お疲れ様 and ご苦労様 both acknowledge someone’s work, but their social uses differ. お疲れ様 is common among coworkers, including toward superiors. ご苦労様 generally addresses someone who has worked for the speaker’s side and is best avoided toward a superior; direct gratitude may call for ありがとうございます.
thanks for your work — said to anyone · thanks for your trouble — said downward
Sentences
5 sentences, word by word
お疲れ様でした · leaving for the day
polite
。。
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お先
おさき ［0］
ahead of you
noun with honorific お · going before the people still working
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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失礼します
しつれいします
excuse me — I'm off
polite of 失礼する · literally committing a rudeness by leaving first
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お疲れ様
おつかれさま ［0］
thanks for your work
set expression · safe in every direction, including to your boss
お疲れ様N3thanks for your work
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でした
でした
(polite past)
past copula · the day's work is over, so the past form is the one
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That's me done. Thanks for today, everyone.
お疲れ様です · greeting in the corridor
polite
、。
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部長
ぶちょう ［0］
department head
noun · a title used as a form of address, replacing the name
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お疲れ様
おつかれさま ［0］
hello (at work)
set expression · used as a greeting, not a thank-you, mid-working-day
お疲れ様N3hello · thanks for your work
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · present tense, because the work is still in progress
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Hello, Director.
ご苦労様 · downward, and correct
polite
。。
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ご苦労様
ごくろうさま ［2］
thanks for your trouble
set expression · acknowledges trouble taken on your behalf, so it points down
ご苦労様N3thanks for your trouble
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · polite, and politeness does not change who may say it
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そこ
そこ
there
demonstrative · near the listener, which is why そこ and not ここ
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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置いて
おいて
put it down
て-form of 置く · a request softened by ください
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ください
ください
please (do)
polite request · from くださる
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Thanks for going to the trouble. You can leave it there.
The rule, stated
polite
。
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目上
めうえ ［0］
someone senior
noun · anyone above you in position or age
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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人
ひと ［0］
person
noun · the person occupying that senior position
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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ご苦労様
ごくろうさま ［2］
“thanks for your trouble”
set expression · quoted here, not used — the と after it marks the quote
ご苦労様N3thanks for your trouble
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と
と
that — quoting
particle · marks the preceding words as what was said, not as a companion
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言う
いう ［0］
to say
godan verb · read いう, pronounced ゆう
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の
の
the act of — nominaliser
particle · turns the whole clause into the subject of the judgement
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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失礼
しつれい ［2］
rude
な-adjective · a breach of position, not of politeness
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · stating it as a plain fact of workplace usage
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Saying ご苦労様 to someone senior to you is rude.
お疲れ様 · after a meeting
plain
、。
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会議
かいぎ ［1］
meeting
noun · a formal meeting, the kind with an agenda
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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終わって
おわって
having ended
て-form of 終わる · intransitive, so the meeting ends by itself
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みんな
みんな ［3］
everyone
noun · the whole group, casual — 皆さん is the polite one
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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お疲れ様
おつかれさま ［0］
thanks for your work
set expression · quoted as what was said, so と follows
お疲れ様N3thanks for your work
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と
と
that — quoting
particle · marks the phrase as the words spoken
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言った
いった
said
plain past of 言う · reporting what the group did
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The meeting ended and everyone said thanks for the work.
Forms
How the two are used
お疲れ様＋です
Present tense, for work still going on. Doubles as hello in a corridor and as the opening line of a work email.
お疲れ様＋でした
Past tense, for work that has finished — the end of a shift, a meeting or a project. This is the one you say on the way out.
ご苦労様＋です / でした
A superior to staff, or a household to a delivery driver. Correct and warm in that direction, and insulting in the other.
お疲れ
Clipped, casual, extremely common among colleagues the same age. Keep it sideways and downward.
Meaning
Why ご苦労様 offends upward
The two expressions have different customary uses.疲れ is the tiredness the work produced — you are noting what it cost them. 苦労 is the trouble they went to, and trouble is something taken on your behalf. This convention commonly places the speaker in the position of someone acknowledging work done for their side.
It is about position, not politeness.ご苦労様でございます is not a repair — the politer you make it, the more clearly you are performing the role of the person entitled to say it. The fix is to change the word, not the register.
お疲れ様 is not really a thank-you. It is closer to an acknowledgement, which is why it works as hello, goodbye, and the first line of an email to someone whose work you have not seen. For actual gratitude you still need ありがとうございます.
Outside work the rule loosens. Deliveries, contractors and officials are routinely met with ご苦労様です from the household, and the convention is old and unremarkable. At work, relationship and situation guide the choice.
Watch out
Where these two go wrong
Saying ご苦労様 to your boss
The single most common version of this mistake. ご苦労様 names trouble taken on your behalf, which assumes you were entitled to ask. Upward, always お疲れ様です.
Trying to fix it with politer wording
ご苦労様でございます is worse, not better — it performs the senior role more elaborately. Change the phrase, not the register.
Using です when the work is finished
お疲れ様です is for work in progress, お疲れ様でした for work that has ended. Leaving for the night with お疲れ様です sounds like you have not noticed the day is over.
Answering お先に失礼します with the same phrase
The person leaving says お先に失礼します, usually followed by お疲れ様でした; the people staying answer お疲れ様でした alone. Echoing お先に back means you are leaving too.
Also asked
Questions people ask about お疲れ様 and ご苦労様
Can I really say お疲れ様です to my boss?
Yes — it is the expected phrase. It notes the tiredness the work produced without claiming you were the one who benefited, so it carries no assumption about rank in either direction.
Is ご苦労様 ever the right thing to say?
Downward, yes, and it is warmer than お疲れ様 there. A manager to their team, or a household to a delivery driver. The trouble was taken on your behalf, and saying so is the point.
Why does お疲れ様です work as “hello”?
It acknowledges that the other person is at work, which is all a workplace greeting needs to do. That is also why it opens emails to colleagues you have no other news for.
What about お疲れ on its own?
Casual and very common between colleagues of the same rank. Drop it downward or sideways; never upward, where the clipping itself reads as too familiar.
