После тихой охоты мы перебираем грибы.

Because после is a preposition that requires the genitive case.

• тихая охота = quiet hunt / mushroom picking in dictionary form
• After после, both words change to genitive:
  • тихая → тихой
  • охота → охоты

So:

• тихая охота = the activity itself
• после тихой охоты = after the quiet hunt / after mushroom picking

Yes. Тихая охота is a common Russian expression meaning mushroom picking.

Literally, it means quiet hunt, because people go into the forest looking for mushrooms somewhat like hunters, but without guns or noise.

So in this sentence, it does not mean actual hunting. It refers specifically to the cultural idea of going out to gather mushrooms.

Yes, it could be omitted.

Russian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• перебираем already means we sort / we are sorting
• So Мы перебираем грибы and Перебираем грибы can both work

Including мы can:

• add emphasis
• make the subject clearer
• sound a bit more explicit or contrastive

So мы is not required, but it is perfectly natural.

Here перебирать means to sort through, to pick over, or to go through carefully.

With mushrooms, it usually means something like:

• checking them one by one
• cleaning them
• separating good ones from bad ones
• preparing them for cooking or storage

So this is more than just sorting in a mechanical sense. It suggests careful handling.

Russian present tense can describe:

• what is happening now
• a habitual action
• a typical next step in a sequence

So После тихой охоты мы перебираем грибы can mean things like:

• After mushroom picking, we sort the mushrooms
• After mushroom picking, we usually sort the mushrooms

The exact English translation depends on context. Russian present tense is often broader than English present simple.

Грибы is the direct object of перебираем, so it should be in the accusative case.

But for inanimate masculine plural nouns, the accusative form is the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative plural: грибы
• accusative plural: грибы

That is why the form does not change.

The dictionary forms are:

• после = after
• тихий = quiet
• охота = hunt
• мы = we
• перебирать = to sort through / to pick over
• гриб = mushroom

The sentence uses changed forms because of grammar:

• тихой охоты comes from тихая охота
• перебираем comes from перебирать
• грибы comes from гриб

Yes, перебирать is the imperfective verb.

That matters because the imperfective often describes:

• an ongoing process
• a repeated action
• a general activity

Sorting mushrooms is a process, so imperfective fits very naturally.

Its perfective partner is often перебрать, which would usually mean to sort through completely / finish sorting through.

Compare:

• Мы перебираем грибы. = We are sorting / sort the mushrooms.
• Мы перебрали грибы. = We sorted through the mushrooms / finished sorting them.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• После тихой охоты мы перебираем грибы.

But you could also hear:

• Мы после тихой охоты перебираем грибы.
• Грибы мы перебираем после тихой охоты.

These versions shift emphasis slightly:

• putting мы earlier can focus more on we
• putting грибы earlier can focus more on the mushrooms
• the original version sounds natural and straightforward

So the meaning stays basically the same, but the information focus changes.

A natural English rendering would be something like:

• After mushroom picking, we sort through the mushrooms.
• After we go mushroom picking, we sort the mushrooms.
• After the mushroom hunt, we go through the mushrooms.

A very literal translation, After the quiet hunt we sort mushrooms, is possible, but it misses the idiomatic meaning of тихая охота.

The stress is:

• послЕ
• тИхой
• охОты
• перебирАем
• грибЫ

So roughly:

• пас-ЛYE TI-khoy a-KHO-ty mye pyer-ee-bee-RA-yem grib-BY

A few useful notes:

• х is like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• unstressed о is often pronounced closer to a
• Russian stress is important because it is not always predictable

Yes, после takes the genitive case.

Examples:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после дождя = after the rain
• после тихой охоты = after mushroom picking

So if you learn после, it is a good idea to automatically think: genitive comes next.