Hebrew is a beautifully concise and minimalistic language. That’s why so often a single root can blossom into a whole family of related words—like branches growing from the same tree. That’s exactly what happens with the root ח-פ-ש (chet-pey-shin), which gives us חופש, חופשה, and יום חופש. 

So what are the differences between these three terms? If you’re looking for a day off and want to ask your boss for one, since you’ve been working so hard this past quarter, what you’re asking for is a יום חופש (yohm choh-fesh). A longer vacation, on the other hand—whether it’s lounging on the beach or exploring a new city—is called a חופשה (choof-shah), basically your holiday. 

Finally, חופש (choh-fehsh) is the broadest term, referring to freedom in the philosophical sense or just “time off” in a casual context. חופש גדול (literally “the big freedom”) is the long summer break kids get from school.