休止符是用于音乐的乐谱上，标记音乐暂时停顿或静止和停顿时间长短的记号。休止符的使用，可制造出音乐乐句中不同的情绪表达。休止符的命名主要依停顿时间长短来命名，可分为倍全休止符、全休止符、二分休止符、四分休止符、八分休止符、十六分休止符、三十二分休止符、六十四分休止符。休止符也可以加上附点，来调整音乐停顿的长度，命名为原休止符名，前面加上「附点」两字，例如附点二分休止符。

A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a symbol indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value:

The quarter (crotchet) rest may also be found as a form in older music.

(The four-measure rest or longa rest is a symbol found in Western musical notation denoting a silence four times the duration of a whole rest. They are only used in long silent passages which are not divided into bars.