休

音読おんよみ: キュウ

訓読くんよみ: やすむ

画数かくすう: 6

部首ぶしゅ: 亻（にんべん）

Meaning

Rest / Break / Take time off

  • Basic forms
  • 休む — to rest; to take a break; to be absent / base form
  • 休みます — (I) rest; (I) take a break / masu form
  • 休んだ — rested; took a break / ta form
  • 休んで — rest and …; please rest / te-form
  • 休まない — don’t rest; don’t take a break / negative form
  • 休めば — if (you) rest / conditional
  • 休め・休みなさい — rest!; please rest / imperative
  • Other common forms
  • 休みたい — want to rest / 〜たい form
  • 休める — can rest; be able to rest / potential
  • 休めた — was able to rest / past potential
  • 休めない — cannot rest; not able to take a break / negative potential
  • More
  • 休もう — let’s rest; let’s take a break / 〜よう form
  • 休まなかった — didn’t rest; didn’t take a break / past negative
  • 休んでいる — is resting; is taking a break / progressive
休む (やすむ) is a godan (5-dan) verb ending in む.
The stem shifts as endings are added: ま → み → ん, as in 休む・休みます・休んで.
  • 休みやすみ — break, day off
  • 休むやすむ — to rest, to be absent
  • 休日きゅうじつ — holiday
  • 休校きゅうこう — school closed
  • 休憩きゅうけい — short rest, recess
  • 休戦きゅうせん — truce, ceasefire
  • 休養きゅうよう — recuperation, rest

The left side of 休 is the radical for “person,” and the right is “tree.” Imagine a person leaning on a tree to rest — a perfect picture of taking a break. This character appears often in schedules and calendars.

日曜日にちようびは 休やすみです。
Sunday is a day off.

午後ごごに 休憩きゅうけいが あります。
There’s a break in the afternoon.

養
Creates
休養きゅうよう：Rest, recuperation
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