ich putze mir die Zähne
The German phrase for "I brush my teeth" is ich putze mir die Zähne.
This phrase describes the act of cleaning one's teeth with a toothbrush.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "I clean to-me the teeth".
How does it change in a sentence?
In this phrase, the dative pronoun mir (to me / for myself) is used to indicate that the action is being performed on one's own body parts. Additionally, instead of using a possessive pronoun like "my", German speakers typically use the definite article die (the) when referring to body parts in this context.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying ich putze meine Zähne. While this is grammatically possible, it sounds unnatural to native speakers. You should use the dative reflexive construction ich putze mir die Zähne instead.
Did you know?
- Using meine Zähne (my teeth) instead of die Zähne (the teeth) can sound as if you are cleaning a set of teeth that do not belong to your own head.
- In German, you do not 'brush' teeth with a 'brush' verb, but 'clean' them. The word for toothbrush, Zahnbürste, contains the word 'brush', but the action itself is putzen (to clean).
- In some German dialects and Yiddish, mir can mean 'we' instead of 'me', resulting from an old contraction of wir.
Examples in context
- Ich putze mir die Zähne, ich kämme mich.I brush my teeth, I comb my hair.This sentence is useful for seeing how to express multiple personal grooming actions, using ich putze mir die Zähne.Tatoeba #797877 by Hans_Adler, translation #436493 by lukaszpp
- Gestern habe ich mir einfach die Zähne geputzt und dann Netflix geschaut.Yesterday, I just brushed my teeth and watched Netflix.
Example conversation
A morning routine discussion between two roommates.
- SarahJulian, putzt du dir schon die Zähne?Julian, are you brushing your teeth already?
- JulianNein, ich putze mir die Zähne erst später.No, I will brush my teeth later.
- SarahIch putze mir die Zähne direkt nach dem Aufstehen.I brush my teeth right after waking up.
- JulianDas ist eine gute Gewohnheit, Sarah.That is a good habit, Sarah.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries die, ich, mir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
