Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Obat ini perlu diminum dua kali sehari sesudah makan. - This medicine needs to be taken twice a day after meals.

In Indonesian, instructions, recipes, medical directions, etc. are very often written in the passive, focusing on the thing being acted on, not the person doing the action.

So:

Obat ini perlu diminum… = This medicine needs to be drunk/taken… (focus on the medicine)
Anda perlu minum obat ini… = You need to drink/take this medicine… (focus on you)

Both are grammatically correct; the passive sounds more neutral and “instruction-like,” which fits a label or doctor’s note.

What does perlu mean here, and how is it different from harus?

Perlu literally means need / necessary. In this sentence, Obat ini perlu diminum… can be understood as This medicine needs to be taken… or You need to take this medicine…

Harus is stronger; it means must / have to, often implying obligation and little choice:

Obat ini harus diminum… = This medicine must be taken… (stronger, more absolute)
Obat ini perlu diminum… = This medicine needs to be taken… (still strong, but slightly softer/more descriptive)

On medicine labels, you can see both perlu and harus, depending on how strict the instruction is intended to sound.

Could I say Anda perlu minum obat ini dua kali sehari sesudah makan instead?

Yes, that sentence is correct and natural. The difference is:

Obat ini perlu diminum… = passive, focuses on the medicine
Anda perlu minum obat ini… = active, focuses on you as the subject

Meaning-wise, they both tell the patient to take the medicine in the same way. In written instructions and formal notes, the passive (original sentence) is more typical; in conversation, doctors often use the active form when talking directly to the patient:
Anda perlu minum obat ini dua kali sehari sesudah makan, ya.

How is perlu diminum working grammatically? Why not perlu untuk diminum?

In Indonesian, perlu can be followed directly by a verb (active or passive):

perlu minum = need to drink
perlu diminum = need to be drunk

So perlu diminum is perfectly standard: perlu + passive verb.

You can say perlu untuk diminum, but that sounds more formal, wordy, and is less common in simple instructions. On a label or in everyday speech, perlu diminum is more natural and concise.

What does dua kali sehari literally mean, and is the word order fixed?

Literally:

dua kali = two times
sehari = per day / in one day

So dua kali sehari = two times per day / twice a day.

The word order [number] kali sehari is very common and natural. You might also hear or see:

sehari dua kali – also “twice a day”; slightly different rhythm but same meaning
dua kali dalam sehari – “two times in one day” (a bit longer, more explicit)

In this sentence, perlu diminum dua kali sehari sesudah makan is the most natural, straightforward order.

Could I move sesudah makan earlier, like Obat ini perlu diminum sesudah makan dua kali sehari?

That word order is understandable but a bit less natural.

The most usual pattern is: [verb phrase] + [frequency] + [time condition]

So:

perlu diminum dua kali sehari sesudah makan is the smoothest:
- take it two times a day (dua kali sehari), and each time is after eating (sesudah makan)

If you say sesudah makan dua kali sehari, it can sound slightly awkward, almost like “after eating twice a day,” which is less clear.

What is the difference between sesudah makan and setelah makan or habis makan?

All three can mean after eating:

sesudah makan – formal/neutral
setelah makan – also formal/neutral, very common
habis makan – more colloquial, everyday speech

You can say:

dua kali sehari sesudah makan
dua kali sehari setelah makan

Both are standard. Sesudah and setelah are nearly interchangeable in this context. On a label, you might see either. Habis makan is more likely in spoken instructions than in writing.

Why is there no subject like you in the Indonesian sentence?

Indonesian often drops the subject when it is obvious from context, especially in instructions, notices, and labels.

In Obat ini perlu diminum…, the passive verb diminum implies that someone (the patient) will drink it. The focus is on the medicine and the correct way to use it, not on you.

If you want to make the subject explicit, you can say:

Anda perlu minum obat ini dua kali sehari sesudah makan.

How can Indonesian express this kind of instruction without tense? How do we know it’s about a repeated future action?

Indonesian doesn’t use verb tenses like English (no changes for past, present, future). Time and aspect are usually shown by context and time expressions.

In Obat ini perlu diminum dua kali sehari sesudah makan:

dua kali sehari tells you it is a repeated, habitual action
The context (medicine instructions) tells you it’s about what you should do from now on

If you really want to emphasize future, you could add nanti (later) or seterusnya (from now on), but normally it’s not necessary.

What does sehari mean exactly? How is it different from hari?

hari = day
sehari = in a day / per day / in one day

The prefix se- often means one / a / per. So:

tiga hari = three days
tiga kali sehari = three times a day

In dua kali sehari, sehari functions like “per day.”

Is minum obat used even if the medicine is in pill form, not a drink?

Yes. Indonesian uses minum obat (literally “drink medicine”) for almost all kinds of orally taken medicine, including pills, capsules, and liquid.

So:

minum obat = take medicine by mouth
makan obat is not standard
A more technical word is mengonsumsi obat / mengonsumsi obat-obatan, but that’s formal.

So diminum here is the normal verb, even if the medicine is a tablet.

Can I drop ini and just say Obat perlu diminum dua kali sehari sesudah makan?

Grammatically, yes, that’s still fine. The nuance changes slightly:

Obat ini perlu diminum… = this medicine (a specific one we are talking about)
Obat perlu diminum… = medicine (in general) needs to be taken…

On an actual prescription or bottle, obat ini is more precise because it clearly refers to this particular medicine rather than medicine in general.