Italian · Everyday Verbs

"to clean" in Italian: pulire

pulire

Say it: poo-LEE-rehverb/puˈli.re/

To clean in Italian is pulire (poo-LEE-reh). Io pulisco, tu pulisci, lui/lei pulisce. Pulito is the past participle and also the adjective clean.

Morning chores

Pulisco la cucina prima di uscire.
I clean the kitchen before going out.
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How to pronounce pulire

Say it

poo-LEE-reh

/puˈli.re/

Pulire stresses LEE: poo-LEE-reh. Pulisco is poo-LEE-skoh.

"to clean" in Italian: quick reference

ItalianEnglish
pulireto clean

Infinitive.

pulisco / pulisci / pulisceI clean / you clean / he-she cleans

Present singular.

puliamowe clean

Shared chores.

pulitocleaned

Past participle.

How to use pulire in real life

  1. 1Morning chores

    Pulisco la cucina prima di uscire.

    I clean the kitchen before going out.

    Pulisco.

  2. 2Asking a roommate

    Pulisci il bagno oggi, per favore?

    Will you clean the bathroom today, please?

    Pulisci.

  3. 3After guests leave

    Abbiamo pulito tutto il salotto.

    We cleaned the whole living room.

    Pulito.

Mistakes English speakers make with pulire

Incorrect: Io pulire la casa.

Correct: Pulisco la casa.

Conjugate: io pulisco.

Incorrect: Faccio la pulizia la stanza. (as the verb)

Correct: Pulisco la stanza.

Pulizia is the noun cleaning; pulire is the verb.

Good to know

Weekend pulire sessions are a classic flatmate negotiation. Saying pulisco io is peacekeeping currency.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Dividing flat chores

  1. ChatPal

    Chi pulisce il bagno questa settimana?

    Who cleans the bathroom this week?

  2. You

    Pulisco io il bagno, tu fai i piatti.

    I'll clean the bathroom, you do the dishes.

  3. ChatPal

    Ok. Poi puliamo insieme il corridoio.

    Ok. Then we clean the hallway together.

  4. You

    Va bene, dopo pranzo.

    Fine, after lunch.

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"to clean" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to clean" in Italian

How do I say I clean?

Pulisco.

He cleans?

Pulisce.

Past?

Ho pulito.

Pulire vs pulito?

Pulire is the verb; pulito can be cleaned or the adjective clean.

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