watasi ha sigoto wo itiniti dake yasumimasu.

Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Start learning Japanese

Start learning Japanese now

Questions & Answers about watasi ha sigoto wo itiniti dake yasumimasu.

Why is を used with 仕事 in 仕事を休みます? In English we say “rest from work,” so shouldn’t it be から?

In Japanese, 休む (yasumu) takes the thing you are absent from as a direct object with . So N を 休む means “to miss/skip/be absent from N.”

  • Examples: 学校を休む (be absent from school), 授業を休む (skip class), バイトを休む (take a day off from a part-time job). Using から here is unnatural; から marks a starting point/source, not the thing you’re skipping. You might see 仕事から離れて休む (“rest away from work”), but that’s a different structure.
Is necessary here?

Not usually. Japanese often omits pronouns when the subject is clear from context. You can just say:

  • 明日、仕事を一日だけ休みます。 (Tomorrow, I’ll take only one day off work.) Use when you need to contrast or clarify who, e.g., 私は if others are being discussed.
How do you read 一日 in this sentence, and why not ついたち?

Here it’s read いちにち (ichinichi) because it indicates a duration (one day). ついたち is only for the calendar date “the 1st (of the month).”

  • Duration: 一日 (いちにち), 二日 (ふつか = two days), 三日 (みっか), etc.
  • Dates: 一日 (ついたち), 二日 (ふつか), 三日 (みっか), etc. Same forms for 2–10, but different meaning; only “one day” vs “the first” differ in reading.
What exactly does だけ do here?

だけ means “only/just” and attaches to the word or phrase immediately before it. In 一日だけ休みます, it limits the duration to “only one day.” Keep だけ right next to what you want to limit:

  • 一日だけ休みます = I’ll take only one day off. Avoid だけ一日, which is unnatural.
What’s the difference between 一日休みます and 一日だけ休みます?
  • 一日休みます: I’ll take a day off (neutral statement of duration).
  • 一日だけ休みます: I’ll take only one day off (emphasizes “only,” implying not two or more).
Can I say 一日間?

It’s grammatical but uncommon for a single day. Native speech usually uses 一日 for a one-day duration. For longer spans, 〜日間 is very common:

  • 二日間 (for two days), 三日間 (for three days), etc. You could use 一日間 to stress the span, but it can sound stiff or marked.
Could I place 一日だけ somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes, word order is flexible in Japanese. All of these are natural:

  • 仕事を一日だけ休みます。
  • 一日だけ仕事を休みます。
  • 私は一日だけ仕事を休みます。 Keep だけ next to 一日 to clearly limit the duration.
What’s the nuance of 休みます tense? Does it mean present or future?

Japanese non-past (〜ます/〜る) covers both present/habitual and future. Context supplies the time:

  • Habitual: 普段は仕事を一日だけ休みます。 (I usually take only one day off.)
  • Planned/future: 明日、仕事を一日だけ休みます。 (I will take only one day off tomorrow.)
Is this sentence polite enough to say to my boss?

It’s polite but rather direct/informal as a notice. In workplace contexts, people soften it:

  • Notice: 明日、私用のため会社をお休みさせていただきます。
  • Request: 明日、お休みをいただけますでしょうか。
  • Reason given: 体調不良のため、本日お休みをいただきます。
What’s the difference between 仕事を休む and 休みを取る?
  • 仕事を休む: be absent from work/take time off work (focus on the place/activity you skip).
  • 休みを取る: take leave/a day off (focus on obtaining leave as a thing). Both are natural:
  • 明日、仕事を一日だけ休みます。
  • 明日、一日だけ休みを取ります。
Can I say 会社を休みます or 学校を休みます?

Yes. This pattern is very common:

  • 会社を休む (be absent from the company/work)
  • 学校を休む (be absent from school)
  • 授業を休む (skip a class)
Could I say 仕事に行きません instead? Is there a difference?
  • 仕事を休みます = I’m taking time off (there’s leave/absence).
  • 仕事に行きません = I’m not going to work (could be any reason; not necessarily approved leave). They often overlap, but 休む implies “taking/being on leave” more directly.
How does しか compare to だけ here? For example, 一日しか休みません.

しか must be used with a negative predicate and means “nothing/no more than …”

  • 一日しか休みません = I don’t take more than one day off. (Stronger, somewhat regretful/limiting tone.)
  • 一日だけ休みます = I’ll take only one day off. (Neutral limitation.) Both convey “only one day,” but しか feels more restrictive/emphatic.
Why is there after ? Is it the subject?
marks the topic (“as for me”), not necessarily the grammatical subject. 私は sets the topic; the verb tells what you (the topic) will do. You could use 私が仕事を一日だけ休みます to emphasize that it’s specifically “I (not someone else)” who will take the day off.
Does 休む mean “to sleep”?

No. 休む = to rest, to take a break, to be absent. “To sleep” is 寝る (neru).

  • 少し休みます。 (I’ll take a short break.)
  • 早く寝ます。 (I’ll go to bed early.)
Why are there spaces in 私 は 仕事 を 一日 だけ 休みます?

They’re for teaching purposes only. Standard Japanese writing doesn’t use spaces between words:

  • Normal: 私は仕事を一日だけ休みます。
How do I say “I’m currently off work today” vs “I will take the day off”?
  • Currently off (progressive/state): 今日は仕事を休んでいます。
  • Future/plan: 明日、仕事を休みます。 You can add 一日だけ to limit the duration: 今日は仕事を一日だけ休んでいます (less common) or more naturally: 今日は一日、仕事を休んでいます。