休 Meaning, Reading, and Vocabulary Guide | Onyomi キュウ・Kunyomi やす.む
休 (rest) is a kanji that depicts a person leaning against a tree to rest.
Its onyomi is キュウ and kunyomi is やす.む. It is very commonly used in daily life and JLPT N5.
It is mainly used in words related to resting or being absent, such as 休み (holiday, vacation) and 休憩 (break).
Kanji at a glance
Core meaning / core image
休 originally depicts a person leaning against the shade of a tree to take a rest. Besides its basic meanings of 'to rest' or 'to take a break', it is also frequently used to mean 'to be absent' from school or work.
Kanji structure breakdown
Mnemonic story
Imagine a person (亻) walking on a hot summer day, finding the shade of a large tree (木), and leaning against it to cool off and rest (休). It is a very intuitive and easy-to-remember kanji.
On'yomi and kun'yomi
On reading
Kun reading
Commonly used words
Example sentences
Mini quiz
What is the correct reading for the Japanese word meaning 'summer vacation'?
One-line summary
休 is a kanji depicting a person (亻) leaning against a tree (木) to rest, and is very commonly used in daily life to mean 'to rest' (やすむ).
FAQ
What is the difference between 休む and 休み?
休む (やすむ) is a verb meaning 'to rest', while 休み (やすみ) is a noun derived from the verb's masu-stem, meaning 'holiday', 'vacation', or 'rest'.
Is 休む also used to mean 'to be absent' from school?
Yes, in Japanese, 休む is commonly used to express skipping or being absent from school or work, such as in '学校を休む' (to be absent from school).
