המדיח עוד עובד, ולכן אני לא יכולה לשים את הכוסות במדיח עכשיו.

A natural translation would be:

The dishwasher is still running, so I can’t put the cups in the dishwasher right now.

A few small nuances:

• המדיח עוד עובד = the dishwasher is still working/running
• ולכן = and therefore / so
• אני לא יכולה = I can’t (said by a female speaker)
• לשים את הכוסות במדיח עכשיו = put the cups in the dishwasher now/right now

Here, עוד means still.

So:

• המדיח עוד עובד = The dishwasher is still running

This is a very common everyday use of עוד in spoken Hebrew.

Important: עוד can also mean other things in different contexts, such as:

• more
• another
• else / additional

But in this sentence, the meaning is clearly still.

Yes. You could say:

המדיח עדיין עובד

This also means The dishwasher is still running.

The difference is mostly one of style:

• עוד is very common and natural in everyday speech
• עדיין is also common, but can sound a little more neutral or slightly more formal depending on context

In this sentence, both work well.

Because in Hebrew, עובד often means that a machine is working, operating, or running.

So:

• המדיח עובד literally = the dishwasher works / is working
• in natural English, for a dishwasher that is currently on, we usually say is running

So this is a case where the most natural English translation is a little different from the most literal word-for-word translation.

Hebrew often uses the verb לעבוד for both:

• people working
• machines working / operating

Examples:

• אני עובד = I work / I am working
• המחשב עובד = The computer is working
• המזגן לא עובד = The air conditioner isn’t working

So המדיח עוד עובד is completely normal Hebrew.

Because the speaker is female.

In Hebrew, adjectives and many forms connected to ability agree with gender:

• אני לא יכול = I can’t (male speaker)
• אני לא יכולה = I can’t (female speaker)

Here, יכולה is the feminine singular form.

So if a man were speaking, the sentence would be:

המדיח עוד עובד, ולכן אני לא יכול לשים את הכוסות במדיח עכשיו.

Because Hebrew commonly expresses can / be able to with a form of יכול / יכולה plus an infinitive.

So:

• אני יכולה לשים = I can put
• literally: I am able to put

Structure:

• אני = I
• לא יכולה = am not able / can’t
• לשים = to put

This is a very standard pattern in Hebrew:

• אני יכול לבוא = I can come
• היא יכולה לעזור = She can help
• אנחנו לא יכולים לצאת = We can’t go out

Because הכוסות is a definite direct object.

In Hebrew, את is used before a direct object when that object is definite, for example:

• has ה־ = the
• is a name
• is a pronoun
• is otherwise specific

Here:

• הכוסות = the cups
• since it is definite, Hebrew uses את

So:

• לשים את הכוסות = to put the cups

Compare:

• לשים כוסות במדיח = to put cups in the dishwasher (not specific cups, so no את)
• לשים את הכוסות במדיח = to put the cups in the dishwasher (specific cups)

Because the preposition ב־ (in) combines with the definite article ה־ (the).

So:

• מדיח = dishwasher
• במדיח = in the dishwasher

What is really happening underneath is:

• ב + ה + מדיח
• these combine into במדיח

This is very common in Hebrew.

Other examples:

• בבית = in the house
• בספר = in the book
• בשולחן = on/at the table depending on context

So the the is there, but it is merged into the preposition.

Because the sentence talks about the same dishwasher in two different grammatical roles:

1. המדיח עוד עובד
   Here המדיח is the subject: the dishwasher is still running

2. לשים את הכוסות במדיח
   Here במדיח means in the dishwasher

So English also repeats the word:

• The dishwasher is still running, so I can’t put the cups in the dishwasher now.

Hebrew does the same.

ולכן means and therefore, and so, or simply so.

It connects the first part of the sentence to the result:

• The dishwasher is still running
• therefore / so
• I can’t put the cups in it right now

Breakdown:

• ו־ = and
• לכן = therefore / so

In natural English, we often translate ולכן simply as so.

Yes, people do say it, but it can sound a bit more structured than just אז.

Compare:

• המדיח עוד עובד, ולכן אני לא יכולה... = The dishwasher is still running, therefore/so I can’t...
• המדיח עוד עובד, אז אני לא יכולה... = The dishwasher is still running, so I can’t...

Both are natural.
אז is often a bit more casual in everyday speech.
ולכן is still completely normal, just slightly more explicit or polished.

עכשיו means now or right now.

In this sentence it emphasizes that the problem is temporary:

• I can’t put the cups in the dishwasher now
• meaning: not at this moment, because it’s still running

So the idea is not necessarily never, just not at the moment.

Because that is a very natural position in Hebrew.

Hebrew often places time words like עכשיו at the end:

• אני לא יכולה לשים את הכוסות במדיח עכשיו

But you could also move it for emphasis:

• עכשיו אני לא יכולה לשים את הכוסות במדיח
• אני עכשיו לא יכולה לשים את הכוסות במדיח

These are possible, but the version with עכשיו at the end sounds very natural and neutral.

לשים most often means to put, to place, or in some contexts to set.

Here it clearly means put:

• לשים את הכוסות במדיח = to put the cups in the dishwasher

It is a very common everyday verb.

For example:

• לשים על השולחן = put on the table
• לשים בתיק = put in the bag
• לשים לב = pay attention (this is an idiomatic expression, not literal)

Yes, but it would sound a bit different.

• במדיח = in the dishwasher
• לתוך המדיח = into the dishwasher

In this sentence, במדיח is the most natural everyday choice.

לתוך emphasizes movement inward a little more, but with a dishwasher, Hebrew speakers will very commonly just say לשים את הכוסות במדיח.

The structure is:

המדיח עוד עובד, ולכן אני לא יכולה לשים את הכוסות במדיח עכשיו.

Breakdown:

1. המדיח = the dishwasher
2. עוד עובד = is still running
3. ולכן = and therefore / so
4. אני לא יכולה = I can’t
5. לשים = put
6. את הכוסות = the cups
7. במדיח = in the dishwasher
8. עכשיו = now

So the overall pattern is very close to English:

• statement
• connector
• subject
• negated ability
• infinitive
• object
• place
• time

That makes this sentence quite friendly for English speakers to understand.