お疲れ様でした

Japanese

Japanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Kanji in this term
疲	様
つか Grade: S	さま Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
お疲れ樣でした (kyūjitai) 御疲れ様でした

Etymology

Consists of お (o, honorific prefix) + 疲れ (tsukare, “tiredness, fatigue”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of verb 疲れる (tsukareru, “to become tired or fatigued”) + 様 (sama, honorific suffix) + でした (deshita, “it was”, past tense of copula です (desu, “it is”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞t͡sɨ̥ᵝka̠ɾe̞ sa̠ma̠ de̞ɕi̥ta̠]

Phrase

お疲(つか)れ様(さま)でした • (o-tsukare-sama deshita) 

1. I appreciate your efforts, thank you very much, good work

Usage notes

Can be used as a catch-all greeting of sorts when passing a coworker in the hall on the way home at the end of the day. The past-tense deshita on the end indicates that whatever the speaker is referring to is finished. Consequently, it is considered inappropriate for someone leaving work to say this to someone staying at work; in that case, お疲(つか)れ様(さま)です (o-tsukare-sama desu) would be used instead.

Synonyms

• ご苦(く)労様(ろうさま)でした (go-kurō-sama deshita)

Related terms

• お疲(つか)れ様(さま)です (o-tsukare-sama desu)