I was at a temple the other day, and as I was leaving and going down the
stairs, the ladies that were cleaning the steps said to me 「ご苦労様」. I replied
with 「ありがとうございます、おつかれさま」, but I felt sort of awkward after that. Does anyone
know how I should have replied?

Thanks
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2012-02-04T19:50:04.113
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2012-02-06T21:20:52.327
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word-choice
What to reply when the ladies sweeping the steps outside a temple tell you 「ご苦労様」?
I think that お疲れ様 is the safest option. If you want to make it more polite,
you can say お疲れ様です, although I am not completely sure how formal it is. 失礼します
is also common when you leave some place. Saying ありがとうございます in that situation
sounds a little too heavy to me.

The worst option is to tell the ladies that their use of
[ご苦労様](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1266/when-and-to-whom-
should-i-use-the-expression-%E3%81%94%E8%8B%A6%E5%8A%B4%E6%A7%98-gokurousama)
is not very appropriate because it is often used when superiors talk to
subordinates. :)
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2012-02-04T20:10:48.910
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I wonder if the best option might not have been to say nothing at all.
Westerners often feel the need to acknowledge such set greetings when Japanese
people often say nothing in return. While this is certainly true in stores,
this might have been a slightly more personal situation. Still, a light bow
might have sufficed.
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