「」「」
"Excuse me, I'm leaving before you." "Thanks for your hard work."
Literal
"Honorific-prior, rudeness do." "Honorific-tired-be."
The fixed exchange Japanese workers use when leaving the office. お先に失礼します is the standard 'excuse me for leaving first' — literally 'I'll do rudeness first' — a ritual politeness formula acknowledging that leaving before others is technically impolite. お疲れ様でした is the reciprocal 'thank you for your hard work' — literally 'it was a tiring [effort on your part],' honoring the colleague's labor. Both are frozen polite formulas; the literal meanings are almost invisible in daily use. Important to master: お疲れ様 is also used as a general greeting among colleagues, not just at parting, a very Japanese workplace concept.