休假 (xiū jià) means to take vacation or time off from work, often for a period. It differs from 放假 (fàng jià), which refers to a scheduled holiday (e.g., school or company closure), and from 度假 (dù jià), which emphasizes going somewhere to spend the vacation. 请假 (qǐng jià) is the act of asking for leave, not the leave itself.