirateur translates to "to pass the vacuum cleaner". This idiom perfectly captures the action of vacuuming.

The verb passer means "to pass" or "to go over", and l'aspirateur is the noun for "the vacuum cleaner". Together, they form the standard phrase.

This phrase is widely used in everyday French. Remember to conjugate the verb passer according to the subject and tense, while l'aspirateur remains unchanged.

💡 * Je dois passer l'aspirateur tous les jours. (I have to vacuum every day.)

• Elle a passé l'aspirateur dans le salon ce matin. (She vacuumed the living room this morning.)
• N'oublie pas de passer l'aspirateur avant que les invités arrivent. (Don't forget to vacuum before the guests arrive.)
• Nous passerons l'aspirateur après le dîner. (We will vacuum after dinner.)

To disinfect – désinfecter

The most common and direct way to say 'to disinfect' in French is the verb désinfecter.

Désinfecter is a regular -er verb, meaning its conjugation follows the typical pattern for verbs ending in -er. It's used transitively, meaning it always takes a direct object (you disinfect something).

You'll use désinfecter when talking about cleaning surfaces, sterilizing medical instruments, or treating a wound. It implies reducing or eliminating germs and bacteria.

Closely related is the noun un désinfectant (a disinfectant), which refers to the product used for this purpose. You might also hear un produit désinfectant (a disinfecting product).

While often used interchangeably in casual speech, it's worth noting a subtle difference: désinfecter means to reduce pathogens to a safe level, whereas stériliser implies the complete elimination of all microorganisms. For most everyday contexts, désinfecter is appropriate.

💡 *Il faut désinfecter la plaie. (You need to disinfect the wound.)
*J'ai désinfecté toutes les surfaces de la cuisine. (I disinfected all the kitchen surfaces.)
*Utilisez un désinfectant pour nettoyer les toilettes. (Use a disinfectant to clean the toilets.)
*Elle a désinfecté ses mains avec du gel hydroalcoolique. (She disinfected her hands with hand sanitizer.)
*Le dentiste désinfecte ses instruments avant chaque patient. (The dentist disinfects his instruments before each patient.)

Are there other ways to say 'to clean' in French?

Are there other ways to say 'to clean' in French?

Our list covers the most common verbs for 'to clean' in French. However, the French language is rich with nuances, and you'll find other expressions, from specialized terms to regional variations, and even slang that might not be on everyone's radar!

To explore further, you can search online for 'comment dire nettoyer en ___' followed by a specific Francophone country or region to discover local idioms and expressions.

You might encounter various interesting verbs related to 'cleaning.' Always verify a word's precise meaning and observe its usage in different contexts before incorporating it into your vocabulary.

As you immerse yourself in French media — reading, watching, and listening — pay close attention. You'll likely stumble upon diverse and interesting ways to express the act of cleaning.

For a deeper dive into verbs related to cleaning or specific cleaning tasks, the WordReference entry for nettoyer is an excellent starting point.

I hope this article has helped you understand the nuances of saying 'to clean' in French. Remember, mastering these verbs will help you keep your French vocabulary sparkling!