What Does 수고했어 (Sugohaesseo) Mean in Korean?
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · Updated · How we write & review
After this page, you can thank someone for their effort with 수고했어 (sugohaesseo), and pick the safer 고생하셨습니다 for seniors.
10-second answer
What does Sugohaesseo mean?
수고했어 (sugohaesseo) means roughly "you worked hard / good job today" — the standard phrase for acknowledging someone's effort, said at the end of work, practice, filming, or any shared task. Polite: 수고했어요 (sugohaesseoyo); formal: 수고하셨습니다 (sugohasyeotseumnida). There's no clean English equivalent — it thanks effort itself, not results.
Quick check — did that land?
1. Filming wraps at 11 PM. The director says to the crew:
Think 수고했어 just means good job?
Quick Examples
오늘 수고했어!
oneul sugohaesseo!
Good work today!
Casual — teammates, friends, juniors.
수고하셨습니다!
sugohasyeotseumnida!
Thank you for your hard work!
Formal — what a whole office says when leaving; what fans tell idols after a concert.
수고하세요~
sugohaseyo~
Keep up the good work / take care.
Said to someone STILL working — leaving a shop, ending a call with staff.
A note on spelling. The official romanization of 수고했어 is sugohaesseo, but you'll see the phrase written many ways: sugohaesso, sugohaeso, sugohesseo, soogohaesseo or sugo haesseo. They're all the same phrase.
See also: 밥 먹었어? — the caring greeting
The Three Directions
| Form | When | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| 수고했어 (sugohaesseo) | Work is done | Friends, juniors — casual |
| 수고했어요 / 수고하셨습니다 | Work is done | Polite / formal upward |
| 수고하세요 (sugohaseyo) | They're still working | Staff, delivery drivers, coworkers as you leave |
수고 means 'toil/effort.' The phrase honors the effort regardless of outcome — after a failed project, a lost match, a long shift, 수고했어 still lands perfectly. That's why 'good job' isn't quite it: you can 수고 without winning.
K-pop fans know 수고하셨습니다 as the phrase idols and staff exchange after every stage — and what fans comment after a comeback ends.
수고 vs 고생 — The Safer Upward Option
고생하셨습니다 ("you went through hardship") is 수고하셨습니다's close cousin, and it's the safer choice toward someone clearly senior to you — a company president, a much older relative, or anyone where even the polite 수고 form might feel like you're grading their effort from above. 고생 ("hardship/suffering") frames it as sympathy for what they endured rather than evaluation of how well they did, which reads as more humble. In practice the two overlap heavily and either is usually fine in polite form — but if you're ever unsure whether 수고하셨습니다 is appropriate for someone very senior, 고생하셨습니다 is the safer bet.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — 수고했어 to your boss
Evaluating a superior's effort casually can sound presumptuous. Upward, use 수고하셨습니다 — and in very traditional workplaces, 고생하셨습니다 or a plain thank-you is even safer.
Mistake #2 — Forgetting 수고하세요 when leaving
Leaving a pharmacy, taxi, or phone call with staff, 수고하세요 is the graceful exit line English speakers never think to say.
Mini Quiz
2. You're leaving a pharmacy; the pharmacist keeps working. You say:
3. Why doesn't 'good job' fully translate 수고했어?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
What Does 화이팅 (Hwaiting) Mean?
화이팅 before the effort, 수고했어 after — Korean brackets every challenge with these two.
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