אחרי שחיטאתי את המקום, שמתי את המשחה וחיכיתי כמה דקות.

אחרי means after. When Hebrew wants to say after + a whole clause, it often uses אחרי ש־:

• אחרי שחיטאתי... = after I disinfected...
• literally: after that I disinfected...

Compare:

• אחרי הטיפול = after the treatment
• אחרי שסיימתי = after I finished

So the ש־ introduces the verb clause that follows.

שחיטאתי is made of:

• ש־ = that / when / which / after here, just the clause-linker after אחרי
• חיטאתי = I disinfected / I sanitized

And חיטאתי itself breaks down as:

• root: ח־ט־א in this verb pattern means to disinfect / sanitize
• ending ־תי = I in the past tense

So חיטאתי means I disinfected.

Yes. The ending ־תי is the normal I ending in the past tense in Hebrew.

Examples:

• חיכיתי = I waited
• שמרתי = I kept / guarded
• דיברתי = I spoke

So in this sentence, both חיטאתי and חיכיתי are clearly I forms, which is why Hebrew does not need the pronoun אני.

Because Hebrew usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So instead of saying:

• אני חיטאתי
• אני שמתי
• אני חיכיתי

Hebrew normally just says:

• חיטאתי
• שמתי
• חיכיתי

This is very natural and very common.

את marks a definite direct object.

That means if the verb is acting directly on a noun, and that noun is definite, Hebrew usually puts את before it.

Here:

• חיטאתי את המקום = I disinfected the area
• שמתי את המשחה = I put/applied the ointment

You use את because המקום and המשחה are definite nouns.

A key point: את here does not mean with. It is just a grammar marker.

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

So:

• מקום = a place / an area
• המקום = the place / the area

and:

• משחה = an ointment / cream / salve
• המשחה = the ointment

Because the sentence is talking about a specific area and a specific ointment, Hebrew uses the definite form.

Yes, literally מקום means place, but in context it can naturally mean spot, site, or area.

In medical or practical contexts, המקום often means:

• the area on the body
• the spot
• the affected site

So in this sentence it sounds natural as the area rather than a general physical place.

שמתי comes from לשים, which usually means to put. In everyday Hebrew, it is very common to use לשים for applying something to the body:

• לשים משחה = to put on / apply ointment
• לשים קרם = to put on / apply cream
• לשים תחבושת = to put on a bandage

So although English often says apply, Hebrew often uses the more general verb לשים.

Yes, לשים is somewhat irregular, and learners often notice that the past form is not fully obvious from the infinitive.

Important forms:

• infinitive: לשים
• past, I: שמתי
• present masc. sg.: שם
• present fem. sg.: שמה

So שמתי simply has to be learned as the normal past-tense I put / I applied form of לשים.

The ו־ at the beginning means and.

So:

• וחיכיתי = and I waited

Hebrew often strings together actions this way without repeating the subject:

• חיטאתי... שמתי... חיכיתי...
• I disinfected... put/applied... waited...

Since all the verbs are first person singular, the subject stays understood throughout.

כמה דקות literally means how many minutes / some minutes, but in this kind of statement it usually means:

• a few minutes
• several minutes

So it is an indefinite amount, not a question here.

Examples:

• חיכיתי כמה דקות = I waited a few minutes
• יש לי כמה שאלות = I have a few questions

So כמה does not always introduce a question; it can also mean a few / several.

The word order is very normal Hebrew.

Structure:

• אחרי שחיטאתי את המקום = after I disinfected the area
• שמתי את המשחה = I applied the ointment
• וחיכיתי כמה דקות = and waited a few minutes

A few useful points:

1. Hebrew often puts the time/sequence clause first: after...
2. Then it gives the main actions in order.
3. The same subject can be omitted again and again if the verb forms already show who is acting.

So the sentence feels very natural and chronological.

A rough pronunciation guide would be:

akharei shekhitáti et hamakóm, sámti et hamíshkha vekhikhíti kama dakót

A few pronunciation notes:

• אחרי = akharei
• שחיטאתי = shekhitáti
• שמתי = sámti
• המשחה = hamíshkha
• חיכיתי = khikhíti
• דקות = dakót

The ח sound is the throaty Hebrew kh sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

Yes. Depending on style and exact meaning, you might also hear:

• מספר דקות = several minutes
• דקה או שתיים = a minute or two
• כמה רגעים = a few moments

But כמה דקות is very common, natural, and conversational.