Taking a Break When You Feel Tired at Work | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今日は仕事がたくさんあります。

   I have a lot of work today.

   今日

   today

   仕事

   work; job

   たくさん

   a lot; many

   あります

   there is; have

   More detail

   今日 means “today.” In this sentence, 今日は makes “today” the topic: “As for today …” The form 今日 itself does not change for time or number. Example: 今日は休みです。—“Today is a day off.” 仕事 means “work” here, referring to work to be done. It can also mean a job or occupation in other contexts; the surrounding sentence gives the intended sense here. Example: 仕事があります。—“I have work.” たくさん means “a lot” here. In 仕事がたくさんあります, it indicates a large amount of work. A common alternative before a noun is たくさんの仕事, “a lot of work,” but the source uses たくさん after the noun phrase marked by が. あります is the polite nonpast form of ある, used for the existence or availability of something nonhuman or inanimate. In the pattern Xがあります, it can naturally express that someone has or there is X, without requiring a separate word for “have.” Example: 時間があります。—“I have time.” The polite form あります is suitable for a neutral or polite statement; the plain form is ある. The structure is 今日 は / 仕事 が たくさん / あります: “As for today, a lot of work exists/is available.” With the intended personal meaning supplied by the translation, this naturally becomes “I have a lot of work today.” Japanese leaves the person who has the work unstated here; the English translation supplies “I.”

2. 疲れているようですから、休憩してください。

   You look tired, so take a break.

   疲れている

   be tired

   ようですから

   because it seems that …

   休憩

   break

   してください

   please do

   More detail

   疲れている means “be tired” here. It is the ている form of 疲れる, “become tired,” and describes the person’s current state. Do not treat 疲れた as its base adjective: 疲れた is a past form of 疲れる. Example: 今日は疲れている。— “I’m tired today.” ようですから presents the reason as an appearance or inference: “because it seems that …” Here, ようです follows 疲れている, and から marks the resulting clause as the reason for what follows. Example: 雨のようですから、傘を持ってください。— “Because it seems to be raining, please take an umbrella.” 休憩 is the noun “break” or “rest.” With a verb such as 取る, 休憩を取る means “take a break”; in this utterance, it combines with してください to form a request to take a break. Example: 昼に休憩を取ります。— “I take a break at noon.” してください is a polite request pattern: the て form して of する, “do,” followed by ください, “please.” After a noun such as 休憩, 休憩してください means “please take a break,” not merely “please do.” Example: ここで待ってください。— “Please wait here.” Together, 疲れているようですから gives the reason “because you look tired,” and 休憩してください gives the polite request “please take a break.” The whole utterance means: “You look tired, so take a break.”

3. 締め切りが近づいているので、心配です。

   I'm worried because the deadline is approaching.

   締め切り

   deadline

   近づいている

   is approaching

   ので

   because; since

   心配です

   am worried

   More detail

   締め切り means “deadline.” It is a noun for the time or date by which something must be finished. For example, 提出の締め切り means “the submission deadline.” 近づいている means “is approaching” here. Its base form is the intransitive verb 近づく, “to approach” or “to draw near.” The 〜ている form presents the change as currently in progress: 締め切りが近づいている means that the deadline is getting nearer now. It does not mean that someone is bringing the deadline closer. ので connects a reason to its result and means “because” or “since.” Here, the preceding clause 締め切りが近づいている gives the reason for the statement that follows. With a plain verb clause, the pattern is 理由ので、結果; with a noun or a na-adjective, use 理由なので、結果. For example, 雨なので、出かけません means “Because it is raining, I will not go out.” 心配です means “am worried” in this sentence. The base form is the na-adjective 心配だ; です makes this predicate polite. The fixed translation identifies the unspoken experiencer as the speaker. A related negative form is 心配ではありません, “am not worried.” Together, 締め切りが近づいているので says “because the deadline is approaching,” and 心配です says “I’m worried.” The whole utterance therefore means “I’m worried because the deadline is approaching.”

4. 少し休むと、そのあと、もっとよく仕事ができます。

   Stepping away can help you work better afterward.

   少し

   a little

   休む

   to rest; to take a break

   そのあと

   after that

   もっと

   more

   よく

   well; better

   仕事

   work; job

   できます

   can do; be able to

   More detail

   少し means “a little” or “for a short amount.” It modifies the following activity here, so 少し休む means “rest a little” rather than stating an exact duration. Example: 少し待ってください。 — “Please wait a little.” 休む is the plain-form verb “to rest” or “to take a break.” Its polite present form is 休みます; the form in the sentence is plain because it appears inside the conditional/temporal clause before と. Example: 今日は早く休みます。 — “I will rest early today.” 少し休むと forms a pattern meaning “when/if someone rests a little, …” or “resting a little can lead to ….” Here と links the first event with the result that follows; it does not itself mean “and.” そのあと means “after that.” その points back to something already understood, and あと means “after/later.” In this sentence, the referenced event is the short rest, so the phrase marks what happens afterward. Example: そのあと、勉強します。 — “After that, I will study.” もっと means “more” and increases the degree of the following description. It is useful with an adverb such as よく: もっとよく means “better” here, literally “more well.” Example: もっとゆっくり話してください。 — “Please speak more slowly.” よく is the adverbial form associated with よい/いい (“good”), and it can mean “well.” In もっとよく仕事ができます, the comparison is between working less well and working better, so the natural translation is “work better.” This is different from よく in a frequency use such as よく本を読みます (“I often read books”); the surrounding もっと and the ability construction give it the “well/better” reading here. 仕事 is the noun “work” or “job.” With する, 仕事をする means “do work,” but in this sentence it is marked by が in 仕事ができます, the pattern used with できる to say that an activity is possible or can be performed. Example: 今日は仕事があります。 — “I have work today.” できます is the polite present form of できる, “can,” “be able to,” or “be possible.” In this construction, 仕事ができます means “can work” or “am able to do the work.” できる is the base form, while できます is its polite form; this verb does not change for the gender of the person who can do something. Example: ここで仕事ができます。 — “I can work here.” Putting the parts together: 少し休むと presents taking a short rest as the condition or trigger, そのあと places the result afterward, and もっとよく仕事ができます says that one can work better. The complete meaning is: “Stepping away can help you work better afterward.”

5. 1分、目を休めたほうがいいかもしれません。

   Maybe I should rest my eyes for a minute.

   1分

   one minute

   目

   eyes

   休めた

   rested (them)

   ほうがいい

   it is better to

   かもしれません

   maybe

   More detail

   1分 gives a duration of one minute. Japanese can place a duration directly before the action without adding a separate preposition. The counter 分 is used for minutes; for example, 5分待ちます。 means “I’ll wait for five minutes.” 目 means “eye” and can refer to the eyes in this expression; Japanese does not mark ordinary nouns for singular versus plural here. The particle を marks 目 as the direct object of the following verb. 休めた is the past/plain form of 休める, “to rest something.” In 目を休める, the eyes are the thing being rested, so this is different from 休む, “to rest” oneself or take a break. The past form is required in the reusable recommendation pattern Vたほうがいい, even when the recommendation concerns a future action. Example: 少し休めたほうがいいです。 means “You should rest a little.” ほうがいい literally presents one option as the better one and commonly means “it is better to” or “should” after a verb. With a verb, use the plain past form before it: 早く寝たほうがいいです。 means “You should go to bed early.” かもしれません adds uncertainty: “might” or “maybe.” It is the polite form of かもしれない. Here it softens the recommendation, so Vたほうがいいかもしれません means “it might be better to do V,” rather than making a firm command. Together, the duration 1分 specifies how long, 目を休める means “rest one’s eyes,” たほうがいい recommends that action, and かもしれません makes the recommendation tentative. The whole utterance therefore means that the speaker may be better off resting their eyes for one minute. The polite ending suits a courteous suggestion.

6. 水を飲んで、1分ゆっくり呼吸してください。

   Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.

   水

   water

   飲んで

   drink, and then

   1分

   one minute

   ゆっくり

   slowly

   呼吸してください

   please breathe

   More detail

   水 means “water” here. It is a noun and can be used directly before an action: 水を飲む means “drink water.” The particle を marks 水 as the thing acted on; it is not included in this phrase entry. 飲んで comes from the verb 飲む (“to drink”). Its て-form is 飲んで. Here, the て-form links this action to the following instruction, giving the sequence “drink water, and then …”. The same form is reusable in combinations such as 見てください (“please look”) or 食べて、休みます (“I eat, and then rest”), but the exact relationship depends on the following clause. 1分 means “one minute.” In this sentence it expresses the duration of the breathing action: 1分呼吸する means “breathe for one minute.” The counter 分 is used for minutes; the numeral and counter form one time expression. ゆっくり is an adverb meaning “slowly” here. It describes how the breathing should be done. It can also modify other actions, for example, ゆっくり話してください means “Please speak slowly.” 呼吸してください is a polite request meaning “please breathe.” 呼吸する is the verb “to breathe”; its て-form is 呼吸して, and adding ください makes a polite request: 呼吸してください. This pattern is reusable with many verbs, such as 座ってください (“please sit”) and 読んでください (“please read”). Together, 水を飲んで gives the first requested action, while 1分ゆっくり呼吸してください gives the next one and specifies its duration and manner. The complete utterance therefore means: “Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.”

7. そうすれば、最後の部分を終えられます。

   Then I can finish the last section.

   そうすれば

   then / if so

   最後

   last / final

   部分

   section / part

   終えられます

   can finish

   More detail

   そうすれば links the utterance to a preceding action or situation: “if that is done” or “then, in that case.” そう refers back to something already mentioned, while -すれば is the conditional form of する. Together, this is a reusable way to express a result that follows from the preceding situation. 最後 means “last” or “final.” It commonly describes an item’s position at the end of a sequence, as in 最後の日 (“the last day”). Here it modifies 部分, so it identifies the final section rather than describing the section’s size or quality. 部分 means “part” or “section.” 最後の部分 is a noun phrase meaning “the last section”: の connects the describing noun 最後 to the head noun 部分. The same pattern works in examples such as 本の最初の部分 (“the first part of the book”). 終えられます means “can finish” here. Its base verb is the transitive 終える, “to finish something”; its potential form is 終えられる, “be able to finish,” and the polite nonpast form is 終えられます. Because 終える is transitive, the thing being finished is marked with を, as in 仕事を終える (“finish the work”). This differs from 終わる, “come to an end,” which describes something ending rather than a person finishing it. The omitted subject is understood as the speaker in the fixed translation, so the sentence says that the speaker can finish the section. Putting the parts together, そうすれば supplies the condition or resulting situation, 最後の部分を marks “the last section” as what is acted on, and 終えられます says that the speaker is able to finish it. The complete meaning is: “Then I can finish the last section.”

8. あなたが休んでいる間に、私が原稿を見直します。

   I will review the draft while you rest.

   あなた

   you

   休んでいる

   rest

   間に

   while; during

   私

   I

   原稿

   draft

   見直します

   review

   More detail

   あなたが: あなた means “you” here, and が marks you as the subject of the subordinate clause. The fixed translation identifies this participant as the person who will rest. あなた is a second-person pronoun; Japanese often omits pronouns when the context already makes the participant clear. 休んでいる: This is the ている form of 休む (“to rest”): 休む → 休んでいる. With an activity such as resting, ている presents the activity as in progress, so this means “are resting,” not simply “rest.” Example: 彼は今、休んでいる。 — “He is resting now.” 間に: 間 means an interval or period, and に marks the time during which another event takes place. The reusable pattern is X間に Y (“while/during X, Y”). Here, あなたが休んでいる間に means “while you rest” or more literally “during the time you are resting.” 私が: 私 means “I,” and が marks the subject of the main clause. It therefore identifies the person who will perform the reviewing. 私 is a neutral first-person form; the choice of a different first-person term depends on context and register. 原稿: 原稿 means a draft or manuscript—the written material being reviewed here. It can refer to prepared text before final publication or submission. Example: 原稿を確認します。 — “I will check the draft.” 見直します: This is the polite nonpast form of 見直す, “to review” or “to revise after checking.” The form chain is 見直す → 見直します; the polite nonpast form can describe a future action, as it does here. The verb is a compound: 見直す is not merely the same as 見る (“to look/see”), because it conveys checking something again and possibly improving it. Example: 内容を見直します。 — “I will review the contents.” Together, あなたが休んでいる間に sets the time—while you are resting—and 私が原稿を見直します states the main action—I will review the draft. The complete utterance therefore means: “I will review the draft while you rest.”