What does “yasumu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “yasumu” often to mean ‘to take a break’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners use “yasumu” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “yasumu”
- Yasumanai: the nai form of “yasumu”
- Yasumou: the volitional form of “yasumu”
- Yasumimasu: the masu form of “yasumu”
- Yasunda: the past tense form of “yasumu”
- Yasunde: the te form of “yasumu”
- Yasumeba: the ba form of “yasumu”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “yasumu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “yasumu”.
- yasumu – 休む (やすむ) : a verb meaning ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Japanese native speakers use this verb when they take a break regardless of the duration.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult. The meanings seem to be based on the same concept. Then, let me explain how to use this verb through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “take a break” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa tokidoki yasumu – 私達は時々休む (わたしたちはときどきやすむ)
We sometimes take a break.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “yasumu”. When we want to mean ‘to take a break’ in Japanese, this verb is a good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “yasumu” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “yasumanai”.
Yasumanai: the nai form of “yasumu”
Below are the definition and meanings of “yasumanai”.
- yasumanai – 休まない (やすまない) : the nai form of “yasumu”, which means ‘not to take a break’, ‘not to take a day off’, ‘not to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasumanai” consists of the following two parts:
- yasuma – 休ま (やすま) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is very similar to that of “not”.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasumanai” is literally the nai form of “yasumu” and means ‘not to take a break’, ‘not to take a day off’, ‘not to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “not take a break” in Japanese
kanojo wa zenzen yasumanai – 彼女は全然休まない (かのじょはぜんぜんやすまない)
She doesn’t take a break at all.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- zenzen – 全然 (ぜんぜん) : an adverb working in a negative sentence to mean ‘at all’ or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “yasumanai”. When we want to mean ‘not to take a break’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.
Yasumou: the volitional form of “yasumu”
Below are the definition and meanings of “yasumou”.
- yasumou – 休もう (やすもう) : the volitional form of “yasumu”, which expresses volition to take a break, take a day off, take a vacation, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasumou” consists of the following two parts:
- yasumo – 休も (やすも) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “u”.
- u – う : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasumou” is literally the volitional form of “yasumu” and expresses volition to take a break, take a day off, take a vacation, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “let’s take a break” in Japanese
koko de yasumou – ここで休もう (ここでやすもう)
Let’s take a break here!
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- koko – ここ : a pronoun used to refer to a place close to the speaker.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “koko” to say “here” in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “yasumou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s take a break” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.
Yasumimasu: the masu form of “yasumu”
Below are the definition and meanings of “yasumimasu”.
- yasumimasu – 休みます (やすみます) : the masu form of “yasumu”, which means ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such politely in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasumimasu” consists of the following two parts:
- yasumi – 休み (やすみ) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “masu”.
- masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasumimasu” is literally the masu form of “yasumu” and means ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “take a vacation” politely in Japanese
boku wa maitoshi natsu ni yasumimasu – 僕は毎年夏に休みます (ぼくはまいとしなつにやすみます)
I take a vacation every summer.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- maitoshi – 毎年 (まいとし) : a noun meaning ‘every year’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to mean ‘every year’ in Japanese.
- natsu – 夏 (なつ) : a noun meaning ‘summer’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say when someone does something. In the example, this is used after “maitoshi natsu” to say when the speaker takes a vacation.
This is a typical usage of “yasumimasu”. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to say “take a vacation” politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.
Yasunda: the past tense form of “yasumu”
Below are the definition and meanings of “yasunda”.
- yasunda – 休んだ (やすんだ) : the past tense form of “yasumu”, which means ‘took a break’, ‘took a day off’, ‘took a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasunda” consists of the following two parts:
- yasun – 休ん (やすん) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “da”.
- da – だ : the voiced version of “ta” which is an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasunda” is literally the past tense form of “yasumu” and means ‘took a break’, ‘took a day off’, ‘took a vacation’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “took a day off” in Japanese
watashi wa kinou yasunda – 私は昨日休んだ (わたしはきのうやすんだ)
I took a day off yesterday.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “yasunda”. When we want to use the past tense form of “yasumu”, this form is the best option.
Yasunde: the te form of “yasumu”
Below are the definition and meanings of “yasunde”.
- yasunde – 休んで (やすんで) : the te form of “yasumu”, which means ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasunde” consists of the following two parts:
- yasun – 休ん (やすん) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “de”.
- de – で : the voiced version of “te” which is a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasunde” is literally the te form of “yasumu”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “yasunde” is very useful when we want to use “yasumu” in front of another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #6: how to say “please take a break” in Japanese
sukoshi yasunde kudasai – 少し休んでください (すこしやすんでください)
Please take a short break.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- sukoshi – 少し (すこし) : an adverb meaning ‘a little’, ‘a few’, ‘a bit’, or such in Japanese.
- kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works as an auxiliary verb after “yasunde” to add the meaning of ‘please’.
This is a typical usage of “yasunde”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “kudasai”. When we want to use “yasumu” in front of another verb like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
Yasumeba: the ba form of “yasumu”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “yasumeba”.
- yasumeba – 休めば (やすめば) : the ba form of “yasumu”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “yasumeba” consists of the following two parts:
- yasume – 休め (やすめ) : one conjugation of “yasumu”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
- ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.
From these two parts, we can understand that “yasumeba” is literally the ba form of “yasumu”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “yasumeba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #7 how to say “if take a vacation” in Japanese
natsu ni yasumeba, nippon ni ikeru yo – 夏に休めば、日本に行けるよ (なつにやすめば、にっぽんにいけるよ)
If you take a vacation in the summer, you can go to Japan.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- nippon – 日本 (にっぽん) : a noun meaning ‘Japan’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “nippon” to say where the listener can go in the summer.
- ikeru – 行ける (いける) : a potential verb meaning ‘can go’ in Japanese.
- yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to state the fact or idea softly. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to state the speaker’s idea softly.
This is a typical usage of “yasumeba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “natsu ni yasumeba”, which means ‘if you take a vacation in the summer’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “yasumu” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- yasumu – 休む (やすむ) : a verb meaning ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
- yasumanai – 休まない (やすまない) : the nai form of “yasumu”, which means ‘not to take a break’, ‘not to take a day off’, ‘not to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
- yasumou – 休もう (やすもう) : the volitional form of “yasumu”, which expresses volition to take a break, take a day off, take a vacation, or such in Japanese.
- yasumimasu – 休みます (やすみます) : the masu form of “yasumu”, which means ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such politely in Japanese.
- yasunda – 休んだ (やすんだ) : the past tense form of “yasumu”, which means ‘took a break’, ‘took a day off’, ‘took a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
- yasunde – 休んで (やすんで) : the te form of “yasumu”, which means ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese. When we want to use “yasumu” in front of another verb, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
- yasumeba – 休めば (やすめば) : the ba form of “yasumu”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to take a break’, ‘to take a day off’, ‘to take a vacation’, or such in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
