Japanese in 20 seconds
“お疲れ様です” — the work greeting you just say right back
At work in Japan you hear “お疲れ様です” all day. Roughly “thanks for your hard work” — and the reply is the same words. Morning or night, it works like hello.
Your coworker says
お疲れ様です。
Thanks for your hard work.
You say
お疲れ様です。
The same thing, right back.
What it means
- Roughly: thanks for your work
- Say it right back!
There's no perfect English for it. Roughly: thanks for your hard work. And you just say it right back.
Good to know
Morning, night, or passing in the hallway. At work, it works like hello.
Say it slowly
お疲れ様です
o · tsu · ka · re · sa · ma · de · su
Learn Japanese with a real teacher — free trial lesson