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おつかれ otsukare
Good work today. And hi. And bye.
What does otsukare mean?
The all-purpose work word. It opens conversations, ends shifts, and quietly says we made it through.
Example
今日もおつかれ。
Good work today.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Friends only Casual. Natural with friends, out of place at work or with strangers.
The story behind otsukare
お疲れ様 is the flexible bolt that holds a Japanese working day together. It opens a conversation, closes a shift, answers a phone call and ends a chat thread, all while technically meaning you must be tired. There is an older sibling, ご苦労様, fine from a boss to a junior and distinctly rude in the other direction, so most people just say おつかれ.
It has escaped the office entirely. Club members say it after practice, streamers say it when the stream ends, friends say it after any shared ordeal. It is the closest thing Japanese has to a warm, all-purpose good job, we survived.
Get otsukare in your pocket
おつかれ is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
