Reading medicine label instructions | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 薬局でこの薬を受け取りました。

   I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.

   薬局

   pharmacy

   この

   this

   薬

   medicine

   受け取りました

   picked up; received

   More detail

   薬局 means “pharmacy” here. It is a noun. With で, as in 薬局で, it marks the place where an action occurs: “at the pharmacy.” This differs from に, which can mark a destination or a place of existence in other patterns. この means “this” and comes before the noun it describes. In この薬, it identifies the medicine as “this medicine.” Demonstratives such as この, その, and あの are used attributively before a noun; これ, それ, and あれ are the corresponding standalone forms. 薬 means “medicine” in this sentence. It is a noun and can be modified directly by a demonstrative: この薬 means “this medicine.” Example: 薬を飲みます。 — “I take medicine.” 受け取りました means “picked up” or “received” here. Its base form is 受け取る, “to receive” or “to take delivery of.” 受け取りました is the polite past affirmative form, so it presents the receiving as completed. The verb is transitive: the received item is marked with を, as in 薬を受け取りました. The translation identifies the omitted subject as “I”; Japanese commonly leaves a subject unspoken when the context makes it clear. Example: 荷物を受け取りました。 — “I received the package.” Together, 薬局で sets the location, この薬を marks “this medicine” as the object, and 受け取りました says that the speaker received or picked it up. The whole utterance means: “I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.”

2. 薬剤師は説明をしましたか。

   Did the pharmacist explain the instructions?

   薬剤師

   pharmacist

   説明をしましたか

   did (someone) explain?

   More detail

   薬剤師 means “pharmacist.” It is a noun for a person qualified to prepare or dispense medicines and give medicine-related guidance. The ending は marks this noun as the topic: 薬剤師は説明しました。 means “The pharmacist explained it.” 説明をしましたか is the polite past-tense question “did [someone] explain?” The useful base form is 説明する (“to explain”); its polite forms include 説明します (“explain/will explain”) and 説明しました (“explained”). Here, を marks what is explained, while しました is the polite past form of する. The final か turns the statement into a question. For example, 先生は説明をしましたか。 means “Did the teacher explain it?” Together, 薬剤師は sets “the pharmacist” as the topic, and 説明をしましたか asks whether that person explained something. The omitted object is understood from the context and fixed translation as the instructions. Thus the whole utterance means: “Did the pharmacist explain the instructions?”

3. ラベルには、食後に飲むと書いてあります。

   The label says to take it after meals.

   ラベル

   label

   食後

   after a meal

   飲む

   take; drink

   と書いてあります

   it says in writing

   More detail

   ラベル means “label,” the written source of the information here. It is a noun; for example, 薬のラベル means “the medicine’s label.” The topic particle には combines に with は: に marks the label as the place or source where something is written, while は presents it as the topic. Here it is naturally understood as “as for the label” or “on the label.” 食後 means “after eating” or “after a meal.” It is a compound noun: 食 relates to eating or a meal, and 後 means “after.” With に, 食後に marks the time at which the action occurs. A useful contrast is 食前に, “before a meal”; the following context uses that contrasting pattern. 食後に飲む therefore means “take/drink it after a meal.” 飲む is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to drink.” In this sentence, because the context is a medicine instruction, it means “to take [the medicine],” even though the object is not stated in Japanese. Its polite form is 飲みます, and its negative form is 飲まない, as in the following instruction 飲まないでください, “please do not take it.” The object can be stated when needed, for example: 薬を食後に飲みます。 — “I take the medicine after a meal.” と書いてあります reports written content. The particle と marks the quoted message, here 食後に飲む; 書いてあります is the polite form of 書いてある, literally describing something that has been written and remains in that written state. Thus 食後に飲むと書いてあります means “it says in writing, ‘take it after a meal.’” The form 書いてあります is different from simply describing an action of writing: 書きました means “wrote” or “has written,” focusing on the writing event, while 書いてあります focuses on the information currently written there. Putting the parts together, ラベルには identifies the label as the information source, 食後に飲む gives the instruction and its timing, and と書いてあります presents that instruction as written text. The complete meaning is: “The label says to take it after meals.”

4. では、朝食前に飲まないでください。

   Then do not take it before breakfast.

   では

   then

   朝食

   breakfast

   前に

   before

   飲まないでください

   please do not take it

   More detail

   では means “then” here. It links this instruction to the preceding information, so the sentence can be reused as a pattern: では、… = “Then, …”. Depending on context, では can also mark a transition such as “well then” or “in that case”; here the intended connective meaning is “then.” 朝食 means “breakfast.” It is a noun and can be used in compounds or time expressions, such as 朝食後 (“after breakfast”) and 朝食前 (“before breakfast”). 前に means “before.” 前 is the noun “front” or “before,” and に marks the point in time. In 朝食前に, the whole expression means “before breakfast.” A reusable pattern is Nの前に or, in compact compounds like this one, N前に = “before N.” 飲まないでください is a polite request not to take or drink something. Its base verb is 飲む (“to drink” or “to take,” as with medicine). The negative form is 飲まない, and adding でください produces the request pattern V-ないでください = “please do not V.” For example, ここで写真を撮らないでください。 means “Please do not take photographs here.” Japanese can omit an understood object. In this context, 飲む is understood as taking the medicine referred to by the surrounding information, while the sentence does not explicitly state the object. Together, では、朝食前に飲まないでください。 means “Then do not take it before breakfast.” The time expression 朝食前に specifies when the action must not happen, and 飲まないでください gives the polite negative instruction.

5. 飲む量がよく分かりません。

   I am not sure about the dose.

   飲む

   take by mouth

   量

   amount

   よく分かりません

   am not sure

   More detail

   飲む is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to drink.” With medicine, it can also mean “to take” medicine by mouth, as it does here. The form 飲む directly modifies the following noun: 飲む量 means “the amount to take.” Example: 薬を飲みます。 — “I take medicine.” 量 means “amount” or “quantity.” In 飲む量, it is the amount of medicine to take, so the fixed translation naturally gives “dose.” The noun itself does not specify a unit or an exact quantity. Example: 量が多いです。 — “The amount is large.” よく分かりません combines よく (“well” or “clearly”) with the polite negative form 分かりません of 分かる (“to understand” or “to be clear”). Here, よく分かりません means “am not sure” or “do not understand clearly”; よく does not mean “often” in this use. Japanese omits the subject in this sentence, while the fixed translation identifies that omitted subject as the speaker. Example: 説明がよく分かりません。 — “I do not understand the explanation clearly.” Together, 飲む量 identifies the amount of medicine to take, and よく分かりません says that this amount is not clear to the speaker. Thus 飲む量がよく分かりません。 means “I am not sure about the dose.”

6. ラベルが分かりにくかったら、薬局に電話してください。

   Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.

   ラベル

   label

   分かりにくかったら

   if unclear

   薬局

   pharmacy

   電話してください

   please call

   More detail

   ラベル means “label.” It is a noun and can be used with が to identify what has a particular quality: ラベルが見える means “the label is visible.” 分かりにくかったら describes the condition “if it is difficult to understand.” 分かる is the base verb “to understand,” and its stem 分かり combines with 〜にくい to mean “difficult to …”: 読み​​にくい means “difficult to read.” Here, 分かりにくい is an adjective meaning “unclear” or “hard to understand.” The form 分かりにくかったら uses the adjective’s past form 分かりにくかった plus ら to make an if-condition. With a present or generally relevant condition, this pattern is naturally translated “if it is unclear.” Example: 字が小さかったら、眼鏡を使ってください。 — “If the writing is small, please use glasses.” 薬局 is the noun “pharmacy.” The compound 薬 means “medicine” and 局 appears in words for an establishment or office, but 薬局 should be learned as the ordinary word for a pharmacy. Example: 薬局で薬を買います。 — “I buy medicine at a pharmacy.” 電話してください means “please call.” The base verb is 電話する, literally “to make a telephone call”; 電話して is its て-form, and ください makes a polite request. The pattern 〜てください can be reused with other verbs, for example 待ってください。 — “Please wait.” The first part, ラベルが分かりにくかったら, sets the condition: “if the label is unclear.” The following request, 薬局に電話してください, directs the call to the pharmacy; に marks the destination or recipient of the call. Together, the utterance means: “Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.”

7. 推測するより、そのほうが安全です。

   That is safer than guessing.

   推測する

   to guess

   より

   than

   そのほうが

   that option / that way

   安全です

   is safe

   More detail

   推測する means “to guess” here. The form ends in する, so its plain non-past form is 推測する; it can describe an action generally or an action that has not yet happened. Example: 結果を推測する。 — “I guess the result.” より marks the comparison standard: “than” or “rather than.” After a plain verb, 推測するより means “rather than guessing.” A reusable pattern is AよりBのほうが… — “B is more … than A.” そのほうが refers to “that option” or “that way” and presents it as the option being compared. ほう is a noun meaning “side,” “way,” or “option”; in this pattern, そのほうが means roughly “that option is…” The demonstrative その identifies the option as contextually specified, but the sentence does not independently name its exact referent. 安全です means “is safe.” 安全 is a na-adjective (also usable as a noun-like word), and です gives the sentence a polite non-past form. The adjective itself, not です, carries the meaning “safe.” Contrast: 安全ではありません。 — “It is not safe.” Together, 推測するより sets guessing as the comparison standard, and そのほうが安全です says that the contextually identified alternative is safer. Thus the whole utterance means: “That is safer than guessing.”

8. 薬剤師が、飲む前に正しい量を教えてくれます。

   The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.

   薬剤師

   pharmacist

   飲む

   to take (by mouth)

   前に

   before

   正しい

   correct

   量

   amount; dose

   教えてくれます

   will tell you

   More detail

   薬剤師 means “pharmacist.” The particle が marks this noun as the subject here: the pharmacist is the person who provides the information. 飲む is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “drink” or, in this context, “take by mouth.” In 飲む前に, the dictionary form directly precedes 前に to make the pattern “before doing something.” Example: 寝る前に本を読みます。 — “I read a book before going to bed.” 前に means “before” in this time expression. The action before it is the reference point, so 飲む前に means “before taking it.” This pattern can also be used with nouns, such as 食事の前に — “before a meal.” 正しい is anい-adjective meaning “correct” or “right.” It modifies the following noun directly in 正しい量, meaning “the correct dose.” Its negative form is 正しくない, “not correct.” 量 means “amount”; with medicine, it means “dose.” It is the noun modified by 正しい, not the base form of the adjective. Example: 量を確認します。 — “I check the amount.” 教えてくれます combines 教える, “to tell” or “to teach,” with くれる in its polite nonpast form, くれます. The てくれる pattern presents someone’s action as a benefit to the speaker or the speaker’s side; here, the pharmacist tells you the dose. The polite nonpast form can describe what someone can or will do in this situation, so the fixed translation uses “can tell you.” Example: 友達が道を教えてくれました。 — “A friend told me the way.” Together, 薬剤師が identifies the pharmacist as the subject, 飲む前に sets the time as before taking it, and 正しい量を supplies the object—the correct dose—that is told. 教えてくれます describes the pharmacist’s helpful action. The whole utterance means: “The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.”