Tôi chỉ muốn nghỉ một chút.

I just want to rest a bit.

Breakdown of Tôi chỉ muốn nghỉ một chút.

• tôi: I
• muốn: to want
• nghỉ: to rest
• một: a

Questions & Answers about Tôi chỉ muốn nghỉ một chút.

What does each word in Tôi chỉ muốn nghỉ một chút mean?

A natural word-by-word breakdown is:

• Tôi = I
• chỉ = only / just
• muốn = want
• nghỉ = rest / take a break
• một chút = a little / for a bit

So the sentence structure is very close to:

• I only want rest a little which naturally becomes:
• I just want to rest a little.

What does chỉ do in this sentence?

Chỉ means only or just. It limits what the speaker wants.

So:

• Tôi muốn nghỉ một chút = I want to rest a little
• Tôi chỉ muốn nghỉ một chút = I just want to rest a little

It can make the sentence sound softer, as if the speaker is saying:

• That’s all I want
• I’m not asking for much

In Vietnamese, chỉ often comes before the verb or verb phrase it modifies. Here it comes before muốn.

Why is there no word for to before nghỉ?

In Vietnamese, you usually do not need a separate word for the English infinitive .