Taking a Break During Study | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 長い時間、勉強しています。

   I've been studying for a long time.

   長い

   long

   時間

   time; period

   勉強しています

   have been studying

   More detail

   長い means “long” and describes duration here. Its base form is 長い; the final い is part of this adjective’s basic form. It can modify a noun directly: 長い時間 means “a long time.” Its opposite is 短い (“short”), as in the example 短い時間 — “a short time.” 時間 means “time” or “a period of time.” In this utterance it is the noun that 長い describes. The compound 長い時間 is a reusable way to express a long duration; it does not by itself specify an exact number of hours or days. 勉強しています is the polite form of 勉強する (“to study”). 勉強しています consists of the noun-based verb 勉強する in the 〜ている form plus polite ます. Here, 〜ています presents the studying as an activity continuing up to the relevant time, giving the intended meaning “have been studying.” The subject is not stated in Japanese, so the form itself does not identify who is studying. Example: 毎日勉強しています。 — “I study every day.” Together, 長い時間 supplies the duration, and 勉強しています says that the studying has continued over that duration. The whole utterance means: “I've been studying for a long time.”

2. いったん勉強をやめてください。

   Put your work aside.

   いったん

   for now; temporarily

   勉強

   study; studying

   やめてください

   please stop

   More detail

   いったん means “for now” or “temporarily.” It presents the action as a pause or temporary change, not necessarily a permanent end. Example: いったん休みます。 — “I’ll take a break for now.” 勉強 means “study” or “studying.” It is a noun that commonly combines with する to mean “to study,” but here it appears as 勉強を, the object marked by を. In this sentence, the fixed context supports the sense “studying” or “work on one’s studies.” やめてください is a polite request meaning “please stop” or “please give it up.” Its base form is やめる “to stop; quit.” The form やめて is the て-form, followed by ください to make a polite request. やめる can refer to stopping an activity, as here, or quitting something more permanently in other contexts; いったん makes the intended stopping temporary here. Example: ここで話すのをやめてください。 — “Please stop talking here.” Together, 勉強をやめてください means “Please stop studying,” and いったん specifies that this is only for now. Thus the whole utterance means “Please put your studying/work aside for now.”

3. 少し休んでください。

   Rest for a moment.

   少し

   for a moment

   休んでください

   please rest

   More detail

   少し means “a little” and here limits the duration of the rest: “for a moment.” It can also describe a small amount in other contexts, but this sentence uses it with a time-related activity. Example: 少し待ちます。 — “I’ll wait a little.” 休んでください contains the verb 休む (“to rest; take a break”) in its て-form, 休んで, followed by ください. The pattern 〜てください is a polite request to do something. Thus 休んでください asks the listener to rest; 休む is the base form, while 休んで is the form used before this request expression. Example: ここで待ってください。 — “Please wait here.” Together, 少し specifies a short duration, and 休んでください makes the polite request. The utterance therefore means “Rest for a moment.”

4. 今は集中するのが難しいです。

   It's hard to concentrate now.

   今

   now

   集中する

   to concentrate

   のが

   the act of …

   難しい

   difficult

   More detail

   今 means “now” and places the situation at the present time. It can also combine with other time expressions, as in 今は忙しいです。 — “I’m busy now.” Here, は is outside the selected quote and marks “now” as the topic. 集中する means “to concentrate.” The base form is 集中する; 集中 is the noun “concentration,” and する makes it a verb. The form 集中します is the polite non-past form, while 集中した is the plain past form. Example: 仕事に集中します。 — “I concentrate on my work.” のが turns the preceding action or clause into something that can be evaluated, then marks it as the subject of the following adjective. Thus, 集中するのが means “concentrating” or “the act of concentrating” in this construction. The pattern [verb in plain form] のが [adjective]です is useful for saying that doing something is easy, difficult, fun, and so on. Example: 日本語を読むのが楽しいです。 — “Reading Japanese is fun.” 難しい means “difficult” or “hard.” It is an i-adjective: the negative form is 難しくない (“not difficult”), and the past form is 難しかった (“was difficult”). Example: この問題は難しいです。 — “This problem is difficult.” Together, 集中するのが難しいです says that concentrating is difficult. With 今は, the complete utterance means “It’s hard to concentrate now.” The polite ending です makes the statement polite; it is not included in the selected phrase entries.

5. それはたいてい、頭を休める必要があるということです。

   That usually means your brain needs a break.

   それは

   that

   たいてい

   usually

   頭

   brain

   休める

   rest

   必要がある

   need to

   ということです

   means that

   More detail

   それは sets “that” as the topic. Here, the fixed translation supports the reading “that” as the situation just described, rather than identifying a specific physical object. それ is a demonstrative pronoun; its exact referent is supplied by context, while は marks the topic. たいてい means “usually” or “in most cases.” It is an adverb, so it does not change form for the person or number of the subject. Example: たいてい朝に勉強します。 — “I usually study in the morning.” 頭 means “head”; in this sentence, the translation identifies it more naturally as “brain,” the part whose mental activity needs a break. 頭 can refer to the physical head in other contexts, so the surrounding verb determines the intended sense here. を marks 頭 as the object of the following action. 休める means “to let something rest” or “to give something a rest.” Its base form is 休める; the form in the sentence is also the non-past form. This is different from 休む, “to rest,” which normally has the resting person or thing as the subject: 少し休みます。 — “I’ll rest for a while.” With 頭を休める, the speaker presents the brain as the thing being given a rest. 必要がある expresses that something is necessary, commonly in the pattern [verb non-past form] + 必要がある, “need to do [verb].” Here, 休める comes before 必要がある, producing 休める必要がある, “need to give it a rest.” 必要 is the noun meaning “necessity,” and がある literally presents that necessity as existing. The construction does not by itself specify who must perform the action; the intended participant is understood from the fixed meaning and context. ということです presents the preceding content as what the situation means: [clause] + ということです can be used to say “it means that [clause]” or “that is to say, [clause].” と marks the quoted or summarized content, いう is the verb “say/call,” and こと turns the content into an abstract matter or fact. In this utterance, it connects the explanation to それは, yielding the intended meaning “that usually means that …” rather than treating ということ as a separate physical thing. Putting the parts together: それは (“that”) + たいてい (“usually”) + 頭を休める必要がある (“[the brain] needs to be given a break”) + ということです (“means that”) gives: “That usually means your brain needs a break.”

6. 後で単語を復習したほうがいいですか。

   Should I review vocabulary later?

   後で

   later

   単語

   vocabulary; word

   復習した

   reviewed

   ほうがいいですか

   would it be better?

   More detail

   後で means “later” and places the action at a later time. It is a reusable time expression: 後で電話します。 means “I’ll call later.” 単語 means “word” or, in this context, “vocabulary.” The particle を after it marks it as what is reviewed: 単語を覚えます。 means “I memorize words.” 復習した is the past form of 復習する, “to review.” Here, the past form is part of the recommendation pattern Vたほうがいい, not a claim that the reviewing already happened. The verb changes from 復習する to 復習した before this pattern. For example, 休んだほうがいいです。 means “It would be better to rest.” ほうがいいですか asks whether one option would be better. With a verb in the た form, Vたほうがいいですか is a polite way to ask “Should I …?” or “Would it be better to …?” The question ending ですか makes the whole recommendation a question. Together, 後で sets the time, 単語を identifies vocabulary as the object, and 復習したほうがいいですか asks whether reviewing it would be the better choice. The complete meaning is: “Should I review vocabulary later?”

7. 戻ってきたら、もっと簡単な単語から始めてください。

   Start with the easier words when you come back.

   戻ってきたら

   when you come back

   もっと

   more

   簡単な

   easy

   単語

   word

   から

   from; starting with

   始めてください

   please start

   More detail

   戻ってきたら means “when you come back.” It is built from 戻ってくる (“to come back”) plus the たら conditional form. Here, たら presents the return as the condition or time point for what follows; it does not by itself assert uncertainty. The form 戻ってきたら keeps the movement toward the relevant place or situation expressed by くる. もっと means “more” and increases the degree of the following description. Here it makes the words easier than some comparison point already understood: “easier.” It is not itself the comparative adjective. 簡単な means “easy” or “simple” here. Its base form is the な-adjective 簡単だ; before a noun, it uses 簡単な, as in 簡単な単語 (“easy words”). A useful contrast is 難しい (“difficult”), which is an い-adjective and has a different attributive form: 難しい単語. 単語 means “word” or “vocabulary item.” In this sentence it refers to the words used for study, without specifying an exact number. Example: 新しい単語を覚えます。 — “I learn new words.” から marks a starting point. With 単語 here, 単語から means “starting with the words” or “from the words.” The reusable pattern Aから始める means “start with A,” emphasizing A as the starting point. 始めてください means “please start.” It consists of the te-form 始めて of 始める (“to start; to begin”) plus ください, a polite request. The lexical verb is 始める; ください makes the utterance a request rather than changing the verb’s basic meaning. Example: ここから始めてください。 — “Please start here.” Together, もっと簡単な単語から means “starting with easier words,” and 始めてください asks the listener to begin that way. The opening 戻ってきたら sets the time condition, so the whole utterance means: “Start with the easier words when you come back.”

8. 休んでいる間、ノートを閉じておきます。

   I'll close the notebook while I rest.

   休んでいる間

   while I rest

   ノート

   notebook

   閉じておきます

   will close and leave it that way

   More detail

   休んでいる間 means “while I rest.” 休んでいる comes from 休む (“to rest”): 休んで is the て-form, and いる presents the resting as ongoing. 間 means “during/while” when it follows a time expression or clause. The subject is not stated in Japanese; here, the fixed translation identifies it as the speaker. Example: 読んでいる間、音楽を聞きます。 — “I listen to music while reading.” ノート means “notebook.” It is a noun written in katakana. With the following を, the noun phrase marks the notebook as the object of the action. 閉じておきます means “will close and leave it that way” in this sentence. 閉じる is the base form “to close,” and 閉じて is its て-form. The pattern ておく expresses doing something in advance or intentionally leaving the resulting state in place; おきます is the polite nonpast form of おく. The object is supplied separately by ノートを, not by a pronoun inside 閉じておきます. Example: ドアを開けておきます。 — “I’ll open the door and leave it open.” Together, 休んでいる間 sets the time, ノートを marks the notebook as the object, and 閉じておきます describes closing it and leaving it closed. The complete meaning is: “I’ll close the notebook while I rest.”

9. それなら、もっと落ち着いて続けられます。

   Then we can continue more calmly.

   それなら

   then; in that case

   もっと

   more

   落ち着いて

   calmly

   続けられます

   can continue

   More detail

   それなら means “then” or “in that case,” linking this sentence to the situation just mentioned. それ refers to that situation or matter, and なら presents it as the condition or basis for what follows. Pattern: それなら、〜 = “If that is the case, …” / “Then, …”. もっと means “more” and increases the degree of the following description. It can be reused before an adjective or adverb: もっとゆっくり means “more slowly.” It does not itself specify how much more. 落ち着いて is the て-form of 落ち着く, “to become calm” or “to settle down.” Here the て-form connects this state or manner to 続けられます, giving the adverbial meaning “calmly.” The useful chain is 落ち着く → 落ち着いて; the latter is not a separate adjective. For example, 落ち着いて話してください。 means “Please speak calmly.” 続けられます is the polite non-past potential form of 続ける, “to continue” or “to keep doing something.” The potential meaning is “can continue.” Its base verb is 続ける, not 続く: 続ける takes an agent who continues something, while 続く means that something continues. The ending ます makes the form polite. For example, ここで続けられます。 means “We can continue here.” Together, それなら sets the condition, もっと落ち着いて describes a greater degree of calmness in the manner of continuing, and 続けられます expresses the ability to continue. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then we can continue more calmly.”