休
yasumu
to rest
ORIGIN · SOURCED
A person and a tree
亻person
+ 木tree
= 休Many cute kanji stories are made up. This one mostly holds up. On the left of 休 is a person (亻, the side form of 人). On the right is a tree (木).
Its oldest carved forms put the same two side by side, and dictionaries read it as someone taking a break in a tree's shade: yasumu, to rest.
The one argument: some scholars think the character first meant the shade itself, and that rest came later.
Either way, it is the same picture: one person, one tree, one breather.
What we don’t claimUnlike most kanji on this site, 休 came from Chinese writing; it was not made in Japan. We don't say which side of the shade-or-rest argument is right.
Sources
Checked 2026-09-26. The story above is in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us on Instagram.
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