休 xiū — to rest
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.
Common words: 休息 (xiū xi)、休假 (xiū jià)、退休 (tuì xiū)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to rest"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to rest", including 休 (xiū), 歇 (xiē). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to rest" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 休 (xiū), 歇 (xiē) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xiū, xiē — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 休 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 休 xiūto restUseful words: 休息, 休假
- 歇 xiēto restUseful words: 歇心, 歇业
Common words for these 2 "to rest" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 休 (xiū) — so "to rest" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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歇心xiē xīnto drop the matter; to stop worrying歇业xiē yèto close down (temporarily or permanently); to go out of business间歇jiàn xiēto stop in the middle of sth; intermittent; intermittence
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to rest".
歇 xiē — to rest
走累了，我们坐下来歇一会儿。Zǒu lèi le, wǒ men zuò xià lái xiē yí huìr.Tired from walking, we sat down to rest a while.
Common words: 歇心 (xiē xīn)、歇业 (xiē yè)、间歇 (jiàn xiē)
All 2 characters
Open 休、歇 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.