おつかれ

• Reading: おつかれ
• Romaji: otsukare
• Pronunciation: /o.tsɯ.ka.ɾe/

Meaning

The go-to peer-level farewell meaning 'good work' or 'see ya' — shorter and more casual than お疲れ様です.

おつかれ is the workhorse farewell of Japanese peer interaction. While the kanji form お疲れ emphasises the word's literal meaning of tiredness, the hiragana おつかれ feels even more casual and is preferred in texting. It is the default way to say goodbye to classmates, coworkers of equal rank, and friends after any shared activity. In online culture, it is often shortened further to おつ.

Examples

1. おつかれ〜、先に帰るね。 See ya~, I'm heading out first.
2. バイトおつかれ、ラーメン食べに行こう。 Good work at your part-time job, let's go get ramen.
3. おつかれ！今日めっちゃ忙しかったね。 Good work! Today was crazy busy, huh.

Usage Guide

Context: farewell to peers, after work, after class, texting

Tone: friendly, casual, appreciative

Do Say

• おつかれ、また明日ね (Good work, see you tomorrow)
• おつかれ〜、今日もお疲れ！ (See ya~ great job today!)

Don't Say

• 上司に「おつかれ」だけで帰るのは失礼 — 「お疲れ様です、お先に失礼します」と言う (Leaving with just おつかれ to your boss is rude — say お疲れ様です、お先に失礼します)

Common Mistakes

• Using おつかれ as a farewell to superiors without the full お疲れ様です
• Not realising おつかれ functions as both a greeting and a farewell — context determines which

Origin & History

Casual hiragana form of お疲れ, from お疲れ様 (otsukaresama, 'you must be tired/good work'). The hiragana spelling signals maximum casualness. Has been the standard peer farewell in Japanese workplaces and schools for decades.

Cultural Context

Era: Long-standing workplace/school culture

Generation: All ages (peer contexts)

Social background: Universal informal

Regional notes: Used nationwide. The most natural peer-level farewell in Japanese. Often shortened to おつ in very casual texting.