さ

Meanings

-ness; degree; state or quality

Nominalizing suffix that turns adjectives into nouns meaning the degree, amount, or quality of something, as in 高さ, 寒さ, and 大変さ.

この山やまの高たかさは三さん千ぜんメートルです。
The height of this mountain is three thousand meters.
彼かの女じょは仕し事ごとの大たい変へんさをよく知しっている。
She knows well how hard the work is.

particle

assertive sentence-ending particle

Casual sentence-final particle that gives a statement an assured, matter-of-fact, or lightly emphatic tone. It as mainly masculine.

心しん配ぱいするな。大だい丈じょう夫ぶさ。
Don't worry. It'll be fine.
そんなこと、僕ぼくにだってできるさ。
I can do that too, you know.

interjection

come now; come on

Short interjection used to prompt, invite, or urge someone to act; closely related to さあ.

Usage patterns

〈形けい容よう詞し〉さthe degree or quality expressed by an adjective, turned into a noun
この箱はこの重おもさを測はかった。
I measured the weight of this box.
〈動どう詞し〉さadding an assured, matter-of-fact tone to the end of a casual statement
そんなの知しらないさ。
I don't know about that, that's just how it is.
さ、〈動どう詞し〉using さ to urge someone into an action
さ、行いこう。
Come on, let's go.

Grammar

さ-ness: makes an adjective a nounN4

Related words· 6

ことN4sense 1
こと is a general nominalizer for facts, actions, or events, while さ specifically turns an adjective into a noun expressing its degree, as in 高さ (height).
よ sense 2
よ is a common sentence-final particle for asserting or informing, while さ carries a similar assertive tone but sounds more casual and often masculine.
さあN5sense 3
さあ is a longer interjection used to prompt, hesitate, or draw attention, while さ is its shorter, more abrupt form used to urge someone into action.
ね sense 2
ね seeks the listener's agreement or confirmation, whereas さ simply asserts a statement in an offhand, self-assured way without inviting agreement.

Show 2 more

みN2
み and さ both turn an adjective stem into a noun, but み gives a subjective, felt quality (甘み, the taste of sweetness) while さ gives an objective, measurable one (甘さ, degree of sweetness).
ネス
さ is the native Japanese suffix that nominalizes ordinary adjectives (高さ), while ネス is used only within katakana loanwords derived from English -ness forms.

Don't confuse with

未みN2sense 1
Both み and さ attach to adjective stems to make nouns, but さ gives an objective, measurable degree (高さ = height as a measurement) while み gives a more subjective, sensory quality (高み = a lofty place/height as felt).

Written forms

さUsage100%
Kana form used as a suffix, sentence-final particle, and short interjection; no kanji form is given.
サUsage<1%

Etymology

The historical derivation is uncertain. In modern Japanese, さ functions independently as a kana-written suffix, particle, and interjection rather than as a kanji-derived word.