A label, a prescription, and a pharmacist may not use the same words for how to take a medicine. The amount, the time of day, and the length of the treatment may each be worded separately.
Frequency and timing
French uses short expressions for how often a medicine should be taken:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| une dose | a dose |
| une prise | a dose / one administration |
| la posologie | the dosage instructions / dosage regimen |
| une fois par jour | once a day |
| deux fois par jour | twice a day |
| trois fois par jour | three times a day |
| matin et soir | morning and evening |
| toutes les huit heures | every eight hours |
| toutes les douze heures | every twelve hours |
| au besoin | as needed |
| avant de se coucher | before going to bed |
| à la même heure | at the same time |
| régulièrement | regularly |
Une dose is the amount of medicine. Une prise is a single dose. La posologie covers the wider instructions about amount, frequency, and timing.
Instructions may give a number of times per day or a fixed interval between doses:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Prenez un comprimé une fois par jour. | Take one tablet once a day. |
| Prenez ce médicament matin et soir. | Take this medicine morning and evening. |
| Prenez une dose toutes les huit heures. | Take one dose every eight hours. |
| Prenez-le à la même heure chaque jour. | Take it at the same time every day. |
| Prenez ce médicament au besoin. | Take this medicine as needed. |
Deux fois par jour and toutes les douze heures may both result in two doses in one day, but the French instructions do not express the same idea. The first gives a daily frequency, while the second specifies the interval between doses.
Food, water, and meals
Some instructions say whether to take the medicine with food, without food, or with water:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| avec de la nourriture | with food |
| pendant le repas | during the meal |
| au cours du repas | during the meal |
| après le repas | after the meal |
| avant le repas | before the meal |
| à jeun | on an empty stomach |
| avec un verre d'eau | with a glass of water |
| boire beaucoup d'eau | to drink plenty of water |
À jeun means that you have not eaten before taking the medicine. It also appears in instructions for some medical tests, so the surrounding context determines whether it refers to medication or another procedure.
These sentences put the food or drink instruction with the dose:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Prenez ce médicament avec de la nourriture. | Take this medicine with food. |
| Prenez-le au cours du repas. | Take it during the meal. |
| Prenez ce comprimé après le repas. | Take this tablet after the meal. |
| Prenez ce médicament à jeun. | Take this medicine on an empty stomach. |
| Avalez le comprimé avec un grand verre d'eau. | Swallow the tablet with a large glass of water. |
Avaler means "to swallow" in English and may appear when the instructions distinguish swallowing a tablet from chewing or dissolving it.
Treatment duration
Medication instructions may give a fixed number of days, or tell you to continue until a particular point:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| pendant trois jours | for three days |
| pendant une semaine | for one week |
| jusqu'à la fin du traitement | until the end of the treatment |
| continuer le traitement | to continue the treatment |
| arrêter le traitement | to stop the treatment |
| terminer le traitement | to finish the treatment |
| la durée du traitement | the duration of the treatment |
Use pendant with a period of time to say how long the treatment lasts. Jusqu'à identifies the point when it ends.
These questions help clarify the duration when it is not clear from the prescription or label:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Pendant combien de temps dois-je prendre ce médicament ? | How long should I take this medicine? |
| Combien de jours dois-je le prendre ? | How many days should I take it? |
| Je dois continuer pendant une semaine ? | Do I need to continue for a week? |
| Quand dois-je arrêter le traitement ? | When should I stop the treatment? |
| Est-ce que je dois terminer le traitement ? | Do I need to finish the treatment? |
A missed dose
These expressions cover a missed dose and what you might do about it:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| oublier une dose | to miss / forget a dose |
| oublier une prise | to miss / forget a dose |
| la prochaine dose | the next dose |
| doubler la dose | to double the dose |
| reprendre le traitement | to resume the treatment |
Oublier une dose and oublier une prise both refer to a scheduled dose that was missed.
These questions describe what you missed and ask what to do next:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai oublié une dose. | I missed a dose. |
| J'ai oublié de prendre mon médicament ce matin. | I forgot to take my medicine this morning. |
| Que dois-je faire si j'oublie une dose ? | What should I do if I miss a dose? |
| Est-ce que je dois prendre la dose maintenant ? | Should I take the dose now? |
| Quand dois-je prendre la prochaine dose ? | When should I take the next dose? |
| Est-ce que je dois doubler la dose ? | Should I double the dose? |
The answer depends on the medicine and its prescribed schedule.
From learning to practice
On a medication label or prescription, read how many times a day, how many hours apart, whether to take it with food, and how long to continue as separate instructions.