수고하세요
su-go-ha-se-yo · literally “Keep working hard”
Situation: Saying goodbye to a boss or client at the end of the day
✕ What AI tells you
Translates as a polite 'Keep up the good work' and recommends using it to anyone.
Why it fails: Sounds condescending when used toward superiors or elders.
✓ What Koreans actually say
Only use toward peers or subordinates. Never to superiors.
먼저 들어가 보겠습니다.
meon-jeo deu-reo-ga bo-ges-seum-ni-da
Leaving the office before your boss/colleagues
오늘 고생 많으셨습니다.
o-neul go-saeng ma-neu-syeot-seum-ni-da
Polite acknowledgment of shared hard work to senior colleagues
Cultural nuance, in depth
수고하세요 literally asks the listener to keep enduring effort. Telling someone to keep working implies you are in a position to evaluate or direct their labor — which is the senior's role. That is why the phrase flows naturally downward or sideways (a customer to a cashier, a manager to a team) but feels presumptuous upward. Many Koreans also avoid it with elders entirely and switch to phrases that acknowledge effort already spent, like 고생 많으셨습니다.
- #workplace
- #honorifics
- #misunderstood