Meaning
to rest
Chinese: 休息。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xiu” becomes a different word in each tone. 休 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 休息xiū xirest; to rest
- 休假xiū jiàto go on vacation; to have a holiday; to take leave
- 退休tuì xiūto retire (from the workforce); to go into retirement
- 休闲xiū xiánleisure; relaxation; not working; idle
- 休养xiū yǎngto recuperate; to recover; to convalesce
Example Sentence
周末是大家休息的好时候。Zhōu mò shì dà jiā xiū xi de hǎo shí hou.The weekend is a good time for everyone to rest.
周末Zhōu mòweekend是shìis大家dà jiāeveryone休息xiū xirest的deof好时hǎo shíHershey's (brand)候houto wait。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A person (亻) leaning against a tree (木): stopping to rest in the shade. It means ‘to rest / stop’.
A way to remember it
A person resting against a tree — take a break.
Easy to confuse with
- 体‘Body’: a person (亻) next to 本 (root), not 木 — a different character.