余暇|よかyoka[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. no-adjectiveleisure; leisure time; spare time
   ユリコは余暇よかに花はなを生いける。↗

   Yuriko arranges flowers in her spare time.

• Synonym暇ひまNeutralRead 「いとま」: free time, or taking one's leave as in 「お暇します」; rather old-fashioned, and can also mean resignation or divorce.
• Synonym閑暇かんかWrittenWritten word for leisure; rare in modern Japanese — in everyday speech use 「余暇」 or 「暇」.
• Related休暇きゅうかNeutralLeave or vacation, e.g. 「夏季休暇」; leans toward formal time off from work, while 「余暇」 is leisure outside work.
• RelatedいとまNeutralRead 「いとま」: free time, or taking one's leave as in 「お暇します」; rather old-fashioned, and can also mean resignation or divorce.
• Related自由時間じゆうじかんNeutralTime free to spend as you like, e.g. a tour's 「自由時間」; leans toward an open slot in a schedule.
• Related閑かんWrittenWritten word for free time, mostly seen in compounds such as 「閑散」; seldom used on its own.
• RelatedフリータイムNeutralLoanword for free time; used mostly in travel and business contexts.
• Related空き時間あきじかんNeutralTime that opens up between commitments, e.g. 「授業の空き時間」; leans toward gaps in a schedule.
• Antonym勤務きんむNeutralBeing on duty at work, e.g. 「勤務時間」; the opposite of 「余暇」, time spent away from work.
• Antonym仕事しごとNeutralWork; the opposite of 「余暇」 as leisure time.

Use 「余暇」 for leisure time outside work or study, as in 「余暇を楽しむ」 or 「余暇活動」. In casual speech say 「暇（ひま）」; for formal time off from work use 「休暇」. The opposites are 「仕事」 and 「勤務」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 仕事しごとの合間あいまなどの暇ひまな時間じかん。