how do you take the phrase "take care"?

Meaningless small talk. But most of us do that a lot.

In my experience it just means "good bye". I've never known it to be rude, but I don't communicate with people through e-mail so I don't have an answer for that specific situation.

It depends on context.

If someone is going to Mexico I'd say "take care" and I mean to take precautions, be careful, etc.

If I ended a phonecall with "take care" it might be dismissive, like "we won't be catching up anytime soon."

It's like saying "thanks for calling", if someone says that instead of "catch you later" it means you are not a continious part of their life.

Usually I'd use it if I weren't going to see the person for a while, never to tell someone to eff off, however politely. But sometimes it's just a nice way of saying goodbye.

The Stygiannati use it as a threat. Take care, you are on thin ice.

It meas to take care of yourself. A friendly way of saying "be careful" or "good-bye".

I’ve always felt it was a nice phrase.

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