Short answer
For wudu it does not matter: both urine and discharge break it. For your clothes it does: urine is impure, while ordinary discharge is pure on Imam Abu Hanifa's view. Wetness after using the toilet is often discharge or leftover water. Do not treat it as urine unless you are sure, and if it never stops, ask about the rules for an excused person.
Anything leaving the private parts breaks wudu. Urine is a heavy impurity: more than the area of a dirham (about the hollow of the palm) on clothes invalidates the prayer. Normal vaginal discharge is pure on the Imam's view, which many muftis follow. Doubt does not override certainty, so uncertain wetness is not ruled as urine.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Many women notice wetness after urinating and cannot tell whether it is a drop of urine, discharge, or water left from washing. The Hanafi rules make this simpler than it feels.
For wudu:
- Urine, discharge and arousal fluid all break wudu once they reach the outer part washed in istinja. If something came out after your wudu, renew it.
- A feeling that something might have come out is not enough. The Prophet ﷺ told a man who felt something in prayer not to leave until he heard a sound or noticed a smell, that is, until he was sure.
For clothes and prayer:
- Urine is impure. In the Hanafi school, urine on your clothes larger than a dirham, about the hollow of your palm, invalidates the prayer; less than that is excused but should still be washed.
- Ordinary discharge is pure on the Imam's view, so it does not need washing before prayer.
- Unsure which it is: you are not required to treat it as urine. Washing is better if it is easy.
Tips. After urinating, wait a moment, wash, then pat dry, so leftover water is not mistaken for discharge. A thin liner you change before prayer saves worry. If wetness keeps coming so that you cannot keep wudu long enough to pray the fard in its time, you are ma'dhur (excused); the method is in what is istihadah. If doubts keep pulling you back, that is waswasa: hold to what you are sure of and ignore the rest. See does discharge break wudu and urine or blood on clothes.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًۭا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
Purity rules are not meant to be a hardship.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:286
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
No one is burdened beyond what they can bear.
Sahih al-Bukhari 137
Sahih... لا ينصرف حتى يسمع صوتا أو يجد ريحا ...
"He should not leave until he hears a sound or finds a smell."
Certainty is not removed by doubt.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on impurities and cleaning them. Heavy impurity beyond a dirham's area prevents the prayer.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on impurities. Moisture of the vagina is pure according to Abu Hanifa.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.