Cleaning & Organizing Terms

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TL;DR: Today's words cover household chores: 청소 (cleaning), 정리 (organizing/tidying), 빨래 (laundry), 쓰레기 (trash), and 설거지 (dishwashing). These are the everyday tasks that keep a home running smoothly.

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Iru Helper Note: Now that your closet is full of clothes, someone has to keep the place tidy! 청소, 정리, 빨래, 쓰레기, and 설거지 are the core words for talking about chores. Once your home is spotless, the next lesson, <mention-page url="

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Electronic Devices: Apple & Tech">, shifts to electronics and tech — including the gadgets that help with chores, like robot vacuums! Quick example using all five: 오늘은 청소, 정리, 빨래, 설거지를 다 하고 쓰레기도 버렸어요. (Today I did the cleaning, organizing, laundry, and dishes, and also threw out the trash.)

🎯 Big Picture

청소, 정리, 빨래, 쓰레기, and 설거지 are five essential words for talking about housework. Most of them pair with 하다 to form action verbs (청소하다, 정리하다, 빨래하다, 설거지하다), while 쓰레기 pairs with 버리다 (to throw away).

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 청소 (Cleaning)

청소 means cleaning.

방을 청소했어요. (I cleaned my room.)

청소를 도와줄 수 있어요? (Can you help with the cleaning?)

Grammar note: 청소 (淸掃) is Sino-Korean, paired with 하다 to form 청소하다 (to clean).

2. 정리 (Organizing / Tidying)

정리 means organizing or tidying up.

책상을 정리했어요. (I organized my desk.)

정리 정돈을 잘하면 마음도 편해져요. (When you keep things organized, your mind feels at ease too.)

Grammar note: 정리 (整理) is Sino-Korean, paired with 하다 to form 정리하다 (to organize/tidy up). Often combined with 정돈 as 정리정돈 ("organizing and tidying").

3. 빨래 (Laundry)

빨래 means laundry — both the clothes and the activity.

빨래를 했어요. (I did the laundry.)

빨래를 널었어요. (I hung the laundry out to dry.)

Grammar note: 빨래 is native Korean, paired with 하다 (빨래하다, to do laundry), or with 널다 (to hang) and 걷다 (to take down/in — a ㄷ-irregular verb: 걷다 → 걸어요).

4. 쓰레기 (Trash)

쓰레기 means trash or garbage.

쓰레기를 버려요. (I throw out the trash.)

쓰레기통이 가득 찼어요. (The trash can is full.)

Grammar note: 쓰레기 is native Korean. Unlike the other words here, it does NOT pair with 하다 — instead, use 쓰레기를 버리다 (to throw away trash). 쓰레기통 = trash can (쓰레기 + 통).

5. 설거지 (Dishwashing)

설거지 means washing the dishes.

설거지를 했어요. (I did the dishes.)

저녁을 먹고 설거지를 도와줬어요. (I helped with the dishes after dinner.)

Grammar note: 설거지 is native Korean, paired with 하다 to form 설거지하다 (to wash the dishes).

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

주말에는 청소와 정리를 해요. (On weekends, I do cleaning and organizing.)

빨래를 하고 설거지도 했어요. (I did the laundry and also washed the dishes.)

청소 후에 쓰레기를 버렸어요. (After cleaning, I threw out the trash.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

청소/정리/빨래/설거지 + 하다: 청소하다, 정리하다, 빨래하다, 설거지하다 — all become action verbs with 하다.

쓰레기를 버리다 = to throw out trash — 쓰레기 does not take 하다.

빨래를 널다 (hang laundry to dry) vs. 빨래를 걷다 (take laundry down/in) — opposite actions using the ㄷ-irregular verb 걷다 (걷다 → 걸어요).

정리정돈 = a fixed phrase combining 정리 (organizing) and 정돈 (tidying), often used together for emphasis.

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Cross-check: Search 청소, 정리, 빨래, 쓰레기, and 설거지 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary) for full definitions and example sentences.

🔁 Synonym Alert

정리 vs. 청소 — 정리 means organizing/putting things in order (tidying clutter), while 청소 means cleaning (removing dirt/dust, sweeping, mopping). You can 정리 without 청소, and vice versa.

쓰레기 vs. 음식물 쓰레기 — 쓰레기 is general trash, while 음식물 쓰레기 specifically means food waste, which is sorted separately in Korean recycling systems.

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

정리 (organizing/tidying) ≠ 청소 (cleaning/removing dirt) — they're related but distinct activities.

쓰레기 doesn't pair with 하다 — say 쓰레기를 버리다 (to throw away trash), not 쓰레기하다.

빨래 can mean both "laundry" (the clothes) and "doing laundry" (the activity) — context determines which.

Don't mix up 빨래를 널다 (hang laundry) and 빨래를 걷다 (take laundry down) — opposite actions.

설거지 specifically means washing dishes — don't confuse it with 청소 (general cleaning) or 빨래 (laundry).

이제 청소, 정리, 빨래, 쓰레기, 설거지로 집안일을 표현해 보세요! 🧹🧺

Try this exercise

방을 ___했어요. (cleaning)

책상을 ___했어요. (organizing)

___를 했어요. (laundry)

___를 버려요. (trash)

___를 했어요. (dishwashing)

___를 도와줄 수 있어요? (cleaning)

___ 정돈을 잘하면 마음도 편해져요. (organizing)

___를 널었어요. (laundry)

___통이 가득 찼어요. (trash)

저녁을 먹고 ___를 도와줬어요. (dishwashing)

Answer Key

청소

정리

빨래

쓰레기

설거지

청소

정리

빨래

쓰레기

설거지

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Vocabulary Box: 청소 (cleaning) · 정리 (organizing) · 빨래 (laundry) · 쓰레기 (trash) · 설거지 (dishwashing)

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Pitfalls Recap: 정리 ≠ 청소 · 쓰레기를 버리다 not 쓰레기하다 · 빨래 = laundry or doing laundry · 빨래를 널다 vs 걷다 · 설거지 = dishes specifically.

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 more chore-related words and 5 extra exercises!

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Bonus Round! Here are 10 more chore-related words to round out your housework vocabulary: 걸레 (rag/cleaning cloth) · 청소기 (vacuum cleaner) · 세탁기 (washing machine) · 분리수거 (recycling/sorting trash) · 정돈 (tidying) · 닦다 (to wipe) · 버리다 (to throw away) · 치우다 (to clean up/put away) · 가사 (housework) · 먼지 (dust).

Exercise 1 — Chore Vocabulary Match 🧹

___로 바닥을 닦았어요. (rag)

___로 청소하면 빨라요. (vacuum cleaner)

___를 돌려서 빨래를 했어요. (washing machine)

페트병은 ___해야 해요. (recycling)

방 ___을 끝냈어요. (tidying)

창문을 ___았어요. (wipe, past)

안 입는 옷은 ___렸어요. (throw away, past)

책상 위를 ___웠어요. (clean up/put away, past)

주말에는 ___를 도와요. (housework)

선반에 ___가 많아요. (dust)

Answer Key

걸레

청소기

세탁기

분리수거

정돈

치우

가사

먼지

Exercise 2 — Sentence Building ✍️

I wiped the floor with a rag.

The vacuum cleaner is broken.

I ran the washing machine.

We need to recycle the bottles.

I finished tidying up.

I wiped the window.

I threw away old clothes.

I cleaned up the desk.

I help with housework on weekends.

There's a lot of dust on the shelf.

Answer Key

걸레로 바닥을 닦았어요.

청소기가 고장 났어요.

세탁기를 돌렸어요.

병을 분리수거해야 해요.

정돈을 끝냈어요.

창문을 닦았어요.

오래된 옷을 버렸어요.

책상을 치웠어요.

주말에는 가사를 도와요.

선반에 먼지가 많아요.

Exercise 3 — Conjugation Practice 🔁

매일 방을 ___. (청소하다)

책상을 ___. (정리하다)

세탁기를 ___. (돌리다)

빨래를 ___. (널다)

마른 빨래를 ___. (걷다)

창문을 ___. (닦다)

쓰레기를 ___. (버리다)

책을 책장에 ___. (치우다)

설거지를 ___. (하다, past)

페트병을 ___. (분리수거하다)

Answer Key

청소해요

정리해요

돌려요

널어요

걷어요

닦아요

버려요

치워요

했어요

분리수거해요

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Quick Reference: 청소=cleaning · 정리=organizing · 빨래=laundry · 쓰레기=trash · 설거지=dishwashing — bonus words: 걸레=rag · 청소기=vacuum cleaner · 세탁기=washing machine · 분리수거=recycling · 정돈=tidying · 닦다=to wipe · 버리다=to throw away · 치우다=to clean up · 가사=housework · 먼지=dust.

Exercise 4 — Daily Routine Fill-in 🗓️

아침에 일어나서 방을 ___해요. (organizing)

그 다음 거실을 ___해요. (cleaning)

___로 바닥의 먼지를 닦아요. (rag)

___를 돌려서 빨래를 해요. (washing machine)

빨래를 너는 동안 ___를 해요. (dishwashing)

설거지를 끝내고 ___를 버려요. (trash)

페트병은 따로 ___해요. (recycling)

___로 먼지를 없애요. (vacuum cleaner)

___정돈을 끝내면 마음이 편해요. (organizing)

가족이 다 같이 ___를 도와요. (housework)

Answer Key

정리

청소

걸레

세탁기

설거지

쓰레기

분리수거

청소기

정리

가사

Exercise 5 — Verb Collocation Matching 🔗

Match each noun to the verb it's most often paired with.

청소

정리

빨래

쓰레기

설거지

먼지

세탁기

분리수거

걸레

Answer Key

하다

하다

널다

버리다

하다

닦다

돌리다

하다

빨다

치우다

집안일 어휘를 마스터했어요! 다음 레슨에서는 전자기기 단어들을 배워볼게요 💻📱