Using le, la, les with body parts and clothing (definite articles)

Unlike in English, when referring to someone's own body parts (or own pieces of clothing, such as pockets, clothes...), in French the definite article (le,la,l',les) is used rather than the possessive adjective (ma,mon, sa, son etc).

Learn how to use the French definite articles with body parts and clothing

NOTE: You can also use the reflexive version of the verb when it exists (laver = to wash -> se laver = to wash oneself) to make the owner more clear:

ATTENTION: Using the reflexive form doesn't work systematically, especially when the reflexive form has a different meaning to the simple form, like lever = to lift/raise  vs  se lever = to get up.
In this case, you'll simply use the verb lever with the definite article: for French people, the possessive meaning would be obvious, unless a clear context states otherwise.

Note that it applies also to animals' bodies:

As usual, there are special cases that don't follow that rule:
See Special cases when you use mon/ma/mes/etc with parts of the body (French Possessive Adjectives) .