67 - Taking a Breather
Generally speaking, writing these daily lessons is not too much of a problem for me.
I like talking about Japanese, after all.
The problem is what I call "my real job."
Which is writing/translating for a company that edits English learning materials in Tokyo.
For example, here's me holding a TOEIC book:
( ↑ Me being stoked, because my name's written in the book. ↑ )
I wrote all of the sample TOEIC tests in it.
My face, however, is not on the cover (T_T)
Anyways, that job is cool, too.
I'm a word nerd, after all.
Managing both jobs can, at times, get a bit dicey, though.
Like last weekend, I suddenly got this big assignment for my writing job, and they're like, Can you finish it in the next 12 hours or so?
Psshht. No problem. I say.
Panic. I do.
Ultimately, I ended up just working every waking hour for like 2 days straight.
And after that, I needed a rest...
Leisure Pose, ACTIVATE!
Wait a second.
That's not my leisure pose.
I don't even have a leisure pose.
*Starts Over*
The following kanji is the king of leisure:
Makes sense, I suppose. When a person (人) is next to a tree (木), they're probably partaking in leisure activities.
Quick! What are three words that use this kanji?!
Here's some space to think:
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Time's up, princess.
I have no idea what words you chose, but here are mine:
Let's study them words, homie.
Here's some space to mentally prep yourself.
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Engage Learning Mode!
休む
yasumu
to rest; to take a break; to be absent (e.g. from work); to take a day off; to go to bed
That long list of meanings might look intimidating, but it's usually clear from context.
For example, if I'm sitting at my computer all day working, Rei might say to me:
少し休めば。
sukoshi yasumeba.
Why don't rest for a bit? // Why don't you take a break?
(Literally: "a little bit + if you rest.")
With all of that in mind, it's not too hard to make the leap to the noun...
休み
yasumi
rest; vacation; holiday; day off; absence
So above we saw how 今日休む is "I'm gonna take the day off."
But what if we say the noun 休み (yasumi) instead of the verb 休む (yasumu)?
That would make it...
今日休み。
kyou yasumi.
Today's my day off. // I don't have work today.
(Literally: "today + rest.")
It took me years to figure this out.
Because they don't teach it in Japanese books or classrooms.
At least, none of the books I've seen.
❈ ❈ ❈
Anyways...
What if instead of a 休み (yasumi), a "rest," I take a 一休み (hito-yasumi), a "one-rest?"
Well...
一休み
hitoyasumi
a (short) rest; a break; a breather
By adding the kanji for "one" to our noun "rest," it means "a (short) rest."
This would not be a full-day thing.
For example, I was looking online for examples of this word, and I came acrossthis article titled:
ビバリーヒルズの美味しいカフェで一休みできるお店５選
bibarii hiruzu no oishii kafe de hitoyasumi dekiru omise go sen
5 Beverly Hills Cafes Where You Can Take a Breather
(Literally: "Beverly Hills + の + delicious + cafe + で + short rest + can do + shops + 5 + selections.)
So the word in question here is 休憩 (kyuukei // a rest; a break).
Also, earlier we had:
少し休めば。
sukoshi yasumeba.
Why don't rest for a bit? // Why don't you take a break?
(Literally: "a little bit + if you rest.")
0 comments