Dictionary / Japanese / Thank you for your hard work
How to Say "Thank you for your hard work" in Japanese
お疲れ様です
otsukaresama desu
Literally: (Your) honourable tiredness
お
(polite prefix)
疲れ
tiredness
様
(respectful ending)
です
is
Polite or casual
Politeお疲れ様です / お疲れ様でした (otsukaresama deshita)
Casualおつかれ (otsukare)
お疲れ様です is polite and is said many times a day at work: in the corridor, at the start of a call or an email to a colleague, and when someone finishes a task. お疲れ様でした (otsukaresama deshita) is for work that is over, such as at the end of the day. おつかれ is casual, for friends and colleagues at your level. It is for people you work or study with. With clients, emails usually open with お世話になっております (osewa ni natte orimasu) instead.
Correct
お疲れ様です
What people say wrong
おつかれ
Cheers, good work. Fine between friends, too casual for a boss.
The mistake to avoid. お疲れ様です comes from 疲れる (tsukareru), to get tired, so learners often read it as "you are tired" and worry that it is rude. It says nothing about how anyone looks. It recognises the effort someone has put in, a bit like "thanks for your work" or "good job". Shortening it to おつかれ is fine with friends, but to a manager or a senior colleague, say the full お疲れ様です.
In context
お疲れ様です。会議は三時からです。
Otsukaresama desu. Kaigi wa sanji kara desu.
Hi. The meeting starts at three. (to a colleague)
今日も一日お疲れ様でした。
Kyō mo ichinichi otsukaresama deshita.
Thank you for all your work today.
おつかれ、また明日。
Otsukare, mata ashita.
Good work today, see you tomorrow. (casual)