टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद मैं ताला लगाती और निकलती हूँ।

के बाद means after.

Here, it attaches to the verbal noun phrase तैयार करने, so:

• टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद = after preparing the tiffin/lunch

This is a very common Hindi pattern:

• X करने के बाद = after doing X
• खाने के बाद = after eating
• काम करने के बाद = after working

So the first part of the sentence sets up the sequence of actions.

Because Hindi often uses the infinitive/verb-noun form before postpositions like के बाद.

The basic verb phrase is:

• तैयार करना = to prepare

But when it comes before के बाद, it changes to the oblique form:

• तैयार करने के बाद = after preparing

This is the same pattern you see in many places:

• पढ़ना → पढ़ने के बाद
• लिखना → लिखने के बाद
• जाना → जाने के बाद

So करने is not a different verb; it is the form required before के बाद.

In Hindi, टिफ़िन often refers to a packed meal, lunchbox, or the food prepared to take somewhere, especially to work or school.

So depending on context, टिफ़िन तैयार करने could mean:

• preparing the lunchbox
• preparing the packed meal
• getting the tiffin ready

It is a very common everyday word in Indian Hindi.

Those are feminine singular habitual forms.

In this sentence, the speaker is female, so you get:

• लगाती
• निकलती
• हूँ

This shows I (female) lock and leave / I usually lock and leave.

If the speaker were male, it would be:

• ताला लगाता और निकलता हूँ।

So the -ती ending here tells you the speaker is feminine.

Because in Hindi, when two verbs share the same subject, tense/aspect, and auxiliary, the auxiliary is often stated only once at the end.

So:

• मैं ताला लगाती और निकलती हूँ।

means the same as the more fully expanded:

• मैं ताला लगाती हूँ और निकलती हूँ।

The shorter version is natural and common.

Literally, ताला means lock and लगाना means to put/apply.

But together, ताला लगाना is the normal Hindi expression for:

• to lock
• to put a lock on

So in natural English, you would usually translate ताला लगाती simply as I lock up or I lock the door, depending on context.

This is a good example of a common Hindi verb phrase where the literal word-for-word meaning is less important than the full expression.

और means and.

It joins the two actions:

• ताला लगाती = lock up
• निकलती हूँ = leave/go out

So the sentence describes a routine sequence:

• I lock up and leave.

Hindi often links actions this way with और, especially when talking about a regular routine.

All of those are possible depending on context.

The verb निकलना has a broad range of meanings, including:

• to go out
• to leave
• to come out
• to depart

In this sentence, after locking, the most natural sense is:

• leave
• head out
• go out

So निकलती हूँ here means something like I leave or I head out.

It normally sounds like a habitual or routine action.

That is because लगाती ... निकलती हूँ is in the habitual present:

• I lock and leave
• I usually lock up and leave
• I lock up and head out

So the sentence suggests something the speaker regularly does after preparing the tiffin.

If you wanted a one-time past event, Hindi would usually look different, for example:

• टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद मैंने ताला लगाया और निकल गई।

That would mean After preparing the tiffin, I locked up and left.

Yes. Hindi often drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from context or from the verb ending.

So this could also be said as:

• टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद ताला लगाती और निकलती हूँ।

Because हूँ and the verb forms already show I, the sentence is still understandable.

Including मैं makes the subject explicit, but it is not always necessary.

The given word order is natural, but Hindi allows some flexibility.

The sentence starts with the time/sequence phrase:

• टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद = after preparing the tiffin

Then comes the main clause:

• मैं ताला लगाती और निकलती हूँ।

This order is very normal because Hindi often puts time/condition/background information first.

You could rearrange parts a little in conversation, but this version is clear and standard.

Yes, and many learners will hear this kind of structure often.

Compare:

• ताला लगाती और निकलती हूँ = I lock and leave
• ताला लगाकर निकलती हूँ = having locked, I leave / I lock up and leave

The version with लगाकर emphasizes that one action is completed before the next one happens.

The sentence you were given uses simple coordination with और, which is also perfectly understandable and natural in many contexts.

टिफ़िन is pronounced approximately like tiffin.

The letter फ़ is a version of फ used to represent an f sound more clearly in borrowed words. In modern speech, many speakers do not strongly distinguish फ and फ़, but in writing you may still see the dotted form in words borrowed from English, Persian, Arabic, and so on.

So:

• टिफ़िन = tiffin
• फ़ helps show the f sound

For a male speaker, the habitual verb endings would change from -ती to -ता:

• टिफ़िन तैयार करने के बाद मैं ताला लगाता और निकलता हूँ।

So the changes are:

• लगाती → लगाता
• निकलती → निकलता

Everything else stays the same.