休 (xiū): to rest
休 (xiū) is a Chinese character meaning “to rest.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 木 (structural). It ranks #1081 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 休 a person 亻 leaning against a tree 木. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to rest
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 亻 leaning against a tree 木
Decomposition: ⿰亻木 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 休 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 休
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 休息verb | xiū xi | rest | 1 |
| 退休verb | tuì xiū | to retire (from the workforce) | 5 |
| 休假verb | xiū jià | to go on vacation | 3 |
| 休闲verb | xiū xián | leisure | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 休想verb | xiū xiǎng | don't think (that) |
| 休息室noun | xiū xī shì | lobby |
| 休庭verb | xiū tíng | to adjourn (law) |
| 罢休verb | bà xiū | to give up |
| 喋喋不休phrase | dié dié bù xiū | (idiom) to chatter endlessly |
| 休克noun | xiū kè | (medicine) (loanword) shock |
| 休斯顿proper-noun | xiū sī dùn | Houston, Texas |
| 退休金noun | tuì xiū jīn | retirement pension |
| 休战verb | xiū zhàn | armistice |
| 休止verb | xiū zhǐ | to stop |
| 休学verb | xiū xué | to suspend schooling |
| 午休verb | wǔ xiū | noon break |
| 休养verb | xiū yǎng | to recuperate |
| 休眠verb | xiū mián | (biology) dormant |
| 休斯敦proper-noun | xiū sī dūn | Houston, Texas |
休 appears in 81 compound words: 49 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 休 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to put down weapon and let soldiers rest (idiom); to relax from fighting
to share joys and sorrows; to be bound together by a common cause; to be in the same boat
to rest and recuperate; to convalesce; (of society) to recover (after a war or upheaval) and regain vitality
Example Sentences
公司规定员工每周至少休息一天，保障员工权益。
Gōngsī guīdìng yuángōng měi zhōu zhìshǎo xiūxi yì tiān, bǎozhàng yuángōng quányì.
Company regulations state that employees must have at least one day off per week to protect their rights.
...宮擲筊破百萬人次! 12筊奪冠抱回90萬休旅車當婚車
. . . 宮 擲 筊 pò bǎi 萬 rén cì ! 筊 奪 guàn bào huí 萬 xiū lǚ 車 當 hūn 車
...Gongzhi Jiao breaks one million visits! 12 divination blocks clinch the championship, taking home a 900,000-yuan SUV as their wedding car.
台灣餐飲業覺醒了?一堆店除夕休到初五 老闆揭關鍵:根本做白工
tái 灣 cān 飲 業 覺 xǐng le ? yī duī diàn chú xī xiū dào chū wǔ lǎo 闆 jiē 關 鍵 gēn běn zuò bái gōng
Has Taiwan's restaurant industry woken up? Numerous establishments closed from New Year's Eve through the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. The owner reveals the key reason: It's essentially working for nothing.
苗栗7旬歲翁疑閃生物自撞 休旅車全面燃燒成火球
miáo 栗 xún 歲 wēng yí 閃 shēng wù zì zhuàng xiū lǚ 車 quán miàn rán 燒 chéng huǒ qiú
Miaoli: 70-Year-Old Man Suspected of Swerving to Avoid Object, Crashing and Setting SUV Ablaze
注入運動機能的都市休閒服 9m88柯煒林演繹科技布料的日常穿...
zhù rù 運 動 機 néng de dōu shì xiū 閒 fú 柯 煒 lín yǎn 繹 kē jì bù liào de rì cháng chuān . . .
The Urban Casual Wear Injected with Sports Functions 9m88 Ke Wei Lin Interprets the Everyday Wear of Technological Fabrics...
退休僅存20萬 大叔靠這2招10年後抱千萬
tuì xiū 僅 cún 萬 dà shū kào 這 zhāo nián 後 bào qiān 萬
Retired with only $200,000 in savings, this is how an old man can get his hands on $10 million in 10 years.
我能休息一会儿吗？
Wǒ néng xiūxi yīhuìr ma?
Can I rest a bit?
我们休息一下吧，好吗？
Wǒmen xiūxi yīxià ba, hǎo ma?
Let's break off, shall we?
每月六百元，每周一天休息，行吗？
Měiyuè liù bǎi yuán, měizhōu yī tiān xiūxi, xíng ma?
Six hundred dollars a month, with a day rest every week. That works for you?
为什么不让你的嘴巴休息呢？
Wèishénme bù ràng nǐ de zuǐba xiūxi ne?
Why don't you give your mouth a rest?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 休 (xiū)?
Is 休 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 休 with real-time feedback
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