ご苦労様
ごくろうさま · gokurousama · JLPT N2 · expression
Thank you for your hard work
ご苦労様 = 御 (honorific) + 苦労 (hard work) + 様 (respectful suffix): honored hard work
Said to someone who has put in effort. 苦労 is toil or hardship, and 御 and 様 add politeness, so it fits coworkers and superiors at the end of a task or workday.
苦 — grass radical 艹 + 古 (old)
Originally referred to a bitter-tasting plant, with the grass radical 艹 indicating its botanical nature and 古 providing the phonetic element. The meaning extended from the literal bitter taste to figurative senses of hardship, suffering, and painful effort.