English
Shibamaru & Gen

Kanji Story #1

Why Does 休 Mean "Rest"?

Kun-yomiやす(む) (YASU(MU))
On-yomiキュウ (KYUU)
  • JLPT N5
  • 6 strokes
  • 6-minute video

Learn Japanese kanji through a story. Why does 休 mean "rest"? Lina, Shibamaru, and Gen discover how a person and a tree became the JLPT N5 kanji for "rest" — with its origin, stroke order, readings, and everyday words.

Watch the story

The video loads from YouTube when you press play. Subtitles in 10 languages. Open on YouTube

The story

Gen has a busy day: running, carrying, studying, and no breaks. When Shibamaru offers a rest at noon, Gen says, "No breaks! I'm strong!" By the afternoon, Gen ends up sitting under a big tree, very tired.

Lina draws the scene in her sketchbook: a person resting by a tree. Then the drawing turns into a kanji. Shibamaru and Lina show Gen how 人 (person) and 木 (tree) became 休, "rest".

Where 休 comes from

休 = 亻 (ninben, the person radical) + 木 (tree): a person resting by a tree.

Note: this is the most common explanation; some scholars read the ancient forms differently.

Stroke order (6 strokes)

  1. 11
  2. 22
  3. 33
  4. 44
  5. 55
  6. 66

Kanji that appear in this story

Readings

  • Kun-yomi やす(む) (YASU(MU))
  • On-yomi キュウ (KYUU)
  • Strokes 6

Words with 休

  • 休むやすむ

    YASUMU

    to rest; to take a day off

  • 休みやすみ

    YASUMI

    a break; a day off

  • 昼休みひるやすみ

    HIRUYASUMI

    lunch break

  • 夏休みなつやすみ

    NATSUYASUMI

    summer vacation

  • 休日きゅうじつ

    KYUUJITSU

    holiday; day off

  • 定休日ていきゅうび

    TEIKYUUBI

    a shop's regular closing day

Audio: the readings from the video.

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Lina's drawing turned into a kanji
  2. 0:18 Gen's busy day
  3. 1:12 A person by a tree
  4. 1:37 人 (person) and ninben
  5. 2:08 木 (tree) — person + tree = 休
  6. 2:46 Stroke order
  7. 3:26 Readings: YASUMU and KYUU
  8. 3:59 Okurigana
  9. 4:14 Words with 休
  10. 5:28 Quiz
  11. 5:55 Rest helps you keep going

Full script

Shibamaru and Gen speak Japanese; Lina tells the story in English. Read along, then try saying the Japanese lines out loud.

Show the full script (78 lines)
  • LinaHi, I'm Lina. I'm learning Japanese, and I love drawing the things I see.
  • LinaYesterday, I drew my friend Gen… and something funny happened. My drawing turned into a kanji.
  • Genしばまる、リナ、おはよう！ 今日もがんばるぞ！Shibamaru, Lina, good morning! Let's work hard today!
  • Shibamaruおはよう！ 元気だね。Morning! You're full of energy.
  • Linaおはよう、ゲン！Morning, Gen!
  • Shibamaruゲン、今日は何をするの？Gen, what are you doing today?
  • Gen走って、運んで、勉強する！Run, carry, study!
  • LinaGen, you're so fast!
  • LinaThat day, Gen didn't stop. Not even for a minute.
  • Shibamaruゲン、お昼だよ。ちょっと休まない？Gen, it's noon. Want to take a break?
  • Gen休まない！ おれは強いからな！No breaks! I'm strong!
  • Shibamaru……そっか。...Okay.
  • Shibamaruゲン、お茶あるよ。Gen, I've got some tea.
  • Genだ、だいじょうぶ……まだ……いける……I-I'm fine... I can still... keep going...
  • Gen……ふう。...Phew.
  • Gen木のそば、気持ちいいな……It feels nice next to this tree...
  • Shibamaruゲン、だいじょうぶ？Gen, are you okay?
  • Genちょっと、つかれちゃった……I got a little tired...
  • Linaやった、できた！Yay, it's done!
  • Shibamaru見せて！ …あっ！ リナの絵、「漢字」になってるよ！Let me see! ...Oh! Lina, your drawing turned into a kanji!
  • Genえっ!?What!?
  • Shibamaruそれが「休む」だよ、ゲン。That's what "resting" is, Gen.
  • Gen……休む？...Resting?
  • Shibamaruまず、これは「人」。First, this is "person."
  • LinaIn Japanese, this is 人, "hito" — a person. Long ago, it was drawn like a person standing, seen from the side.
  • Shibamaru人が漢字の左に来ると、形が変わるんだ。When "person" goes on the left side of a kanji, its shape changes.
  • LinaWhen 人 sits on the left side of another kanji, it gets thinner and stands up straight. This shape is called "ninben" — the person radical.
  • Genほそい！ おれみたいに立ってる！It's so thin! It's standing tall, like me!
  • Shibamaruそして、これは「木」。And this is "tree."
  • LinaAnd this is 木, "ki" — a tree. You can see the trunk, the branches, and the roots.
  • Shibamaru人、木。いっしょにすると……？A person and a tree. Put them together and...?
  • Genおれだ！ 木のそばの、おれだ！It's me! Me, next to the tree!
  • Shibamaruそう。人が木のそばで休む。だから、この字なんだ。Right. A person rests by a tree. That's why this is the kanji for "rest."
  • Shibamaru昔の人も、木のかげで休んでたんだね。People long ago also rested in the shade of trees.
  • LinaA person leaning against a tree — that's the kanji for "rest." This is the most common explanation, though some scholars read the old forms differently.
  • Genよし、書くぞ！ 休は6画だ！Alright, let's write it! 休 has 6 strokes!
  • Genまず、人の頭！First, the person's head!
  • Gen人の体！The person's body!
  • Gen次は木。よこ！Now the tree. Across!
  • Gen木の幹！The trunk!
  • Gen次は、左の根っこ！Next, the left root!
  • Gen最後は、右の根っこ！ 完成！Last, the right root! Done!
  • Shibamaru人が先で、木があと。左から右へ書くよ。Person first, then the tree. Write from left to right.
  • LinaTip: write the person part first, then the tree. In most kanji, the left part comes before the right part.
  • Shibamaruいっしょに書こう。いち、に、さん、し、ご、ろく！Let's write it together. One, two, three, four, five, six!
  • Genこれは、なんて読む？How do you read this?
  • Shibamaruやすむ。YASUMU
  • Shibamaruキュウ。KYUU
  • Shibamaru「やすむ」は訓読み。日本語にもともとある言葉に、漢字を当てた読み方だよ。「キュウ」は音読み。昔の中国語の発音をもとにした読み方なんだ。"Yasumu" is the kun-yomi: a native Japanese word that was matched to this kanji. "Kyuu" is the on-yomi: a reading based on old Chinese pronunciation.
  • LinaOh, I get it! Yasumu is the kun-yomi, a word Japanese already had, matched to this kanji. And kyuu is the on-yomi. It comes from old Chinese. In words written only in kanji, you'll usually hear kyuu.
  • Shibamaru最後の「む」は、ひらがなで書くんだ。The last "mu" is written in hiragana.
  • Gen漢字とひらがなで、ひとつの言葉か！So kanji and hiragana make one word!
  • LinaThe hiragana after the kanji is called okurigana. It shows how the word changes: yasumu, yasumi, yasumanai.
  • Shibamaru休むto rest / to take a day off
  • Shibamaruかぜをひいたから、学校を休むね。I have a cold, so I'll stay home from school.
  • LinaYasumu doesn't only mean "to rest." It also means to take a day off from school or work.
  • Shibamaru休みa break / a day off
  • Gen休みの日は、なにをしようかな？What should I do on my day off?
  • Shibamaru昼休みlunch break
  • Shibamaru昼休みに、おにぎりを食べるよ。I eat rice balls during lunch break.
  • Shibamaru夏休みsummer vacation
  • Gen夏休みは、海に行きたい！I want to go to the beach during summer vacation!
  • Shibamaru休日holiday / day off
  • LinaNow listen for "kyuu" — the on-yomi. 休 plus 日, "day," makes kyuujitsu, a day off.
  • Shibamaru休日は、お家でゆっくりするんだ。On my days off, I relax at home.
  • Shibamaru定休日regular closing day
  • Gen「ていきゅうび」？ 特別な日か！ 入ろう！"Teikyuubi"? A special day! Let's go in!
  • Gen……あかない！...It won't open!
  • Shibamaru定休日は「お店が休む日」だよ。Teikyuubi means "the day the shop is closed."
  • Gen店も休むのか！Even shops take a rest!?
  • LinaYou'll see 定休日 on shop doors all over Japan. It means the shop's regular day off — so check before you go!
  • Shibamaru休の字、たくさんあったね。We found lots of words with 休!
  • Gen問題だ！ わかるかな？Quiz time! Can you get it?
  • Genえっ……おれは A だと思った……Huh... I thought it was A...
  • Shibamaruゲン、お茶いれたよ。どうぞ。Gen, I made some tea. Here you go.
  • Gen……ありがとう。たまには休むのも、いいな。...Thanks. Resting once in a while is nice, too.
  • Shibamaru休むのも、がんばるためだよ。Resting helps you keep going.
  • LinaSo, remember: when you're tired, find your tree.

Keep learning kanji

Stroke order data: KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. The kanji graphics on this page are drawn from KanjiVG data (stroke width and color changed, animated) and are shared under the same license. Level: JLPT N5 is a study guide only; JLPT does not publish an official kanji list.