במרשם כתוב לקחת את התרופה אחרי הארוחה.

במרשם means in the prescription or on the prescription.

It is made of:

• ב־ = in / on / at
• מרשם = prescription

In English, we often say on the prescription, but Hebrew commonly uses ב־ in places where English might use in, on, or at.

Here כתוב literally means written, but in this kind of sentence it works like it says / it is written.

So במרשם כתוב... is a very common Hebrew pattern meaning:

• it is written on the prescription...
• or more naturally, the prescription says...

It is often used impersonally, without stating a subject. Hebrew does this a lot.

לקחת means to take.

After כתוב, Hebrew often uses an infinitive to say what is written that someone should do:

• כתוב לקחת... = it says to take...

This is similar to English:

• The instructions say to take the medicine...

So the infinitive is completely natural here.

את is the Hebrew direct object marker.

It appears before a definite direct object, usually one with ה־ (the).

So:

• לקחת תרופה = to take a medicine
• לקחת את התרופה = to take the medicine

Important: את usually is not translated into English. It just marks the object grammatically.

התרופה means the medicine.

The prefix ה־ is the definite article, equivalent to the in English.

In this sentence, it refers to a specific medicine already known from the prescription, so Hebrew uses the definite form:

• תרופה = a medicine
• התרופה = the medicine

אחרי הארוחה means after the meal.

Because of ה־, it sounds like a specific or understood meal. In practical instructions, this often functions like English after meals / after food / after a meal, depending on context.

Compare:

• אחרי ארוחה = after a meal
• אחרי הארוחה = after the meal

In medical instructions, Hebrew often uses the definite form where English might be a bit looser.

Grammatically, it literally means after the meal. But in real-life usage, especially in medical instructions, it often means after eating or after a meal.

So the exact meaning depends on context:

• literally: after the meal
• practically: after food / after eating

A learner should know both the literal grammar and the natural intended meaning.

Yes. That is a very close literal translation.

Word by word:

• במרשם = in/on the prescription
• כתוב = written / it says
• לקחת = to take
• את התרופה = the medicine
• אחרי הארוחה = after the meal

But in natural English, you would more likely say:

• The prescription says to take the medicine after meals
• or The prescription says to take the medicine after food

Yes, very common.

Hebrew often prefers this kind of structure:

• במכתב כתוב... = the letter says...
• בשלט כתוב... = the sign says...
• בהודעה כתוב... = the message says...

Literally these are more like it is written in/on..., but in everyday English we usually translate them as ... says.

Yes. Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible.

For example:

• במרשם כתוב לקחת את התרופה אחרי הארוחה
• כתוב במרשם לקחת את התרופה אחרי הארוחה

Both are possible.

Starting with במרשם emphasizes where the instruction appears:

• On the prescription, it says...

Starting with כתוב emphasizes the fact that it is written:

• It says in the prescription...

הארוחה is pronounced approximately ha-arukha.

Because the word begins with ה־ + a noun that starts with a guttural sound, you hear a slight break:

• ה + ארוחה
• ha-a-ru-kha

So it is not pronounced as one smooth English-like syllable. There is a noticeable ha-a sequence.

It is normal and very common in everyday Hebrew.

However, in more formal medical language, you may also see:

• ליטול = to take (more formal, especially for medicine)

So:

• לקחת את התרופה = everyday and very common
• ליטול את התרופה = more formal / medical style

Both are correct, but לקחת is very natural.

Good question. Some short Hebrew prepositions can attach directly to the definite article:

• ב + ה → ב
• ל + ה → ל
• כ + ה → כ

But אחרי is a full word, not one of those short prefixed prepositions, so the article stays separate:

• אחרי הארוחה not a merged form.

So this is completely regular:

• אחרי = after
• הארוחה = the meal

Yes — it is a very useful Hebrew pattern for reading instructions.

The structure is:

[place/text source] + כתוב + infinitive/action

Examples:

• במתכון כתוב להוסיף סוכר = the recipe says to add sugar
• בהוראות כתוב לחכות עשר דקות = the instructions say to wait ten minutes
• במרשם כתוב לקחת את התרופה אחרי הארוחה = the prescription says to take the medicine after the meal

So this sentence is valuable not just for vocabulary, but also as a model for many everyday Hebrew instruction sentences.