אחרי הארוחה תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה.

אחרי הארוחה means after the meal.

• אחרי = after
• הארוחה = the meal

Putting this time phrase first sets the scene right away: After the meal, please wipe the table.

Hebrew often puts time expressions at the beginning of the sentence when they are important to the context.

The ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ארוחה = a meal / meal
• הארוחה = the meal

In this sentence, it refers to a specific meal that both speaker and listener know about, probably the meal they have just finished or are about to finish.

This is one of the most common things learners notice in Hebrew.

In Modern Hebrew, the future tense is very often used to give:

• commands
• instructions
• requests

So תנגבי is literally a future form, but here it functions like wipe or please wipe.

This is very natural Hebrew. In many everyday situations, Hebrew prefers the future form over the true imperative.

So:

• תנגבי את השולחן = Wipe the table
• literally the verb form is future, but the meaning is a command/request

Because תנגבי is second person feminine singular.

That means the speaker is addressing one female person.

Compare:

• תנגבי = you will wipe / wipe when speaking to one woman
• תנגב = when speaking to one man
• תנגבו = when speaking to more than one person

So this sentence is specifically directed at a female listener.

It comes from the verb לנגב, which means to wipe or to dry.

In this sentence, the meaning is to wipe:

• לנגב את השולחן = to wipe the table

The same verb can also be used in other contexts, such as drying something off.

Here, את does not mean you.

This is a very common source of confusion, because Hebrew has two different words that are spelled the same way without vowel marks:

• אַתְּ = you feminine singular
• אֶת = the direct object marker

In this sentence, את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object, such as השולחן.

So:

• תנגבי את השולחן = wipe the table

The word את is not translated into English here. It just marks השולחן as the direct object of the verb.

Because השולחן is a definite direct object.

Hebrew usually uses את before a direct object that is definite, for example:

• את השולחן = the table
• את הספר = the book
• את הילדים = the children

So in this sentence:

• תנגבי = wipe
• את השולחן = the table

If the object were indefinite, את would usually not be used.

השולחן means the table, while שולחן means a table or just table.

In this sentence, the speaker means a specific table, probably the one everyone has just eaten at. That is why Hebrew uses the definite form:

• שולחן = table
• השולחן = the table

So את השולחן means the table, not just any table.

Yes. The imperative form would be:

• נגבי את השולחן, בבקשה

This is grammatical and understandable.

But in Modern Hebrew, especially in everyday speech, speakers often prefer the future form for commands and requests:

• תנגבי את השולחן sounds very natural
• נגבי את השולחן is also possible, but can sound a bit more direct

So if you hear future forms used as commands, that is completely normal.

בבקשה means please.

It makes the request more polite or softer:

• תנגבי את השולחן = Wipe the table
• תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה = Please wipe the table

Its position is somewhat flexible in Hebrew. You could also hear:

• בבקשה, תנגבי את השולחן
• תנגבי בבקשה את השולחן

All of these are natural, though the exact tone may vary slightly.

The word order is not completely fixed.

This sentence begins with the time phrase:

• אחרי הארוחה תנגבי את השולחן, בבקשה

But you could also say:

• תנגבי את השולחן אחרי הארוחה, בבקשה

Both are natural. Starting with אחרי הארוחה puts extra attention on when the action should happen.

So the original sentence has a slightly stronger After the meal... feeling.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

Akharei ha-arukha tenagvi et ha-shulkhan, bevakasha.

A rough stress guide:

• akhaREI
• haarukHA
• tenagVI
• et
• hashulKHAN
• bevakaSHA

Exact pronunciation can vary a little depending on accent, but this is a good practical guide.