Я хочу отдохнуть.

I want to rest.

Breakdown of Я хочу отдохнуть.

• я: I
• хотеть: to want
• отдохнуть: to rest

Questions & Answers about Я хочу отдохнуть.

Why is отдохнуть in the infinitive form here?

In Russian, verbs of wanting like хочу (I want) are followed by an infinitive to show what you want to do. Here отдохнуть is the perfective infinitive “to rest” or “to have a rest.” English “I want to rest” → Russian Я хочу отдохнуть.

What’s the difference between отдохнуть and отдыхать, and why do we use отдохнуть?

Russian verbs come in two aspects:

• отдыхать (imperfective) describes an ongoing or habitual action (“to be resting,” “to rest regularly”).
• отдохнуть (perfective) describes a single, completed action (“to rest once,” “to have a rest”).

In Я хочу отдохнуть, you express the desire to take a rest (complete the action) rather than to rest continuously or habitually.

Why can’t I say Я хочу отдых instead of Я хочу отдохнуть?

Отдых is a noun (“a rest”). After хочу you need a verb (an action), not a noun. Saying Я хочу отдых sounds like a word‑for‑word translation from English and is unnatural. If you want to use the noun отдых, you can say:
• Мне нужен отдых — “I need rest.”

Where is the stress in отдохнуть, and how do I pronounce the whole sentence?