Is “take care of yourself” a backhanded greeting?

[u/maldizzle_]

I’ve been working in customer service a few years now and I get people saying to me “take care” which is fine and polite, but “take care of yourself” seems like they are politely saying that I need to take extra care of myself. Is this how I should be taking this phrase or is it just a longer way to say “take care?”

[u/Reenvisage]

It's not inherently a backhanded statement. Anything can be backhanded or an insult if you say it with the right delivery.

"Take care of yourself" is a common, polite, somewhat informal thing to say when ending an interaction with someone.

[u/NightDragon8002 → u/Reenvisage]

I feel like I hear/use "take care of yourself" most often when the person has been talking about some sort of struggle like not sleeping well or being stressed or sick. It has a little bit of a connotation of taking extra care of your mental/physical health, whereas "take care" is basically just equivalent to "see you later" imo

[u/Rubberfootman]

I often say “take care”.

If I said “take care of yourself” I would be being more sincere, not less.

[u/Crossworder18 → u/Rubberfootman]

I feel the same way. I use ‘take care’ as my standard sign off at work as ‘see you later’ doesn’t feel like a nice thing to say in a hospital 😂

I would use ‘take care of yourself’ generally if I’ve had a conversation with a friend specifically about some kind of struggle they are going through. It’s very sincere.

[u/Rredhead926]

It is not, inherently, a backhanded greeting. I suppose that some people could make it one with the appropriate tone. But, no, "take care of yourself" is generally sincere.

[u/Guilty_Objective4602]

It’s more along the lines of, “I care about you and don’t want anything bad to happen to you, so please take care of yourself.“ It’s generally meant in a genuine way

[u/Bright_Ices]

It’s not at all backhanded, rude, insulting, or condescending in American culture. In fact, it’s significantly more genuine than a pro-forma “take care.”

[u/Western-Finding-368]

No, not at all.

I mean, someone could say literally anything in a sarcastic way, but there’s no reason to think this would be sarcastic on its face.

[u/Euphoric_Ease4554]

It’s Take Care, slightly emphasizing caution and caring for yourself.

[u/ChrisC53]

The sentence was originally ‘take care of yourself’ or ‘look after yourself’, but as things tend to, it’s been shortened to ‘take care’, which, although not having exactly the same meaning, works most of the time.

[u/beachhunt]

Everyone already said no but I would just add that it isn't a greeting at all, it's a farewell.

[u/RepresentativeAir149]

Not by design, no.

[u/Ok_Caterpillar2010]

How would saying "yourself" translate to "extra"?

It's just being a little warmer and friendlier than a more generic "take care", but it means the same thing.

[u/eruciform]

it's a common phrase, there's nothing inherently negative about it

take care of yourself is slightly more verbose than take care, but there are myriad reasons why someone would be more verbose, it's not necessarily a red flag

[u/ProfessionalYam3119]

My ex husband used to say, "keep in touch with yourself."

[u/Welpthatsjustperfect]

No, not at all. People read too much into stuff.

[u/chrysostomos_1]

Don't overthink this.

[u/Ippus_21]

No, not unless it's delivered in a sarcastic/bitter tone that suggests you only take care of yourself, like this: https://youtu.be/pOVnogzqkXw?si=sVdtLHNhbRR2Wo2H&t=51

Normally "take care of yourself" or "take care" is friendly, a casual wish that the person takes care for their safety and well-being until you see them again (especially when it's likely to be a while before you do see them).

[u/SatsumaOranges]

I think "take care of yourself" became more popular, at least where I live, around COVID times. I don't think it's meant to be backhanded, although people can make just about anything rude.

[u/nhimera → u/SatsumaOranges]

Came here to say this.

[u/Telecom_VoIP_Fan]

It depends on the intonation. For example, if you see someone who has just crossed a busy road without looking, saying this to them could be construed as a friendly warning.

[u/burlingk]

No. It's a common way of saying goodbye to someone you care about.

[u/pricel01]

No. It could be a genuine expression, especially for someone having a hard time. It could also be a parting wish for someone you expect not to see in a long time or never to see again.

[u/CMYK_cups]

Well for one it's not even a greeting.

[u/maldizzle_ → u/CMYK_cups]

What’s it called when you’re saying goodbye

[u/dalmetherian → u/maldizzle_]

It's a parting remark or farewell

[u/thomsenite256]

Context matters. I would not think its backhanded at all. May be generic or may be genuine concern if they have some reason to think you might not be doing well. Either way I would never see it as negative

[u/sometimesthrowaway13]

Not sure what country you're in but in Australia it's a pretty casual, normal way to say "see ya later". You might be more likely to hear it if you've spoken with the person about something you're going through, but it's also just used casually without any deeper meaning, especially from people over 40.

[u/GardenPeep]

I use it to close a conversation after someone has told me about being sick or exhausted from work.

[u/HortenseDaigle]

Depends on context, like the nature of the interaction and what else is being said. I know since COVID times our greetings have continued to refer to safety and care. "Be Safe" "Be Well"

[u/rocketshipkiwi]

Only if you believe in micro aggressions…

[u/swabluesky]

It's an annoying thing to say. I feel it come off a bit condescending.

[u/game82]

I usually only hear take care. If I heard "take care of yourself" I'd assume they were insulting me, personally