Le repos est important pour la santé.

Rest is important for health.

Breakdown of Le repos est important pour la santé.

• être: to be
• pour: for
• important: important
• la santé: the health
• le repos: the rest

Questions & Answers about Le repos est important pour la santé.

Why is it le repos and not just repos or du repos?

In French, abstract nouns and general concepts usually take the definite article (le, la, les) when you talk about them in a general way.

• Le repos est important.
  → Rest (in general) is important.

If you said:

• Repos est important. – This is incorrect; in French a singular countable noun needs an article or determiner.
• Du repos est important. – Grammatically possible but odd here. Du repos suggests “some rest” (a certain quantity), not rest as a general concept.

So le repos means “rest as a general thing”, which matches the English idea here: “Rest is important.”

Is repos masculine or feminine, and how do I know?

Repos is masculine, so we say le repos, un repos, ce repos, repos important (not importante).

Unfortunately, there is no simple rule that lets you guess the gender of every noun; you mostly have to learn it with the noun:

• le repos – masculine
• la santé – feminine

You can help yourself by always memorizing nouns with their article:

• le repos = rest
• la santé = health

Why do we use la santé with la? In English we just say “for health”, not “for the health”.

French and English treat abstract nouns differently:

• In English, when talking in general, we often drop the article:
  Health is important. / for health

• In French, when talking in general, you normally keep the definite article:
  La santé est importante. – Health is important.
  pour la santé – for (the) health (in general)

So la santé here does not mean a specific person’s health. It means health as a general concept. Using la is the usual French pattern:

• La liberté est importante. – Freedom is important.
• L’éducation est essentielle. – Education is essential.
• Le sport est bon pour la santé. – Sport is good for health.

Could I say pour santé without la?

No. *pour santé is incorrect in standard French.

You must use pour la santé when you mean for (your/one’s) health in general. The definite article is required:

• ✅ C’est bon pour la santé. – It’s good for (your) health.
• ❌ C’est bon pour santé. – Wrong.

Why do we use pour and not à in pour la santé?

Pour often expresses purpose, benefit, or effect:

• bon pour la santé – good for your health
• mauvais pour la santé – bad for your health
• utile pour les élèves – useful for the students

À has many other uses (location, indirect object, time, etc.), but “good/bad for” is usually bon/mauvais pour in French.

So:

• Le repos est important pour la santé.
  Literally: Rest is important for health.

Using à here (*important à la santé) would sound wrong to a native speaker.

Why is it important and not importante?

Adjectives in French must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

• repos is masculine singular → adjective must be masculine singular: important
• If the noun were feminine, you’d use importante:
  • La santé est importante. – Health is important.

So:

• Le repos est important. – masculine singular
• La santé est importante. – feminine singular
• Les pauses sont importantes. – plural (feminine or mixed here)

Could I say Le repos pour la santé est important? Is that still correct?

Le repos pour la santé est important is grammatically possible, but it is not the natural way to say this idea.

• Le repos est important pour la santé.
  This clearly means: Rest is important, and the reason is: for health.

When you move pour la santé next to le repos, it sounds like you’re defining a certain kind of rest:

• le repos pour la santé
  could be understood as “rest for health purposes”, which is unusual phrasing.

Stick with:

• Le repos est important pour la santé.
  This is the normal, idiomatic word order.

What is the difference between repos and sommeil?

They’re related but not the same:

• le repos = rest
  A general state of not working, relaxing, recovering energy. It may or may not involve sleep.

  • J’ai besoin de repos. – I need rest.
  • Le repos après le travail est nécessaire. – Rest after work is necessary.

• le sommeil = sleep
  Specifically the act/state of sleeping.

  • Le sommeil est important. – Sleep is important.
  • Je manque de sommeil. – I lack sleep.

In your sentence:

• Le repos est important pour la santé. – Rest is important for health.
  If you want to focus specifically on sleep, you’d say:
• Le sommeil est important pour la santé. – Sleep is important for health.

If I want to say “To rest is important for health”, do I still use le repos or something with a verb?

In French you have two common options, both correct:

1. Use the noun le repos (as in your sentence):

   • Le repos est important pour la santé.
     Literally: “Rest is important for health.”
     This is the most natural version.

2. Use the infinitive verb se reposer (to rest):

   • Se reposer est important pour la santé.
     Literally: “To rest is important for health.”

Both are fine. The version with le repos is a bit more neutral and common; the version with se reposer sounds a little more like a direct instruction or rule.

Can I also say Le repos est bon pour la santé? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Le repos est important pour la santé.
• Le repos est bon pour la santé.

Both are natural, but they express slightly different nuances:

• important – emphasizes the importance/necessity.
  → Rest matters for health; you really need it.
• bon pour la santé – emphasizes the benefit, like a health recommendation.
  → Rest is good for your health (like “good for you”).

In everyday speech, people often say:

• C’est bon pour la santé. – It’s good for your health.
• Ce n’est pas bon pour la santé. – It’s not good for your health.

How do you pronounce Le repos est important pour la santé?

Approximate English-friendly guide (stressed syllables in caps):

• Le → luh (very short, like the first sound in “look”, but more relaxed)
• repos → ruh-POH
  
  • re- like ruh
  • -pos like po in “pole” without the l
• est → just “eh” (like e in “bet”)
• important → am-por-TAHN
  
  • nasal -an at the end: like ah but through the nose (TAHN)
• pour → poor (lips rounded, not as long as English)
• la → lah
• santé → sahn-TAY
  
  • san- with nasal an = sahn
  • -té = tay

Spoken smoothly:

[luh ruh-POH ehz am-por-TAHN poor lah sahn-TAY]

Note: There is a small liaison between est and important: the “t” of est is pronounced, so you hear “ehz-important”.

Why do we use the article at all? Why can’t I just say Repos est important like in English “Rest is important”?

English and French handle subjects very differently:

• In English you can often use a bare noun for general statements:
  Rest is important.
  Health is important.

• In French a singular common noun almost always needs an article or determiner:

  • Le repos est important.
  • La santé est importante.

Without the article, repos looks bare and ungrammatical:

• ❌ Repos est important. – incorrect
• ✅ Le repos est important. – correct

So when you see a general statement like “X is important”, think:

• Le / La / Les + noun + est important(e)(s).