Breakdown of קח את התרופה הזאת אחרי הארוחה, ואל תשכח לשתות מים.
Questions & Answers about קח את התרופה הזאת אחרי הארוחה, ואל תשכח לשתות מים.
קח is the masculine singular imperative form of לקחת (to take). It is used when speaking to one male.
- to one male: קח
- to one female: קחי
- to a group: קחו
So this sentence is directed to a male singular listener.
In Hebrew, את marks a definite direct object. It does not mean anything by itself in English, but it tells you that the noun after it is the specific thing being acted on.
Here, התרופה הזאת means this medicine, which is definite, so Hebrew uses את:
- קח את התרופה הזאת = Take this medicine
Because את is normally used only before a definite direct object. In this sentence, מים means water in a general, non-specific sense, so את is not used.
Compare:
- לשתות מים = to drink water
- לשתות את המים = to drink the water / to drink that specific water
When Hebrew uses a demonstrative like this or that directly with a noun, the usual order is:
noun + demonstrative
So:
- התרופה הזאת = this medicine
- הספר הזה = this book
זאת התרופה usually sounds like This is the medicine rather than simply this medicine.
In Hebrew, when a noun is modified by this/that, the noun still normally takes the definite article ה־.
So Hebrew says:
- התרופה הזאת = this medicine
- האיש הזה = this man
This is just standard Hebrew structure. Unlike English, the demonstrative does not replace the definite article here.
Literally, אחרי הארוחה means after the meal. Hebrew often uses the definite article in places where English may sound more general.
In context, this usually means:
- after the relevant meal
- after eating
- after your meal
In medication instructions, that is very natural Hebrew.
Hebrew commonly forms a negative command with:
אַל + future-tense form
So:
- תשכח by itself = you will forget
- אל תשכח = don’t forget
The ו־ at the beginning means and, so:
- ואל תשכח = and don’t forget
This is also masculine singular, matching קח.
Because Hebrew often attaches short function words directly to the next word. The letter ו־ means and, and it is written as a prefix.
So:
- ו + אל becomes ואל
This is very common in Hebrew:
- ומים = and water
- והתרופה = and the medicine
לשתות is the infinitive to drink, from the verb לשתות (to drink).
After verbs like לשכוח / שכח (to forget), Hebrew often uses an infinitive:
- אל תשכח לשתות = don’t forget to drink
The ל־ here is part of the infinitive form, like to in English to drink.
מים is one of several Hebrew nouns that have a plural-looking form but are used as a mass noun. It simply means water.
So even though it looks plural, you should usually just learn it as the normal word for water:
- מים = water
Another common example is שמיים = sky / heavens.
A common transliteration is:
Kakh et ha-trufa ha-zot, akharei ha-arukha, ve'al tishkakh lishtot mayim.
A rough pronunciation guide:
- קח = kakh (with a throaty kh, like in Bach or loch)
- התרופה = ha-troo-FA
- הזאת = ha-ZOT
- אחרי = a-kha-REI
- הארוחה = ha-a-roo-KHA
- ואל תשכח = ve-AL tish-KAKH
- לשתות מים = lish-TOT MA-yim
Yes. In spoken Hebrew, people often use future forms instead of the true imperative, especially in casual speech.
So alongside קח, you may also hear:
- תיקח את התרופה הזאת...
But in instructions, directions, and written language, the imperative קח is completely normal and natural.