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Literally as above, I encountered those sentences in my reading. I wonder about difference between them.

Is 'You need a rest' a more emphatic suggestion than 'You need rest' in spoken English? As I read those sentences in the book it sounds almost no difference in a general meaning.

is there any difference in nuances (or nuance?) between them?
[nuances vs nuance is complicated for me as well.]

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    'You need rest' is rather unusual; you'd expect it from a doctor about to give you a few days off work. It's in a rather formal register. // 'You need a rest' would typically be said to a colleague / friend / family member who needed to take an hour's break say (though it could also be used if the few days off was considered appropriate). It's far more conversational in tone. Both are non-count usages (*'You need two rests'), though 'a rest' has more of a 'fixed unit' feel about it. 'Rest' also means 'inactivity' so 'You need rest' parallels 'You need [more] sleep'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 11:59
  • A little bit confusing...I understand it this way 'a rest' is more realistic and direct. then it can be applied depending on the situation...in this sense 'You need rest' can be unusual because it can sound too indirect. if there is a patient, then a friend of the patient say 'you need rest' and then it can be a kind of mild suggestion? or ' you need a rest' and then it can be a strong suggestion?
    – Ben Choi
    Commented Jun 14, 2020 at 5:58
  • Yes, I'd say "You need rest" is a notch or two higher on the chivvying scale than "You need a rest" and certainly than "You could do with a rest"; "You could do with rest" sounds incongruous, mismatched.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 14, 2020 at 14:52
  • I think it's similar to this example. 'There is a little water in the bottle' and 'There is little water in the bottle'. when the speaker is negative, then can say there is little water and when positive, then can say there is a little water. In my opinion your answers and the other answer below will be both available..
    – Ben Choi
    Commented Jun 16, 2020 at 3:13
  • No, that's an incorrect comparison. 'I need coffee!' and 'I need a coffee!' is an example of the same form as the original, but here, there is very little difference at all in meaning. The former is just in a slightly more quirky vein. Beware claiming correspondence on the grounds of analogy in English.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 16, 2020 at 11:31

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You need rest determine that some is casually telling you take rest but the other You need a rest simplifies that now you have to take and generally he/she felling care for you.

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