「お疲れ様でした」 word by word meaning vs. actual meaning?


お疲{つか}れ様{さま}でした is made of the following components:

> お + つかれ + さま + でした。

  1. A honorific affix (お).
  2. Stem of a verb means to get tired (つかれる).
  3. A Noun means appearance (さま).
  4. And でした.

Literally, it means "You appear tired" which creates meaning **A** in my mind,
but actually according to this
[link](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E7%96%B2%E3%82%8C%E6%A7%98%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F#Japanese)
it means:

> I appreciate your efforts, thank you very much, good work

which creates meaning **B** in my mind. Why does an expression that carries
the meaning of A word by word, but in actual context gives the meaning of B?




I'm new in linguistics topics but I think we can find the right answer in
semantics and pragmatics.

Semantics and pragmatics are two different branches of linguistics which the
former is involved with the literal meaning of phrases and sentences without
considering the context whereas the later deals with meaning in context.

Here I think 「お疲れ様でした」 is a good example that shows difference between
semantics and pragmatics in Japanese. It literally means _‘you look tired’_ ,
but in the context which appearing tired is caused by hard work it means
_‘appreciating your hard work’_.




The underlying message is "you worked hard, so you are tired". Hard work being
commendable.

An aside remark: it rhymes interestingly with a line in a famous Russian rock
song "where the (only) measure for work is tiredness". In that context it's a
reference to meaningless work, which only noticeable result is tiredness. So,
yes, it's a cultural thing.

